Latest / A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast / Talks to Frazer Gregory about his choice of The Space Museum

Transcript

Talks to Frazer Gregory about his choice of The Space Museum · A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast

• 0:33
  I'm so drunk. Welcome back to you.
• 0:41
  I have some of a blunt penknife, we just watched an incredible
• 0:45
  episode one, didn't we Fraser? Widget we did will give a full
• 0:50
  attention as well. Yes, we were commenting on the
• 0:53
  action that whole time. No diversions, no none
• 0:56
  whatsoever. And I know, I know episodes, 2,
• 0:59
  3 and 4 are going to be as gripping.
• 1:02
  We are even better. I am like on my edge of my seat
• 1:05
  to start, if you are. Absolutely.
• 1:08
  Yes. All right.
• 1:09
  Let's Kick in and are 5. 4 3, 2 1.
• 1:14
  Let's go. Okay, I ask everybody this
• 1:20
  question at least once in the story.
• 1:22
  Your favorite title sequence? Yes.
• 1:24
  This is what you want to be doing on a Saturday night.
• 1:28
  That's my favorite one. It's probably going to be
• 1:33
  Sylvester McCoy. He's a lot of people say that,
• 1:36
  you know, it's the Nostalgia element that we've talked about
• 1:40
  in the first one. It's I mean, it's it's
• 1:43
  goosebumps every time I hear that every time I hear and kept
• 1:47
  McCulloch, steam start. Then you see that explosion of
• 1:50
  the star field, its actual Goosebumps not many.
• 1:53
  People say when they hear Keith McCulloch music, they get goofed
• 1:56
  on so Christian for that. It is it?
• 2:00
  Success. I say it's what I grew up with
• 2:03
  it. Yeah, there's just no other way
• 2:07
  to describe it. It's just the pure Nostalgia.
• 2:09
  I mean, just possibly better versions of that Arrangement but
• 2:14
  I'd say, so guys, I think, I think the power of nostalgia is
• 2:17
  very strong but emotionally, it's very strong.
• 2:21
  Okay. So, let's talk about the
• 2:22
  relationship between these two very complex working
• 2:25
  relationship. This is still one on the left,
• 2:29
  even got a name. I only ask what's going on with
• 2:32
  the hair. It's I think it's just the
• 2:36
  production again. It's you know, will make them
• 2:38
  look alien. I will make them available.
• 2:41
  Give them a bit of a funny haircut.
• 2:42
  See like, yeah, I'd say, maybe the person doing the haircuts,
• 2:47
  or the weeks was in on the joke because they do look really
• 2:50
  silly. This, this senior absolutely
• 2:56
  slated everywhere. You look what?
• 2:58
  Yeah. Well, because it is a lot of
• 3:00
  exposition, isn't it? It's like it's correct position.
• 3:03
  You've got your man. It was he with should shorten
• 3:09
  the governor and he's not, he's not doing a very good job, he's
• 3:14
  not great. But, you know, do you remember
• 3:15
  him in Frontier and spice, you know, so he turns up in Frontier
• 3:19
  of space as one of the prisoners, like the one who's,
• 3:21
  right? Who's wrong with everybody?
• 3:23
  And he's like, this current Cockney prisoner and he's really
• 3:26
  good. Yeah.
• 3:28
  But he's It's difficult to tell in this is easy because this
• 3:34
  character, as we all know, being Exposition gut is a man whose
• 3:39
  board on the molecule world is come to the space mutants too
• 3:44
  jealous cause I don't, there's the part of the Space Museum,
• 3:48
  you know, for that people are being sent out as punishment.
• 3:50
  He's volunteer at the door, he's sick of these life lessons and
• 3:55
  is that the way he's trying to play it and he's just gone a
• 3:58
  little bit too far and made it look like I'm an actor that sort
• 4:02
  of meal as well as I was going to say, or is he just not
• 4:04
  engaged with the script or and? Yes.
• 4:06
  I because you know, you listen to again, the commentary and
• 4:12
  you've got Green, joins is no longer with us on the commentary
• 4:16
  in. He has in the dentist Spooner
• 4:19
  really well. What for for messing with his
• 4:23
  script. Yeah, yeah.
