OK, time for a new post and this one marks the 450th post of this blog so far, which is pretty good going as it has been nearly on the go for 5 years now!
And as I previously mentioned at the end of my last post, this one is going be on the debut Peter Davison story from Doctor Who: Castrovalva. So how does Peter's debut story hold up??? Well let's take a look.....
And yes the usual warning is coming....
PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
STORY
So, the story begins with the newly regenerated 5th Doctor (Peter D) escaping from the site of the Pharos project (from the end of Tom Baker's last story, Logopolis) with the help of his companions, Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton). Back inside the TARDIS however, the Doctor is feeling weak from his regeneration and he tells Tegan and Nyssa that he must go to the zero room, which is a room to aid Time Lords with the use of healing technology.
Tegan and Nyssa meanwhile try and pilot the TARDIS with the help of a terminal at the console but they soon find that the TARDIS is locked in on a collision course for "Event one" i.e. the Big Bang, which is soon revealed to be a trap set by the Master (Anthony Ainley). With Adric missing (as he ha been captured by the Master) Tegan and Nyssa manage to get the Doctor's help who remains lucid long enough for him to give instructions on how to save the TARDIS by jettisoning some of its rooms, which will propel them back into conventional time.
However as the Doctor becomes delirious again and Nyssa takes him to where the zero room was, they find that it was one of the rooms that was jettisoned, so Nyssa makes up a zero room cabinet for the Doctor lie in, so he can continue to heal. Tegan meanwhile reads up information from the TARDIS terminal on a place called Castrovalva, which would be an ideal location for the Doctor to recover, which is part of a civilisation that does not depend on modern technology.
On arriving at Castrovalva, Tegan and Nyssa carry the Doctor in his cabinet but they soon have to put down the cabinet and as they look around, the come back and soon find the cabinet is empty and the Doctor missing. The Doctor himself is captured by warriors that protect the dwellings of simplicity where he is taken to and care for by Shardovan (Derek Waring) and he also meets the elderly Portreeve.
Tegan and Nyssa soon rejoin with the Doctor, who after a night's sleep appears to have fully recovered from his regeneration but as they try and leave the dwellings they find themselves back at the same spot in a plaza square of the city. The Doctor soon realises that the dwellings are in fact fake and part of a space-time trap set by the Master, who is disguised as the Portreeve and is using Adric's mathematical skills to create the dwellings with the help of the block transfer computations from Logopolis.
So its from there here the Doctor must try and find a way to stop the Master, escape the dwellings and rescue Adric......
THOUGHTS
As a debut story, Castrovalva is an enjoyable opener for the Peter Davison era and it sees another complex but interesting storyline from Christopher H. Bidmead, who had previously written Logopolis, Tom Baker's finale. The Doctor's regeneration also plays its part in that in remains one of the Doctor's most traumatic regenerations that leaves him in a weakened state for most of the story where we see him blabbering incoherently and even doing impressions of his earlier selves, most notably the first, second and third doctors.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES
As the performances well things are mostly pretty good here.
Starting with Peter Davison, who turns in a very solid performance in his debut as the fifth doctor and he plays with a mix of babbling vulnerability but also a boyish charm and sense of humour.
Peter has some good moments in the story that include the scene where on the TARDIS, the Doctor, who is still feeling the effect of his regenation, has started to unravel the fourth doctor's big scarf as he wanders around the corridors. And as the Doctor as joined with Adric, the Doctor says as he rips up his old waiscoat "I left a waistcoat like that on. Ever been to Alzarius?" and Adric says "I was born there, Doctor" and the Doctor says "Really? Its a small universe, isn't it?". The Doctor then turns to Adric and mimics the first doctor and asks him "I wonder, boy, what would you do if you were me, hmmm?!" but then he appears confused and says in his normal voice "Or perhaps I should ask, what would I do if I were me".
Then in his next scene, Peter as the Doctor, begins to really struggle physically with the effects of his regeneration and he begins to sound like the second doctor. So as he get's lost wandering around the corridors of the TARDIS he says "Oh dear. We've wandered into the wrong corridor. We must be close to the main Tardis drive now. Jamie. Jamie, you go back!". However, Adric says "No, Doctor. I must stay with you!" and the Doctor tells him "No, nonsense, be sensible, go back! When I say run, run! Don't you understand? The regeneration is failing!".
Another good scene is when the Doctor lies inside his zero cabinet to help him recover and he says to Tegan and Nyssa as they have arrived on Castrovalva "You won't feel my weight. I'll make it easy for you. I'll be levitating". However as Tegan and Nyssa go outside into the woodlands of Castrovalva, they start to carry the cabinet but it becomes to heavy and they are forced to drop it and the Doctor opens the door of the cabinet and says "So sorry. Lost concentration for a moment. Very tired!".
Then there is the funny scene where the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa try to escape the dwellings of simplicity only to find themselves at the same spot in the town square. So, the Doctor stops and asks some locals, who are washing and folding "Which is the quickest way out of here?" and they all point in different directions and the Doctor says "Yes, well that's democracy for you!". But then the Doctor soon realises that Castrovalva isn't all it appears to be and he says to the others "Recursive occlusion. Someone's manipulating Castrovalva. We're caught in a space-time trap!" as we see various views of the city merge with each other.
