Jaconda Forever

I wasn’t sure how I’d watch this episode, as I don’t have the “Lost in Time” DVD. Fortunately, I did a Google search and learned some sites host complete episodes . It’s cool that this is out there. I think I read a novelization of this story decades ago, but I’d certainly never seen any of it. Some notes: Definitely fun seeing the First Doctor say “Now will you shut up, sir?” to Nicholas Courtney. I’m pretty sure Hartnell said “revelant” rather than “relevant.” Do Daleks follow Roberts Rules of Order in their conspiracy meetings? Grade: B-plus  

With the exception of the representation of Mavic Chen’s racial identity, this was a pretty good story that moved along well. An engaging first episode is definitely an encouraging sign for a twelve-part serial. And it has Nicholas Courtney in it! Even in a telesnap-focused reconstruction, his acting chops were readily apparent. I watched the Loose Cannon reconstruction . Grade: B-plus  

They certainly did a good job making Odysseus out to be a prick, and I have to assume all the Trojans we’ve come to know and love are going to meet very unpleasant ends at the hands of the Greeks. And Vicki leaving in the midst of this carnage, staying with a Trojan whose family and city were just ransacked seems like a bad idea. I suppose she started the show as a stranded orphan, so maybe she can handle it. Anyway, despite the episode’s body count, the episode moved along and at least kept me watching it.  Grade: B  

Did Odysseus really say “You're making me as nervous as a Bacchante at her first orgy!”? Grade: B-minus  

I’m starting to gather this will be Vicki’s last story, given her comments about how handsome Troilus is. Priam randomly naming Vicki Cressida and my awareness that there is a Shakespeare play called Troilus and Cressida also seems to point in that direction. Given that it’s a Shakespeare historical, I’m going to assume Troilus and/or Cressida die; hopefully Vicki doesn’t at some point after this story wraps. Anyway, bummer she's leaving -- she's a decent companion. Grade: B Link to video  

If a novelization for this story exists, I might have read it 30+ years ago, but I don’t remember anything. I watched the Loose Cannon reconstruction . As far as reconstructions go, it wasn’t bad. And the inclusion of some actual footage made it interesting. Some notes: The music in the opening fight scene was overpowering and somewhat annoying. Looks like it was composed by one Humphrey Searle , and this story was his only Doctor Who credit. The dialogue felt overwrought and overly Shakespearean. The writer was Donald Cotton , who also wrote the Gunfighters. Agamemnon has impressive eyebrows.  I thought I recognized him from the Keys of Marinus , but didn't notice the eyebrows then. Tutte Lemkow is back! I recognized him almost immediately. Talk about getting typecast. He only seems to play politically incorrect caricatures with physical disabilities in historical stories. These notes all sound like complaints – I suppose because they are (eyebrows excepted) – but the story moved...

For this one, I watched the student reconstruction . I think I read a novelization maybe 30+ years ago, but don’t remember much. I was intrigued by a Doctor-less episode and the student reconstruction angle. …And I wasn’t disappointed. The effects of the Varga thorns bordered on body horror – albeit with 1960s effects – that surprised me but was compelling. The alien delegates really chewed the scenery in an enjoyable way. The reconstruction was something new and seemed likely faithful to the original. (More of these would be good!) And the story certainly didn’t overstay its welcome as a 25-minute long, one-part story. Grade: A-minus

The plan to escape seemed rather poorly thought out: Three unarmed humans and one Chumbly run to the Tardis with no time to spare past three armed, desperate Drahvins. And then the Chumbly and Drahvins falling into a lava pit was rather bleak. The message that the Rills may look scary but have hearts of gold was nice though. Grade: B-minus  

I was listening to the most recent episode of the podcast Radio Free Skaro , and they were talking about the possibility that new missing episodes will soon be uncovered. The hosts made a throwaway comment along the lines of “You hope a new missing episode will be something amazing, but then you end up with episode III of Galaxy 4.” Since I was just about to watch this one, the timing was remarkable. But suffice it to say, I watched the original, recovered episode and didn’t have high expectations. …But it wasn’t that bad? Definitely better than Part II. I mean, some stuff happened. And it’s interesting that the Rills breathe ammonia. I recall the alien in Project Hail Mary breathing ammonia . I can’t help it, but I just assume stuff in Andy Weir novels is at least scientifically plausible, while stuff in 60’s era Doctor Who is … not as much. But hey, maybe they got this one right! Grade: B  

This was a really slow episode. I think the entire plot consisted of the Doctor and Steven going to the Drahvin ship, and then the Doctor and Vicki went to the Rill ship. Then some cliffhanger happened; I couldn’t actually tell what we were supposed to see when Vicki screamed. Hopefully it’ll be re-shown in Part III. I’m glad that episode still survives; maybe it’ll make more sense in the original form. Grade: C-plus  

I know I read a novelization of this story maybe 35 years ago, but I remembered nothing about it, except that it featured a woman-dominated race. I watched the Blu-Ray version, which is not helpfully labeled. The disc itself actually says it contains “Episodes 1-6,” even though it has only four. For the record, the black and white animations and surviving footage are on disc one; the color animations are on disc two. For Episode 1, I watched the color animation and surviving clip.  Some notes: ·        If Vicki said something about the origin of the word “Chumbley,” it flew by and I missed it. I thought maybe “Chumbley” was a cartoon character existing in 1965 or something, and maybe it was a diminutive form of “Chumbawamba” and that was where the band got its name. My head canon was starting to get intricate, but I guess Vicki just made up the name and there’s no connection to Chumbawamba . ·        I didn’t realize unti...

I’m surprised a Time Lord cares so much about British history that he wants to rewrite it. That being said, I don’t know enough about British history to know whether or not Harald Godwinson would have been a good king. The Monk’s plan seemed kind of … convoluted? It certainly wasn't geared toward American audiences. It also seems like the Monk could still cause a lot of problems even without a functioning Tardis, and the Doctor may be inviting trouble by leaving him in 1066. You can do a lot with a gramophone, wristwatch, and a bunch of mortar grenades if you’re in the 11 th Century. Looks like I’m now at the point where I’ll be watching a bunch of reconstructions and animations. Grade: B  

In level of ridiculousness, the Monk’s “Progress Chart” surpassed even a Bond villain’s lengthy explanation of his nefarious plans . But all in all, a more enjoyable episode than the first two. And the reveal of the Monk’s Tardis was a solid cliffhanger.  And I was glad to see how quickly Edith recovered. Grade: B-plus  

Um, did something really bad happen to Edith? I was uncomfortable with the way Sven said “Well, Ulf, you liked the provisions we found?” Isn’t this supposed to be a children’s show? Grade: C  

I’m pretty sure I have this story on a VHS tape, but I feel like I watched it only once or twice 35 years ago and I don’t remember much. That could be because of the pacing. I understand some exposition is necessary to let people know Steven is the new companion, but this episode felt really slow. The most exciting part was when Steven attacked a random guy for no particular reason. Then I spent some time trying to figure out why the woman playing Edith looked familiar. Turns out she also played a cave woman in An Unearthly Child. Must have been weird being typecast as a woman from nothing more recent than 900 years ago. Grade: B-minus