• 4:24
  It's Sana colita Purvis and green Jones doing the less.
• 4:29
  You know, that's being other people for this routine, you
• 4:31
  know, because you know, going on at the direction and everything
• 4:36
  and you know, pulled over. And I was the expert that.
• 4:39
  Oh, yeah, yeah. Eric's award, you lay blame
• 4:43
  everybody else for my own creative decisions.
• 4:46
  Sorry, I'm being remade on this one about everybody.
• 4:50
  Put your good is no, it's even started at that scene, you know,
• 4:54
  kiddo. It has a kitchen like this.
• 4:56
  Good, please tell me you didn't make this like, nope.
• 4:58
  None of this is me trying to sell this DVD, right?
• 5:02
  Look, although, I suppose you've already bought here so the
• 5:04
  commentary can say anything. Yeah.
• 5:12
  It's got insurance is copy of FM system, out of it is, but
• 5:14
  Maureen, O'Brien commenting as well.
• 5:16
  You've got Willie muscle, who watched the first episode, it
• 5:18
  was. And as a coffee, then it's a
• 5:20
  bit. Like I can understand mine.
• 5:21
  All they're doing is just sleep. Next thing, you know, you say,
• 5:24
  well, I hope it holds the road because like, this is a good
• 5:27
  story for Vicki. Yes, it is.
• 5:31
  I think she just kind of sits on the fence a little bit in the
• 5:34
  commentary book. You write, this is a really
• 5:36
  good, you know, story for because you got some good good
• 5:40
  bits to do later. Murdock to Franklin's break into
• 5:45
  that computer. I love the fact that she just
• 5:47
  takes one. Look at these useless Rebels and
• 5:50
  just goes, well, what's wrong with you?
• 5:52
  You know, and they're just go and get the guns like they're so
• 5:55
  stupid. They never thought of that.
• 5:58
  And it's It speaks to the and this is where you need to.
• 6:02
  Look at this. This story is just the The
• 6:06
  ludicrousness of it, it's just absolutely ludicrous.
• 6:09
  You've got these aliens who are who have conquered the Galaxy
• 6:14
  but no no board with if you know the setup this Museum in the
• 6:18
  send, all the people that don't really like to it.
• 6:22
  I think that's the best. David has a great commentary,
• 6:24
  like maybe the more oxytocin to like the Daleks Cybermen the
• 6:28
  sontarans and the, I look, once you've conquered the Galaxy,
• 6:31
  right? And that all that exciting
• 6:33
  stuff, it's just really boring. Dahlgren nothing else to do but
• 6:38
  but create museums. Yeah.
• 6:41
  But I mean the thing that struck me is, this is very Douglas
• 6:44
  Adams know, it's a very well. That's a bold statement.
• 6:49
  Fraser waiting to hear what you got to say.
• 6:51
  Now it's you know this idea of you know this planet of the, you
• 6:58
  know, conquering rejects essentially, you know,
• 7:02
  contacting a Galaxy don't really like you.
• 7:05
  So we're going to put you on this.
• 7:06
  Yes. And if you look at every single
• 7:07
  counter, every single Morris County Hall, got a bit of a
• 7:10
  counter for so you've got, you know, you've got your little
• 7:13
  bottoms a little bit incompetent.
• 7:15
  You've got the second in command to his one of these, you know,
• 7:21
  Korea, Tates, Creek Rd. You know all this one is guys
• 7:24
  like a complete coward and Inkay.
• 7:26
  Frightening it all the time. Yeah, it really reminds me of
• 7:31
  which book is a visitor. Like the universe and
• 7:35
  everything, where the half that alien race, who has decided they
• 7:38
  had enough of all of the middle managers and do the pr?
• 7:43
  Yeah, you think this is. Yeah.
• 7:52
  Yeah. This is the because now we know
• 7:55
  where they all ended up. Oh my God.
• 8:04
  Say yeah. Just the be Planet.
• 8:07
  Yeah you can just imagine they may find on the more work on
• 8:11
  world thing, you know, completely different, you're
• 8:14
  fully functioning high high society and just everyone at the
• 8:17
  don't like get sent to the Space Museum.
