Originally published in Revia Special
Video Edition #1 (January 1994)
Thirty years running, Doctor Who has been the best science
fiction series available on television all over the world
- save Chicago, which can't seem to hold on to it anymore.
The problem is, no one really knows why Who is such a cult
classic. Well, this may just help to explain.
How could one look at the program without mentioning the
great actors and actresses that have taken part in the show?
From teeth-and-curls Tom Baker and hat 'n' glasses... umm...
hat 'n' brolly Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor to screetchin'
voice Bonnie Langford as Mel and teddy-bear hugging Peter
Purves as Steven, a wide range of talented (and sometimes
ridiculous) people have joined in on the fun. Heck, even
Peter Cushing made a minor contribution to the appeal of
the show.
If ever one would doubt that such fine actors as Matthew
Waterhouse in the role of Adric are not the best, then just
compare him to Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek:
The Next Generation (if only Crusher had been blown to bits
as well). Or take Mark Strickson as Turlough. He stands
up quite well against Villa played by Michael Keating from
Blake's 7. The late Ian Marter brought to life Harry Sullivan,
a military figure whose brave and cunning style brought
Roger Moore's James Bond to shame.
So what about the women? Take the disembodied head of Hattie
Hayridge who portrayed the second Holly on Red Dwarf, and
throw her (carefully) up against the emotionless calm of
Carloe Anne Ford as Susan. For that matter, take Sarah Sutton's
Nyssa and test her against that of Terry Farell's Jadzia
Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Not to mention Bonnie
Langford, whose brilliant Mel was simply a hell of a lot
better than... well... than Pippy Longstocking?
Indeed, the performers brought plenty of life to Doctor
Who. In fact, the program would have been rather lost without
the actors and actresses. But was there more to it?
Special effects played an important part in Doctor Who,
as they were always on the leading edge of FX technology.
Even as far back as Planet of Giants, their simulated scene
with Ian (William Russell) being shaken around in a matchbox
far outdid the 'starship acting' of the original Star Trek
when the Enterprise was hit by enemy fire. For pyrotechnical
displays of spontaneous combustion, Cyril's death in The
Celestial Toymake beats even the best disintegrations of
any sci-fi movie.
This trend of special effects continued for many years
after. Who could forget the great transformation of the
Doctors during their regeneration scenes? Those segments
have technicians at Industrial Light and Magic still trying
to perfect their 'morphing' process. In fact, rumor has
it that George Lucas is still confused as to how they turned
a cactus into the Fourth Doctor during Meglos.
How could we even talk about special effects without mentioning
the TARDIS dematerialization sequence, which leaves the
traveling phone booth in Bill and Ted's ExcellentlyBogus
Movies out in the cold. The Dalek time machine seen in The
Chase also makes the Bill & Ted sequence look like a
poorly shot smashing of a public phone booth.
Even Jurassic Park pales by comparison to the Third Doctor
episode Invasion of the Dinosaurs. No one - not even the
great Steven Spielberg - could beat the sight of those entirely
realistic prehistoric lizards. And speaking of Spielberg,
where the hell is the new Doctor Who series?
Here we must move on to the next logical area of precision:
alien makeup. Doctor Who has had some of the greatest and
most fearsome aliens ever seen on television. It took hours
and sometimes days or weeks of work to create them, and
their quality shows the devotion to their perfection. What
happens when you compare one of those cheap looking beasts
from the Aliens trilogy to The Monster of Peladon? Aggedor
was much more frightening than those cuddly acid-spitting
creatures. For that matter, even Chewbacca of Star Wars
fame turns in embarassment when stood next to the Yeti.
Heck, Chewbacca blushes when he's in the same room with
Aggedor.
Do the lizard-like aliens from V think that they had even
a minor edge over The Silurains? Not.We won't even bring
Sil into the picture, though he made E.T. look like a hand
puppet.
Deprived were the Klingons, the wimpy warrior race. The
Nimons were much more believable than anything ever done
by Paramount Pictures.
Even as a leader in alien makeup and prosthesis, the production
crew of Doctor Who still had time to create the scariest
and friendliest robots around. Compared to a Dalek, the
T-1000 Terminator was useless and weak. Nominated for best
companion ever, K-9 made a much more useful device than
did the 'Danger, Wil Robinson' crying robot of Lost In Space.
And back to frightening, the Cylons of Battlestar Galactica
were so much tin foil when brought in to the light of the
Cybermen.
Moving back to serious tones, Doctor Who thusly has been
one of the best shows on the air. Not because of its special
effects. Not because of its makeup. Not because of its robots
(are we getting the point yet?). Even the squeaky voices
and shrill screams of some of the companions had little
to do with the show's success. No, it was none other than
the story. Plot has always come first.
So maybe we have to look past some of the stupider episodes
such as The Underwater Menace and Paradise Towers. And maybe
we should forget The Krotons, Underworld and The Twin Dilemma
as well.
Still, these episodes gave way to some really great classics.
I could mumble on and give you a list, but I shall only
mention a few. Logopolis and The Caves of Androzani, being
the ends of two eras of Who, both turned out to be among
the best. And on the funny side of things, The Romans came
out on top. Could we ever forget Remembrance of the Daleks
or The Talons of Weng Chiang? Earthshock was chilling, and
Dimensions In Time was... oops, wrong list.
Given the anniversary opportunities, there were many classic
occasions. The Three Doctors brought all together to defeat
Omega, while The Five Doctors pitted even more incarnations
up against the Lord President of the Time Lords himself.
Though marking no special occasion, The Two Doctors was
exceptional (if you forget about the Androgums). And The
Seven Doc... umm... Dimensions In Time holds at least a
little merit if only for the brief (and hard to hear) meeting
of the Sixth Doctor and the Brigadier.
Everybody must agree that Doctor Who is one of the best
sci-fi series created... at least, anyone who can see past
special effects. After all, the screaming companions and
bad costumes begin to grow on you after a while. If only
they would bring it back.
