Doctor Who - Carnival of Monsters Review (Revisited)

OK, its that time where I do yet another revisitation of a previous post and it will cover another Doctor Who story and this one is from the Jon Pertwee era and is one of my personal favourites, Carnival of Monsters. So, again here I will add some more detail to the performances section and flaws and one or two other bits to expand the content.   

So, with that all said let's take another look at this classic story.

And the usual warning is of course coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So...... the story begins with the Doctor (Pertwee) and his assistant Jo Grant (Katy Manning), who make a trip in the TARDIS to what the Doctor hopes to be Metebelis 3 (this turns out to be their first trip since the Doctor has been given back his freedom by the Time Lords).  However when they look around at their surroundings, they appear to be on a large cargo ship, which turns out to be SS Bernice, which as it turned out was a famous ship that went missing in the Indian ocean back in 1926 (although in reality this is fictitious and for the purpose purely of the story).  The Doctor and Jo however keep getting repeteadly caught as stowaways by the crew, and on escaping they get caught again, only to find the crew have no memory of the Doctor or Jo.

However the Doctor and Jo soon manage to find a white hatch in the floor of the ship, which none of the crew members can see, which they escape through, only to find themselves inside what appears to be a giant machine circuit board, which they try and navigate their way through to find a way out.  On breaking through a part of the wall of the machine, the Doctor and Jo find themselves in a marshland which is populated by deadly creatures called Drashigs, which the two of them have a close call with, but they escape back into the machine's circuit again.

And the Doctor soon twigs what has happened as he realises they are inside a miniscope, which keeps inhabitants in a miniaturised form, within their own habitats.  And the miniscope itself belongs to a travelling showman, Vorg (Leslie Dwyer) and his assistant Shirna (Cheryl Hall) who have arrived on the planet Inter Minor, and are looking for a permit to work there, however they are suspected as spies by the planet's tribunal panel members, Pletrac (Peter Halliday), Kalik (Michael Wisher) and Orum (Terence Lodge).

Regardless of this though, two of the tribunal members, Kalik and Orum quietly express their discontent at the present power situation on Inter minor with the current president, and on learning about the drashigs, Kalik is intruiged by them, and plans on releasing them from the miniscope to wreak havoc and force the president to resign.  Before Kalik can do this however, the Doctor eventually finds his way out of the miniscope and eventually reverts to his full size (as people and object return to their normal size when they are taken out of the miniscope's compression field).

The Doctor expresses his disgust and concern about the miniscope and he insists that he try and rescue Jo and the people inside and return them to their proper places in time and space.  And as the Doctor goes back inside the miniscope to rescue Jo, Kalik outside opens the panel to let the drashigs out, who soon emerge into Inter Minor to cause chaos and destruction, and its up to the Doctor to rescue Jo and get out of the miniscope before its too late......

THOUGHTS 

This is a nice leisurely Doctor Who story from the Pertwee era, and for me one of the most enjoyable things about it is that its tone is quite lighthearted, despite the threats and plottings of Kalik and the dangers of the drashigs (if you want to call it that!).

But the story itself, written by Robert Holmes is also very creative and intelligent, and once again the veteran Doctor Who writer provides some great ideas, the main one being the miniscope itself, and how it allows people to be within their own miniaturised environments.

Although the one thing that does at times threaten to bug the narrative is the repetition of the events on board the SS Bernice, as the ship crewmembers keep seeing the Doctor and Jo time and time again, but they have no recollection of them, and each time they lock them up, after they escape again, they forget who they are again.  But it also neatly shows that clearly the miniscope environments only last for a short period of time before they repeat themselves again, and that's the whole point I guess.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for the cast, well they are all in fine form here from the regulars to the supporting members.

Starting with Jon Pertwee who is great as the Doctor and he has his share of good scenes and lines.

And his notable scenes include the one where the Doctor enters a fistfight with Andrews onboard the SS Bernice.  And as the two men prepare to fight, Andrew warns the Doctor "I think I ought to warn you, I used to box for my school" and the Doctor replies "And I thought I ought to warn you that I took lessons from John L Sullivan himsefl!".  So when the Doctor quickly gains the upper hand in the fight, he hits Andrews below the heart who falls and the Doctor promptly says to everyone "Good afternoon!" and runs off with Jo.