• 8:19
  I like the fact that though the then they're all like X lawyers
• 8:22
  middle managers, you know, red tapers.
• 8:26
  Yeah. And that's why they're so
• 8:27
  useless. Yeah, I think so.
• 8:31
  Exactly. And then and then you go back
• 8:32
  and you look at all of us and you think it's Marvin.
• 8:34
  The Paranoid Android. Yeah.
• 8:39
  It's just usually just spent the whole story moaning stuck on
• 8:45
  this planet morlocks days which as you know is so broad Sheamus
• 8:53
  a car, this story, I think that is the best take of this story.
• 8:56
  I've ever heard. Go back and watch it again.
• 9:00
  Everything will boss speaks to some margin.
• 9:02
  Alan Rickman did win, Marvin? Oh no.
• 9:04
  Android either having a really bad day because what we have
• 9:14
  here went from this high-concept Sci-Fi show.
• 9:19
  Yeah, that you know, we're going to end up in the glass cases in
• 9:23
  the end, we need to do like the - whore in the Maze now and
• 9:27
  they're just trying to get out of the building.
• 9:29
  Yeah, and the products it's gone into this, or that sure, which
• 9:36
  is your freedom planet from the conquest and whatnot.
• 9:41
  But Cowboys and Indians, isn't it.
• 9:43
  If you take this out, if you put this in season 17, you wouldn't
• 9:47
  notice. That's true.
• 9:48
  Well, I mean it was I think there would be like, that's
• 9:51
  better jokes but that's about it.
• 9:52
  Yeah, yeah, I mean the story itself would slot straight and
• 9:57
  season so my God phrase. Season 17 is full of spice.
• 10:01
  Corridors just like this. Yeah, yeah.
• 10:04
  And just got in this scenario is, you know, Marvin.
• 10:09
  I want to hear what he's got to say, what news of the owner.
• 10:18
  And this is why when he kidnapped the doctor manages to
• 10:23
  run rings around him. Oh yeah, because he's got low
• 10:25
  boss. Has got no imagination though.
• 10:27
  Sense of humor. Nope.
• 10:30
  I think I, you know, I work with a few people like that.
• 10:35
  As the students, they're all wearing plimsolls?
• 10:38
  Yep. Isn't one of them.
• 10:43
  Jeremy Bulloch from Star Wars. I think one of them is someone
• 10:47
  that you will notice them because you always put his hands
• 10:49
  on his hips. Are you still on the phone?
• 10:51
  Oh yeah. Look at that.
• 10:52
  Very pencil. I'm very He was in Time.
• 10:58
  Warrior wasn't it is what how they are.
• 11:02
  The auction but the thing that gets invited back to every
• 11:07
  single convention until his death.
• 11:09
  It's Bob Affair. Max yes.
• 11:13
  So I'm pretty proud that I know that because I'm a never seen
• 11:15
  Star Wars once. So, you know, you've only seen
• 11:19
  it once yet. Last year, I watched I watched
• 11:21
  all noise through last year for the first time.
• 11:24
  Matthew, you big fan and I'm gonna say I was a big fan, but I
• 11:29
  understand my son is a bigger fan me.
• 11:31
  He loves the the prequels. You know, original trilogy,
• 11:37
  obviously. You know, he loves the, the
• 11:40
  prequels in the Clone Wars. She was emotional and we both
• 11:45
  just kind of look down a little bit on the sequel Trilogy by.
• 11:49
  I can see why. Okay, I quite like the middle
• 11:53
  one. Was that the Last Jedi?
• 11:54
  I'm not. He's fantastic.
• 11:56
  It's, you know, that was at the casino.
• 12:01
  I thought that was visually stunning.
• 12:05
  It's an absolutely stunning film.
• 12:07
  It does saga bit in the middle and obviously, this people are
• 12:09
  mediated what? I think it's old.
• 12:13
  And or statement of a summer blockbuster.
• 12:16
  And whereas the to either side with just flash, bang Wallop
• 12:20
  like, yeah, did you notice then that William Hartnell was the
• 12:24
  lighting himself up to be kidnapped?