And last of all is the scene where the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric at the end of the story make it back to where the TARDIS is located. And Nyssa asks the Doctor "Are you sure you're up to flying the TARDIS?" and the Doctor says "Oh, I think so. In fact, I feel quite like my old self. Well..." and Tegan asks "Yes?" and the Doctor continues with a smile "Well, whoever I feel like, its absolutely splendid!".
Matthew Waterhouse next up does OK as Adric, even though Adric is widely regarded as one of the least popular companions of the Doctor, Matthew still does what he can with the role. However I do have to admit myself that Adric is a bit of whiny little teenage brat but here he does at least have something to whine about as Adric has been captured by the Master to do his evil bidding.
I will only mention one scene for Matthew and that's the one where Adric suddenly appears in the mirror in the Doctor's room on Castrovalva and Nyssa sees him. And Nyssa reacts in surprise "Adric!" and Adric tells her in hushed urgent tone "No, don't turn around. Just listen, and listen quickly. The Master mustn't find me here". And Nyssa asks "He's in Castrovalva?" and Adric says "He can find me anywhere because I'm still in his power, but you mustn't let the Doctor know". However Nyssa says "We have to tell him" and Adric insists "No, rescuing me can wait. Just listen. The Doctor must remain in Castrovalva until his regeneration is complete!". So, Nyssa says "Wait, I'll get Tegan" but Adric says "No, you mustn't tell anybody you saw me. Nobody, you understand!" and he vanishes.
Janet Fielding does very well in her role as Tegan, the Doctor's feisty companion, who is now part of the TARDIS crew after meeting the Doctor, Adric and Nyssa in Logopolis.
Janet has some good scenes that include the one where Tegan attempts to pilot the TARDIS to Castrovalva but it ends up landing on its side in the woods. And Tegan shouts "Touchdown! We've made it! We've made it!" and Tegan takes a look outside the TARDIS doors and sees that the ship has landed in a lop-sided position. So Tegan says to herself "Not up to CAA standard, but a landing's a landing! Castrovalva can't be far".
Then there is the scene where Tegan and Nyssa start to push the Doctor's zero cabinet through the woods of Castrovalva by sitting it up on the Doctor's wheelchair, which he used earlier. And as they push the wheelchair, Nyssa says to Tegan "I think he's got heavier" and Tegan says "I hope you're wrong" and she says to the cabinet "Come on, Doctor. Help us to you help you!".
And lastly there is the scene at the end of the story where the Doctor and his companions return to where the TARDIS is located and the Doctor looks surprised to see it in its lop-sided position. So, the Doctor asks "Who landed this?" and Tegan proudly says "I did, Doctor" and the Doctor asks "You flew the TARDIS?" and Tegan satisifed says "I followed the instructions in the computer". However, the Doctor bursts her bubble by telling her "There aren't any. It was a projection" and this leaves Tegan disappointed "So, I didn't fly it?" and the Doctor tells her "Adric pre-programmed it. Whatever you did, we'd have ended up in Castrovalva" and Tegan says "Oh, how disappointing!".
Sarah Sutton next is also good in her role as Nyssa and it has to be said that Nyssa remains one of the cutest companions in the original series (for me anyway!).
Sarah also has some good moments that include the scene where Tegan and Nyssa learn that the Master has set a trap for the TARDIS to fly on course into the big bang. And Nyssa looks horrified as she says to Tegan "The creation of the galaxy out of a huge in-rush of hydrogen. We're heading straight into the biggest explosion in history!". And then we cut to the Master, who is in his TARDIS and he waves to Tegan and Nyssa as he appears on the TARDIS's scanner screen he says "Farewell, my friends. Farewell forever!". And Nyssa says with disgust "That face. I hate it!" and Tegan says "We must do something" and Nyssa says "There's only one thing we can do!" and Nyssa switches of the TARDIS scanner and Tegan asks "And?" and Nyssa says "And that's all!".
Then there is the scene where Tegan and Nyssa are in the dwellings of simplicity on Castrovalva and they wait outside the Doctor's room. And Nyssa says to Tegan "We have to tell the Doctor about Adric" and Tegan says "Are you sure? He's still not very strong" and Nyssa says one of her best lines "We must. We have to think of Adric too. I know so little about telebiogenesis. If only there were some books here".
Anthony Ainley returns again here as the Master and he does another good job in hamming it up even though his depiction of the role would never be as good as the original as played by the late Roger Delgado.
Ainley does have some good moments also that include the scene where the Master thinks he has destroyed the Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and the TARDIS and he gloats to Adric, who trapped in the Master's web.
So in the scene the Masters says to Adric "The universe is purged of the Doctor and his impossible dreams of goodness. You and I belong to the future" and Adric says "The Doctor was doomed. I see that now". And the Master says "He might've escaped from the in-rush. Yes, even that was a possibility. But I had installed a trap behind that trap that would have been a joy to spring" and Adric asks "Yet another trap?" and the Master replies "A journey back in time. Long awaited". However the Master notices something as interference appears on his scanner, he glares at Adric and says "Residual voltage? You're receiving an image! What are you concealing from me? Some distant event beyond the range of my own scanner? I'll burn through your barrier, boy. Bring it to me!". Adric then shouts defiantly "No!! No!!" and then the Master looks in surprise as he sees the TARDIS reappear on the scanner and he says "It can't be!".