Then there is the scene where the Doctor finally twigs that Jo and himself are in a miniscope and he says to Jo "By jinjo, I've got it!  I know what this is!" and Jo asks "What?" and the Doctor says "We're in a miniscope!".  The Doctor then continues to explain to Jo "Yes, you know, Jo, it's like, it's like one of those things, those glass cases that people keep colonies of ants in" and Jo asks if they are in some kind of peep show, which the Doctor says "Yes and you and I are in inside its works".
 

Jo however is disgusted at the notion but the Doctor asks her "Well, haven't you ever been to the zoo? Have you never kept goldfish in a bowl?" and Jo says "Well, yes but that's slightly different.  We're not animals".  However the Doctor says to Jo "We are to those creatures up there, Jo" and he puts on a circus voice "Roll up! Roll up! Roll up! And see these funny little creatures in their native habitat! Watch them go through their funny little tricks! Poke them with a stick and make them jump!". 

The Doctor then shares his anger with the situation as he goes on to explain that he was responsible for banning the use of miniscopes. So, he tells Jo "Oh no, believe me, I'm just as angry as you are. As a matter of fact, I had a great deal to do with the banning of these miniscopes" and Jo asks "You did?" and the Doctor tells her "Yes, I did. I managed to persuade the High Council of the Time Lords they were an offence against the dignity of sentient lifeforms". Jo says "But I thought the Time Lords never interfered" and the Doctor tells her awkwardly "Yes, well, they don't as a rule. But, frankly, I made such a nuisance of myself. Well, they banned the things!". 

And lastly there is the moment where the Doctor emerges from the miniscope and is restored to full size not long after but the leader of the tribunal on Inter minor, Pletrac is worried that the Doctor, whom he refers to as a "creature" may become hostile.  So the Doctor sharply replies "Will you kindly stop referring to me as the creature, sir, or I may well become exceedingly hostile!". Pletrac outraged by the Doctor's attitude says "Silence! The tribunal is deliberating!" and the Doctor testily says "The tribunal is not deliberating. The tribunal is arguing. And quite nonsensically, if I may say so!".

The Doctor then angrily tells them "Well, I'm sorry gentelmen but you are all in very serious trouble!" and he asks Pletrac is in charge, who tells him they are so the Doctor then says "Then you have allowed the importation and the operation of a machine that is expressly forbidden by intergalactic law!". The Doctor then goes to tell them that Jo is still trapped inside the miniscope "As a direct result of your carelessness, my young companion is trapped inside this machine, in a situation of extreme peril!". The Doctor then says he will let the incident slide if Jo is rescued "If you will allow me to rescue my young companion, and give what help I can to the rest of the unfortunates trapped in here, then I am prepared to overlook the entire matter".

And lastly there is the scene where the Doctor is about to re-enter the miniscope to rescue Jo and he has reprogrammed the miniscope to allow him to go back inside. So, the Doctor tells Vorg "Right, now listen to me. This is the phase one switch here. And this is the phase two. Now, don't touch the phase two until the last possible moment. Do you understand?" and Vorg says "I've got that, phase one, phase two". Pletrac however at this moment comes back in and warns the Doctor to stay here or he will be dealt with by the ICCA (Interstellar Constellation Correction Authority). So, the Doctor asks "Prison?" and Pletrac says "You are, by your own admission, a vagabond!" and the Doctor says "Oh yes, yes. Very much so" and he looks to Vorg and says "Phase one!" and Vorg pulls the lever on the miniscope and the Doctor disappears.  

Katy Manning also does a fine job once again as Jo Grant, the Doctor trusty companion, and Katy and Jon Pertwee always made a great team, and you can see their fondness for each other on screen is apparent.

As for her notable scenes, there is the scene where the Doctor and Jo are being held captive inside a storeroom and they try and piece together what is going on. So, the Doctor tells Jo about the SS Bernice and how it was famously known for its disappearance "Two days out from Bombay on June the 4th, 1926, the SS Bernice just disappeared off the face of the Earth". Jo, surprised says "But according to the calendar, that's today!". The Doctor then says "Yes, intriguing isn't it?" and Jo says to him "Shall I tell you something else intriguing? When we came in here that clock said twenty five to eight" and the Doctor asks "Well?" and Jo indicates to him "Now look at it!" and the clock shows the time as twenty to seven.