• 12:26
  He was like, like moving towards the door.
• 12:27
  Like so, it's in the right place to be grabbed by the shoulders.
• 12:33
  If you're going to be kidnapped, you might as well.
• 12:35
  You know? Do it safe.
• 12:36
  Make sure you're in the right black.
• 12:37
  It's I heard an argument about this story.
• 12:43
  It takes like tropes from Doctor Who so Rebels alien conquerors
• 12:50
  Barbara's jumper and and just has like and but it's just kind
• 12:55
  of gently poking, fun of them. I think that is true, but as we
• 13:00
  said before, I don't think the director is in, on the joke.
• 13:06
  No, he was supposed to die, nectar.
• 13:07
  It was loaded, pin field. Yeah, again, he's, you know,
• 13:12
  when you listen with the comment, be the I've got quotes.
• 13:16
  You know what other view of moving Xiang?
• 13:20
  Zhu is you know what I say? Because I don't know what that
• 13:23
  is. Damn crate them the fishiest,
• 13:27
  you know, he's literally have this box that you would use as
• 13:32
  he's camera in the, you would one of her songs with this box
• 13:35
  to stick his head in the Box. Oh my God.
• 13:39
  You know, and you've been a great rehearsing.
• 13:41
  Well, do you see as we close? I got answers going to be a so
• 13:44
  that was his camera. Yeah.
• 13:46
  Yeah, is heck of a box, didn't alarm?
• 13:49
  You know who did that? Don't you Peter Grim.
• 13:51
  Wait, they say that he's used to walk around with his fingers
• 13:54
  like in a square. So he was doing like camera
• 13:57
  angles like that. Where is the difference is?
• 14:01
  I've say, oh my God, yeah we're good.
• 14:04
  I thought them all. I have no master.
• 14:09
  He is loving it. Look at him, he's loving it as
• 14:12
  me, he's upset again. The time of his life here, you
• 14:15
  know, he He doesn't care whether he's in on the joke or not.
• 14:18
  He's just gonna have fun, you know, like at the time Doctor
• 14:21
  Who was the like it was true gorilla, television wasn't.
• 14:24
  It was basically being made and it was aired in a couple of
• 14:27
  weeks of being made. I think maybe someone should
• 14:31
  have told Richard Shaw. We were talking about whether he
• 14:33
  was engaged with the story. Like this shows getting like
• 14:35
  between 10 and 13 million viewers per episode at the
• 14:39
  moment. But a bit of a lie into it
• 14:41
  because I think Full Exposure front of for an actor this was
• 14:46
  where to At this point. Absolutely.
• 14:48
  I mean, this is, this is, this is the show really coming into
• 14:51
  its its popularity Now, isn't it?
• 14:55
  You know, we'll have the Dalek Then in the first series we've
• 14:59
  got the Dalek invasion of Earth. You know, game not for Cinema
• 15:04
  releases. You know will really and its
• 15:07
  prey Natale. Manias about to hear, isn't it?
• 15:10
  Yeah you know they're making the joke.
• 15:12
  Remember in college Vegas time where Perry basically every
• 15:15
  story says all these corridors look the same.
• 15:18
  They're doing that choke. But look decades earlier.
• 15:22
  Absolutely. And then I have to sell the fact
• 15:25
  that this museum is massive. You know, the doing the obvious
• 15:30
  cardigan. I love the fact in the chase
• 15:32
  where they use another cardigan, remember to know the Dalek into
• 15:37
  that hole in the Sand Dune, and she just goes, oh, not again
• 15:42
  football. Yeah, but no clothes left.
• 15:45
  Yeah, I mean, he's basically just pulled it off of it and
• 15:48
  just a could ask. I mean my eye Other half I'm
• 15:51
  telling you. Now, it's very precious about
• 15:53
  his clothes. If we were stuck in this Museum,
• 15:55
  I would never hope so. Let me once it does, the much
• 16:00
  fun is in the end of the honest. Well, they have to threat, don't
• 16:04
  know. But there's so much Corridor.