And lastly there is the scene where the Master (SPOILER!!) reveals himself on Castrovalva in the dwellings of simplicity as he was disguised as the elderly Portreeve and he tries to break into the Doctor's zero cabinet, which he still believes him to be in. So the Master angrily says "I have waited patiently with this trap of mine. My Castrovalva!" and Nyssa says "But there is a real Castrovalva. Its mentioned in the TARDIS databank!". The Master however tells Nyssa "The boy Adric entered it there at my command" and Tegan demands "Where is Adric? What have you done with him?" and the Master angrily says " The boy is nothing. I want the Doctor. One long last look before I destroy him utterly!". So, the Master tries to pry open the zero cabinet with an iron but to no avail.
However as the Master fails to open the cabinet, he turns to Nyssa and demands "Open this for me!" and Nyssa tells him "Don't you understand anything about zero structures? The internal interfaces are bonded by strong-force interaction. The surfaces can only be separated from inside the Cabinet!". However the Master refuses to accept this and he says "Don't try to make a fool of me!" and he continues to try and prise the cabinet open with an iron from the fireplace.
As for the supporting cast members, well I will only mention two of them as it is a rather small cast for a change (phew! saves on loads of typing!). So the first actor I will mention is Derek Waring as Shardovan, a librarian in the dwellings of simplicity and his performance is pretty good overall although to save time I won't mention any of his dialogue or scenes. And second and last of all is Michael Sheard, who provides a solid performance as Mergrave, one of the inhabitants of Castrovalva and the dwellings. Sheard also appeared in several other Doctor Who stories throughout the original show's run that started with the William Hartnell in "The Ark" and ended with the Sylvester McCoy story "Rememberance of the Daleks".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
As for the director, Fiona Cumming, takes the helm and she does a pretty good job here with the story as it moves along at a rather pleasant pace, similar as to how Logopolis ran. Cumming must also have been one of the earliest female directors to have worked on the show as I don't recall that many female directors working on the show prior to her. Cumming also would direct a couple of episodes of the sci-fi show, Blake's 7 also and sadly she would later pass away in 2015 at the age of 77.
As for the music score, Paddy Kingsland, once again provides the score for this story as he did with Logopolis and its another pleasant jantuy soundtrack, which fits the tone of the story, yet also features of course a few dangerous sounding passages to break up the overall light heartedness of it all. The score remains somewhat unmemorable but it does suit its purposes for the story overall and its inoffensive and listenable enough.
FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)
As for flaws....yes Castrovalva certainly isn't quite perfect.
And for starters one of the problems I had with it is to do with again Christopher H. Bidmead's overly complex script as it tends to try and baffle its audience at times. One example of which is to do with the whole idea of Castrovalva being a space-time trap devised by the Master. It all gets a bit bogged down with details to do with the block computation stuff from Logopolis and its like Bidmead wants to baffle the audience!
Another issue is to do morely with John Nathan Turner's decisions to do with the show itself and one of the biggest annoyances comes in the form of the Doctor's new outfit, which like Tom Baker's before, had question marks on the lapels of his jacket! Now, why the hell did JNT feel the need to put question marks on the Doctor's clothes??? I mean it just makes things look pretty unsubtle and garish, which is something that can be said of the whole JNT era in general!
Also, why does the Doctor suddenly decide to wear a stick of celery on the lapel of his jacket?? And of course in this story we see him eat a stick of celery while he is in the dwellings of simplicity, so yeah OK fine with that. However when they bother to even take a stick of celery and put it on your jacket in the first place???! The Doctor would later explain in Davison's final story "The Caves of Androzani" that it alerts him to changes in the atmosphere but it takes up until his last story before we get any clarification on that anyway!
I also felt that the supporting characters in the story are also pretty weak with both Shardovan and Mergrave being a bit dull and faceless and this tends to let the side down a bit here. And this could be said to be a weakness of Bidmead's writing as he tends not to write the best supporting characters in his stories.
And lastly I think its safe to say that the levitation of the Doctor while he is in the zero room is pretty cheesy and daft looking to say the least! I mean the naff visual effect of CSO (Colour Separation Overlay) was often overused in the show and here it is used again and it makes the Doctor's levitation look far from convincing!
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So in summing up, Castrovalva is an enjoyable start to the Peter Davison era of Doctor Who and its story is involving enough to keep most fans and viewers interested in it. It also features an engaging performance by Davison in his debut of the role as well as some good performances by the regular cast and Anthony Ainley hams it nicely once more as the Master.
It does have some problems though with its complex plot and there are also some plot niggles and yes JNT once again does it the question marks on the Doctor's outfit. But if you can live with that there is still a fair bit to enjoy here with Castrovala and it get's the Peter Davison era off to a good start.
Right, so that's it for now and I'll return soon with yet another review of sorts.
So, till the next one, its bye for now.
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