So, the Doctor then checks the door and Jo asks "Sonic screwdriver?" and the Doctor says "No, that only works on electronic locks, Jo. No, for this we need something far more primitve" and Jo suggests "Sekelton key?" and the Doctor says "They'd do if only we had any" and which Jo produces a large bunch of skeleton keys with a big a smile she says "Allow me, Doctor!" and the Doctor grins back.

Then there is the scene where the Doctor tells Jo that they are both in a miniscope and tries to explain it to her and Jo soon get's the idea of it.  So Jo says to the Doctor "Well, wait a minute. Do you mean that that Major Daly and all those people on the ship are in a sort of a peepshow?!" and the Doctor says "That's right and you and I are both inside its works".  And Jo asks the Doctor "And outside there are people and creatures just looking at us for kicks?!" and the Doctor says "That's right" and Jo, disgusted says "They must be evil and horrible!" and the Doctor "Not, necessarily, Jo, thoughtless, maybe".

So, Jo wearily says to the Doctor "So, here we are all cosily wrapped up with the other specimens!" and the Doctor tries to reassure her "Yes, but not for long, Jo. We'll soon get out of here".  However Jo doesn't share the Doctor's optimism and says to him as the Drashigs can be heard shrieking in the background "Will we? Seems to me we have a choice of being shot by those idiots on the ship, or eaten by those horrors out there!".

And lastly there is the scene where Jo is again caught by Andrews and the others as the Doctor sneaks away. So, Andrews in the scene asks Jo "Who are you?" and Jo says to herself "Here we go again" and Andrews asks her "You're not a passenger. Where did you come from?" and Jo challenges him and asks "How do you know I'm NOT a passenger". Andrews, puzzled asks "What?" and Jo says "Well, since none of you can remember more than about ten minutes ago, how do you know?!". Jo, then asks Major Daly "Can't you remember shooting the monster about twenty minutes ago?" and Daly confused asks "What?" and Jo tells him "It was you that shot it down, Major!" and Daly, confused asks "What?!" and Jo gives in and runs out.

The supporting cast are also very good starting with Peter Halliday as the neurotic Pletrac, who is so concerned with procedures and doing everything by the book.

Halliday has some fun moments in the story that include the one where Pletrac first enquires about what Vorg and Shirna do with the miniscope.  So Pletrac asks "From your data discs, it appear that you travel from planet to planet performing some kind of ritual with this machine? For what purpose?" and Shirna replies "We're entertainers" and Pletrac asks "Entertainers.  Explain the term".  So Shirna cheerily says "We put on a show.  You understand?" and she does a little tap dance and Pletrac, clearly unimpressed says "No!".

Another good scene from Halliday is when Pletrac confers with Orum and Kalik over what they should do with Vorg and Shirna. So, they speak in hushed breath and Kalik says "Amusement is prohibited. Its purposeless" but Pletrac says "Zarb is considering lifting that restriction. The latest thinking is that the latest outbreak of violence among the functionaries is caused through lack of amusement". Kalik then suggests that the functionaries (the alien slaves on Inter Minor that work for the trio) may eventuality rise up and take over but Pletrac says to him "Its not the functionaries that dream of power, Kalik" and Kalik says "One speaks one's thoughts". Pletrac however says "Your thoughts are as clear as your ambition" and Kalik angrily says "How dare...!" but Orum interrupts and says "Please!". Kalik then suggests of Vorg and Shirna "Since they presence here is clearly subversive, one moves that their application be rejected" and Pletrac objects "Opposed" but Orum backs Kalik "Supported" and seeing that he is outruled, Pletrac gives in and says "Oh, very well!". 

Then there is the scene where Vorg having given a fake document to Pletrac with the signature of President Zarb, who goes away to check out its validity. However, Pletrac soon returns and angrily says to Vorg "Not authentic! A forgery!" Vorg then pleads ignorance and says "But your worship, I had no idea. And my assistant and I travelled all the way from Demos believing that we would be welcome on your noble planet" but Pletrac remains unsympathetic and says "That is your misfortune!".