• 16:06
  Think it runs out of this at some point and they're not any
• 16:09
  further forward to be honest. I quite like, like obviously I
• 16:13
  got that sound quite like this say, I don't like this say, it's
• 16:16
  very featureless. I like the lighting because this
• 16:18
  is being lit From Below. Yeah.
• 16:21
  And and in like multi-camera TV, they don't do that too often.
• 16:27
  No. That's very good isn't it was he
• 16:30
  supposed to be like technically quite accomplished moving up in
• 16:34
  the field until you sure. And to be honest because I think
• 16:39
  I think this is a story that asked quite a lot of the direct
• 16:42
  specialist that was a fair, few effects in episode 1.
• 16:47
  Really goes, he's sitting in the chair.
• 16:51
  It's all gone a bit Jim's on motherfucker.
• 16:53
  He doesn't notice that it's clamps of gum around this body.
• 17:05
  Here we go it's because it is exposition at the start of
• 17:10
  episode. You get old yes there's a nuns
• 17:12
  are children of the growing up so you know, it's made quite
• 17:18
  clear that the rebels are quite quite Young And the other
• 17:22
  students that are strongest evidence, you know, you look at
• 17:25
  them, the way the ACT is very theatrical.
• 17:28
  They literally got to rather and where the right we need, we need
• 17:31
  drama students, it's very sort of like student theater and you
• 17:37
  know if it's the did it in my name you wouldn't be surprised
• 17:39
  if they did the whole thing in my human interpretive dance.
• 17:45
  Okay? So maybe maybe that's our next
• 17:47
  project then to restate and Space Museum in interpretive
• 17:51
  mime. Listen, any sequence here Halo
• 17:56
  is completely in charge is late. Like he's a prisoner but he's
• 17:59
  completely in charge. Yes, absolutely.
• 18:03
  I always get really confused as to what he pulls up on that
• 18:06
  screen though. There's like a load of Wales.
• 18:09
  He's in a bathing suit, I think. Self in a bathing suit.
• 18:14
  I didn't know that I needed to see where your heart were
• 18:16
  debating. So but you know, I'm glad I did.
• 18:26
  Empire. Yeah, he's so casual Richards
• 18:32
  Choice thing. I'm so bored.
• 18:36
  I can't even be bothered to interrogate you.
• 18:41
  Why have you come whenever your companion?
• 18:48
  You do that Alan Rickman again. I do like the idea of this fault
• 18:53
  machine though. I mean, I thank God.
• 18:55
  They don't hook it up to my mind because I know.
• 18:58
  Yeah, yeah. Where are you?
• 19:04
  It's a nice idea over. There it is.
• 19:10
  The video at this is so stupid. This is beyond stupid that like
• 19:13
  obviously, he's thinking about the last place.
• 19:15
  He saw them like an hour ago. Yeah, but they're not still
• 19:19
  going to be there now. It's just so, so useless.
• 19:25
  The box would be such a useless race.
• 19:30
  Although, doesn't that does that make the suggestion that the
• 19:32
  doctor and his companions are not particularly Adept because
• 19:36
  he gets frozen? Doesn't he?
• 19:38
  Like they do manage the best him?
• 19:40
  He currently, he's sort of a, you know, you runs the rings
• 19:44
  around your man here but then it kind of backfires on him because
• 19:47
  he'd say, or I'll push them a little bit too far.
• 19:49
  Now bicycle, How did you get here and everything?
• 19:55
  And you don't does end up with them being so the carpet off to
• 19:59
  to be embalmed, essentially alive.
• 20:02
  See I like the fact so I think people start complaining at this
• 20:06
  point because the three of them are just wandering around
• 20:09
  corridors and not particularly exciting ones but they are still
• 20:13
  talking about Herman ISM and trying to avoid Faith.
• 20:17
  So it's not like that idea is dropped.
• 20:20
  It's not, it's just, you know, after that first episode, you
• 20:24
  really think this would be the focus.
• 20:26
  This would be the the real thrust of what's going on.
• 20:31
  But then, it's it Peters out more than anything.
• 20:34
  So that it is mentioned. It's not like there's a blind
• 20:38
  Jones suggests, what he's original script wasn't like,
• 20:41
  like how it played out and it does he doesn't a little bit.