Kalik then suggests Vorg and Shirna have imported the miniscope containing miscroscopic alien creatures without a license, so he recommends that the miniscope be destroyed. Pletrac then speaks through a communicator on his wrist "Send the eridactor attachment to section two immediately!". So, the functionaries arrive with the eradicator and as Vorg protests "Stop! This is murder!" Pletrac tells him "Stand aside, you two!" and he says to the functionaries "Prepare to eradicate. Commence eradication!". The eradicator however fails to destroy the miniscope but Orum does suggest that as it is designed to destroy organic life that aliens inside will be dead. So, Pletrac pleased says "That is the main objective. Destruction of the machine is unimportant" and he leaves. 

Michael Wisher is also excellent as Kalik, the conspiratorial tribunal member, who wants to have a revolution in order to overthrow the president of Inter minor.

Wisher has some good moments too that include the scene where Kalik says to Vorg how it was his suggestion to help the Doctor and Jo escape from the miniscope.  And Vorg changes his tune from be accusational to flattering when Kalik admits to the suggestion and he says to Kalik "And a most merciful and compassionate gesture, your worship!".  And Kalik's conspiring tribunal member, Orum quietly says to Kalirk "Merciful and compassionate??" and Kalik smiles and says smugly "One has twinges!".

Another is when Kalik has a sneaky conference with Orum and he expresses his desire to start a revolution to overthrow President Zarb. So, Orum in the scene quietly asks Kalik "You expected the Drashigs to follow the Tellurians?" and Kalik says "They follow a scent blindly, so that primitive told us" and Orum asks "And what is to be gained by that?" and Kalik says "Possibly the world". Orum asks "What?" and Kalik explains "The Tellurians will try and escape" and Orum says "Yes" and Kalik says "The Drashigs will then follow them" and Orum asks "What good will that do any of us?" and Kalik tells Orum". So, Kalik explains "Listen, Orum. For thousands of years, ever since the great space plague, our world has stood alone and been the stronger for it. Now Zarb is trying to change our ways". Orum suggests that functionaries are becoming restless and need a distraction, so Kalik suggests "What the functionaries need, Orum, what we all need, is something to unite us. We need a sense of purpose. We need a new leader. We need a war!". Orum then asks "And how do you propose to achieve all that?" and Kalik says "By leading the rebellion against my dear brother Zarb!". 

Terence Lodge also does pretty well in his role as Orum, Kalik's fellow tribunal member who supports him in his devious plan to overthrow President Zarb.

And I will mention just one of Lodge's scenes which is the one where Orum expresses his concerns to Kalik over Kalik's plan to start a revolution against Zarb.

So, in the scene Kalik asks Orum "Do you think my plan has failed?" and Orum nervously says "Upon reflection, one is conscious of certain flaws" and Kalik asks "Indeed?". Orum then says "One gathers the intention is the escape of these Drashigs in order to cause a disaster that will reflect badly upon President Zarb and his regime" and Kalik says "Admirably put". Orum then says "To this end, one has sabotaged the eradicator in order to leave the city defenceless!" and Kalik tells him "Precisely. The bigger the disaster, the better for us" but Orum nervously asks "Yes, but is it not possible that one might oneself become part of that disaster?!" and Kalik says "There is a certain minimal risk". Orum however anxiously says "One has no wish to be devoured by alien monstrosities, even in the cause of political progress!".

Leslie Dwyer is great as the showman Vorg, who wears one of the most ridiculously garish costumes in the history of the show, which would probably give anyone a migraine just to look at it!  Dwyer has alot of fun playing Vorg and it shows as he plays Vorg as a charmer who is always chancing his luck and he also falls back on blaming Shirna if she suddenly starts talking real sense and he says "My assistant is an imagintive girl!".

Dwyer has some fun moments that include the scene where Vorg shows his relishment for the Drashigs and what an attraction they are in the miniscope.  And Vorg says to Pletrac and the other tribunal members "We will shortly be seeing the prize of my collection. The Drashigs!

They are, without doubt, the most evil, the most vicious and undoubtedly the most frightening form of life in the whole of the universe!".

Then there is the scene where Vorg, clearly impressed by the Doctor's defiant manner against Pletrac, thinks he is also a showman and he approaches him and uses some carnival lingo. So, Vorg in the scene says "I bet he understands the palare. Listen to this" and he walks over to the Doctor and says "Palare le carny?" and the Doctor looks puzzled at him and asks "I beg your pardon?" and Vorg says "Varda the Bona Palone" and the Doctor, clearly confused says "I'm sorry". Vorg then continues his carnival lingo "Niente dinari round here, y'jills" and the Doctor is then forced to ask "I'm sorry but I don't understand your language". Vorg, however insists "Oh you understand, you're a showman just like me!" and he introduces himself "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the great Vorg! And this beautiful young lady is Shrina, my assistant".

And last of all is Dwyer's funniest scene in the story, which comes near the end when the miniscope is damaged and he tries to repair it, so he asks Shirna to check a wire on the scope by saying "Well, put your finger on there for a minute, will you?".  And as Shirna points to a wire she asks "Here?" and she puts her finger on it and there is a spark and a loud crackle and Shirna yelps and Vorg says "Good!  That must be the live terminal".      

Cheryl Hall is also great as Shirna, Vorg's assistant, who wears a pretty colourful and kind of sexy outfit and her character actually speaks alot more common sense than Vorg himself does!

And Cheryl has some good moments that of course include her moment where Shirna tells Pletrac that she and Vorg are just entertainers and that "We put on a show.  You understand?" and she does her tap dance for Pletrac, who looks unimpressed and simply says "No!".  

Then thereis the scene where Pletrac orders their destruction of the miniscope much to the anger of Vorg who mutters to himself "Barbarians!". So, in the scene Shirna grumpily says to Vorg " Dim witted yokels, you said they were! Twist them round your finger, you said! Have them eating off of your hand, you said. Well, a fine mess we're in now, aren't we!". Vorg then looks a bit taken aback and asks "You're not blaming me?" and Shirna tells him "Well, I didn't want to come here, Vorg. I should have stayed with the All Star dance company" but Vorg dimissively says to her "Huh! That third rate bunch of hoofers!" and he does a little mocking dance.  Shirna however goes on and says to Vorg "At least when I was with the company I always had a few credit bars, and we never travelled by cargo thruster". 

And later on there is the scene where Shirna tells the Doctor how Vorg won the miniscope and doesn't really know how to work it.  And Shirna says to the Doctor "He won it, Doctor" and Vorg says it was during a great "Wallarian exhibition" and Shirna says to the Doctor "You know what gamblers the Wallarians are. Well, Vorg had the magum pod concession". 

The other supporting cast members include Ian Marter, who does very well in his first appearance in the show as Lt Andrews, one of the naval officers onboard the ship and his personality and manner is not entirely far removed from that of Harry Sullivan during the Tom Baker era when you think about it!

Ian has some good scenes also that include one where due to Vorg manipulating the settings on his miniscope, makes Andrews behave in a violent manner.  So in the scene Andrews prepares to fight the Doctor in a boxing match and he angrily says "Right!  I'm going to thrash this fellow within an inch of his life!".  And as Major Daly, one of the passengers onboard the SS Bernice asks the Doctor "Still sticking with that stupid story?" the Doctor says "Afraid so, old chap!" and Andrews then says to the Doctor "You'll regret it, sir. I think I ought to warn you, I used to box for my school!". 

Tenniel Evans is great as the old fashioned Major Daly and he delivers all his "old boy" lines with gusto.  And my favourite line of Evans in the whole story comes when we see the recurring sequence when all of a sudden a dinosaur appears and Daly's daughter, Claire screams and after it disappears, Daly comforts her.  And Daly says "There, there, there, my child. You'd better come and sit down. I've never seen anything like it in me life. I wonder if it'll come back?" and he comments on the dinosaur with the best line ever "What a head, eh? Gad, I'd love to have that on the club wall, what?!".

And last of all Jenny McCracken does a good job as Major Daly's attractive daughter,  Claire who is also a passenger onboard the SS Bernice and she also appears to romance with Andrews in the story.

Jenny's most notable scene however comes near the end of the story where after (SPOILER!!) the Doctor has restored all the inhabitants of the miniscope to their proper places in time and space that we go back to the SS Bernice where Major Daly and Claire chat with one another.  And in the scene they both seem to have a sense that they have had a very long and repetitive journey and Claire says to Daly "It does seem to have been a long trip somehow" and she suddenly thinks and asks "Daddy?" and Daly says "Hmm?" and Claire takes a moment as if she is trying to remember the events of the miniscope but then says "Oh, nothing!". 