• 20:46
  I can't remember exactly what he what he said, what it is very
• 20:48
  much, you know, I have this idea but then you know this didn't
• 20:53
  happen. Like okay there's no John Dennis
• 20:57
  Spooner. I think wrote some of the best
• 21:00
  stuff in hardest time that he wrote the Romans in there.
• 21:03
  You did grow a lot of episodes of the Daleks master plan.
• 21:08
  Yep. I know he late.
• 21:10
  He script edited this season didn't either.
• 21:14
  You want the entertainment world, as well, space helmet for
• 21:18
  a cow. so okay I'm wondering though had he not put in a few
• 21:28
  jokes like this what this would have played out like It's
• 21:32
  interesting because he wrote the novelization.
• 21:35
  You know, talking about the targets, he will novelization of
• 21:38
  the story himself what? As in the original version,
• 21:42
  right? That's next on my list.
• 21:43
  That's the one I'm going to get next week at least.
• 21:45
  So you want to be really interested to read you know the
• 21:49
  Target and see well did he stick to what was on the screen or
• 21:51
  didn't actually pop up in his own?
• 21:54
  His own version of the story? No, more like every one of those
• 21:57
  ones on eBay that's like, you know, 150 quid.
• 22:02
  I'm going to pay. I'll need to know original draft
• 22:06
  of this was So this is like a very, this is a slightly, that's
• 22:15
  what is not underwhelming because they're putting them in
• 22:17
  the casing, are they? So yeah, so you're going to
• 22:21
  thinking oh well now you see now the penny, drop it on him and
• 22:25
  he's Realizes that he's and what's what's terrific about?
• 22:31
  This is obviously heart nose off to Butlins for a week now.
• 22:35
  So we don't know what's happening with the doctor.
• 22:39
  Do it until about the end of next episode.
• 22:43
  No, that's not the end of that one here.
• 22:46
  So please This makes me sad, I'm going to say this again about
• 22:54
  the chemistry between morning, Brian William, Russell Jaclyn
• 22:58
  Hill, and William Hartnell, because I think even if the
• 23:01
  script and, you know, that's not the best script in the world,
• 23:04
  they make it very watchable absolutely.
• 23:08
  Absolutely. I think it is, you know, a very
• 23:10
  much. This Pistorius is very much.
• 23:12
  The regular has been the regulars, and I think you're
• 23:15
  considering that more, you know about genes only come in.
• 23:17
  We Recently very recently, you know Chapel Hill and William
• 23:22
  must have been really hard, not been there.
• 23:25
  You know what year before? All together she's slaughtered
• 23:28
  straighten and she is really, you know, settled and you don't
• 23:34
  given as good as either of those two are by all accounts.
• 23:37
  I kept hearing the story that moreover I would always like
• 23:41
  laughs heart, no out of his Grumps or the times, but she was
• 23:45
  really Charming. So whatever he had one of his
• 23:47
  ago. Explosions on say yeah she would
• 23:49
  be the one that sent in to kind of calm him down and that would
• 23:53
  be that would make sense that I would and she says brilliantly
• 23:57
  on the special features she says and I did that gladly for that
• 24:01
  wonderful man, which I've designed there's there's there's
• 24:04
  also something about knowing the people got on, I think yeah when
• 24:07
  they make stuff but I think that does come out of the screen at
• 24:11
  you. Absolutely.
• 24:13
  Actually I mean let's say you've got you know if you're sure
• 24:17
  You're not really setting the screen on fire.
• 24:21
  You've got Bob effects hands on hips, very, very stupid theater.
• 24:28
  And it's left to the for leads to really carry the story,
• 24:33
  really bring the light and yet once just went on holiday, it's
• 24:37
  almost like, like, where William Hartnell here.
• 24:38
  So we're really grumpy. And so, the road dealers are
• 24:40
  Charming else into into India. Imagine if likes a low boss of
• 24:46
  him, you never let Julian Glover.
• 24:47
  Over in the Crusade that passionate performance.
• 24:50
  If that's Novena, if you've got this role be a different story,