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As for the direction, Barry Letts, takes the directing duties this time round and he does another great job as he perfectly paces the adventure and with it being a four episode story it never really lags at any moment.  However due to the production system of the time Letts could only be credited with one role at a time during the credits so his role was noted as being the director of the story and not also the producer.  Regardless of this, Letts had already directed several of the Pertwee stories and he does another fine job this time around.

Music wise the story features a pleasant, jaunty score from the regular show composer, Dudley Simpson, who provides his usual mix of string sections and electronic tracks that do date it to the period of the early 1970s it came from but its still an enjoyable score.  However I would have to say its definitely a score that is dependent on the story itself and its not really one I would go out of my way to listen to on its own, but that aside its fit for purpose.

Its also worth mentioning that a new version of the original Doctor Who theme music at the time had been arranged by Paddy Kingsland, who later worked on the show during Tom Baker and Peter Davison eras.  However the version of the theme tune was rejected by BBC executives at the time as it was pretty awful and the Delia Derbyshire version was used again although the alternate version did feature in an episode of this story that was added in error when the story was shipped to and broadcast in Australia.  This version can now also be heard on the BBC DVD release for what its worth!

FLAWS 
 
As for the flaws.... yes Carnival of monsters has one or two and to start off the main one is simply the Drashigs, who as the main monsters are pretty laughable, as they are just puppets, and Barry Letts, the director/producer once again shows his over enthusiam for CSO (Colour Separation Overlay, a popular special effects technique in the 1970s) and how naff it looks.

And just how bad the Drashigs CSO looks is particularly noticeable in the scene where the Drashigs break free from the miniscope (with help from Kalik) and lay an attack on the others however Vorg manages to save the day using the disintegrator gun.  And at this point you can't but help laugh and cringe at just how ridiculous these creatures look as they hardly the stuff that would make you cack yourself!    

Another issue is to do with the somewhat repetitive nature of the narrative, especially with the crew of the SS Bernice, which does threaten to become tiresome pretty quickly, but to the credit of the story's writer, Robert Holmes, it just about manages to keep moving along well enough so it doesn't drag too much.

I also found the dialogue of the dynamic trio of Pletrac, Kalik and Orum a bit silly at times as they sound more like upper class Englishmen complete with RP accents who keep repeatedly saying "one" all the time! So, all we get here is alot of "one has twinges" and "one must always be careful!" and "one is only speaking one's thoughts!". I mean these guys are aliens! Surely they should not speak in such a Victorian old-fashioned manner!

Then there is the pretty silly subplot about Kalik wanting to overthrow the president of Inter Minor, by using the Drashigs especially as Vorg manages to kill them off with the disintegrator gun, it doesn't make them that threatening as they were made out to be.  And the subplot was just a pretty naff excuse to release the Drashigs out of the miniscope, and you get the impression it doesn't have much relevance or bearing on the story other than that.

And last of all I have to say I found it a bit daft how the Doctor tells Jo early on in the story that he wants to leave the SS Bernice before they got captured and when they got captured he tells Jo "I told you we should have left when I wanted to". However the Doctor soon changes his tune a bit later on as Jo suddenly wants to leave as she doesn't like the situation but the Doctor tells her "Where's your scientific curiosity, Jo? Don't you want to know what's going on?". Now at this point they could have left in the TARDIS (well maybe!) before even maybe Vorg stuck his hand in to pick up the TARDIS within the miniscope but instead the Doctor does his usual and wants to stick around. However, I just found a bit strange how he didn't like things at first but is soon quick to change his mind a little later in the story.  

Anyway that's it for the flaws!

SUM UP

So to sum up, Carnvial of Monsters remains one of my favourite stories from the Pertwee era as it is light hearted, moves along at a plesant pace, features some fine performances from the regular and the supporting cast and its basically great fun.

And yes it does have some silly moments here and there and the Drashigs are just laughable as the main monsters of the story but that aside there is still plenty to enjoy in Carnival of Monsters and its still well worth checking out to this day.

Right, so that's it for now folks and I will be back again soon with another post hopefully before the end of the month.

Till then its bye again fer now!