Face/Off Review (Revisited) "Let's just kill each other!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, its time for yet another post and this one is a revisit of a film that I have recently watched again, which is the action thriller from the 90's, Face/Off. So, I will do the usual expansion and tidying the presentation a little bit as well as adding some more new stuff to the sections too.

So, with that all said, let's take another look at this actioner and see how it fairs 25 years onward...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So, the story begins with an assassination attempt being made on FBI agent, Sean Archer (Travolta) by a freelance assassin Castor Troy (Nicholas Cage) which Archer survives however his young son Michael was killed instead as a result.  Six years later Archer carries on with his personal vendetta to try and bring down Castor and he eventually manages to ambush and capture Castor at a small aiport in Los Angeles along with his brother Pollux Troy (Alessandro Nivola).  

Castor however reveals a plan to detonate a bomb somewhere in LA during his fight with Archer but is knocked into a coma before he can say anymore.  Archer then confirms that the threat of bomb is real but he is unable to get Pollux to talk about where it is.  However Archer's partner Tito (Robert Wisdom) tells Archer that there is another option open to them which would involve Archer having to undergo facial surgery to have his face removed and replace with Castor's who is being kept alive while in a coma.  Archer eventually agrees to undergo the surgery and he takes on the appearance of Castor (with Cage now playing Archer) with the idea of going into the prison where Pollux is kept where he must try and learn the location of the bomb.  Archer goes into the prisoner as a prisoner and he manages to persuade Pollux to tell him where the bomb is.

In the meantime however Castor awakens from his coma to discover his face is missing and he calls his gang and they force the doctor who supervised the surgery, Dr Walsh (Colm Feore) to put Archer's face on Castor.  Castor (now played by Travolta) kills Walsh and Archer's partner Tito and everyone linked with the undercover operation and pays a visit to Archer in prison where he goads him by saying he intends to take over his job and personal life.  Castor then has Pollux released from prison by posing a deal that Pollux tells them where the bomb is located giving Castor the idea to get credit for finding and deactivating the bomb which he does.  

Castor then starts to move in on Archer's personal life as he get's close with Archer's wife Eve (Joan Allen) and daughter Jamie (Dominique Swain).  Archer while still in prison manages to stage a prison riot and escapes from the prison along with the help of fellow inmate Dubov (Chris Bauer) who is killed during the riot.  Archer then makes it back to LA where he heads to Castor's headquarters and meets Sasha (Gina Gershon) who is the sister of Castor's drug kingpin, Dietrich (Nick Cassavettes).  Archer while there meets Sasha's and Castor's son, Adam who bears a resemblance to Archer's son Michael.

However Castor soon learns of Archer's escape and raids his headquarters with FBI agents in a bloody fight with fatal casualties on both sides, including Dietrich and Pollux however Archer, Sasha and Adam manage to escape.  Castor distraught at Pollux's death is soon confronted by Archer's boss Victor Lazarro (Harve Presnell) who blames him for the raid turning bloody but Castor then quietly admits to Lazarro in his office that he is in fact Castor Troy and then kills Lazarro and makes it look like a heart attack.  

Archer then meets with Eve and eventually manages to convince her that he is Archer by telling Eve his real blood type and Castor's.  Eve then takes a blood sample from Castor during the night and tests it revealing it to be as Archer said.  Eve says that however as Castor is now the acting director of the department that he will be very tough to get to but with Lazarro's funeral being planned, Castor will be in attendance and Archer could take Castor there.  And from here it leads into the film's climax with literally all guns blazing.....

THOUGHTS

As an action film Face/Off works pretty well and its an entertaining action movie which was saw its director John Woo makes a successful transition from his Hong Kong action flicks to America (although this was his second Hollywood action film with Blue Arrow being his first also starring Travolta).  The concept for the film also makes for something slightly different and unique in the action genre with both Travolta and Cage playing their opposite roles for the better part of the film.  Woo here also employs his trademark use of slow motion and visually stylised action scenes, guys flying through the air while firing their guns of which this film has plenty of that!

PERFORMANCES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!)

As for the performances things are pretty good here with both the leads giving enjoyably hammy performances.  

Starting with John Travolta who relishes the double role of Archer and Castor and he plays both of them pretty well as his Archer is pretty sombre and serious whereas his Castor is playful and psychotic all at once.  

Travolta naturally has some highlights in the film such as the first scene where he is revealed as Castor (wearing Archer's face of course, yep its confusing!) to Archer in prison.  And in the scene Castor smiles looking at Archer saying "Wooo-wee you good lookin! Its like looking in a mirror but not!" and follows it up by saying "Now I've got to go.  I've got a government job to abuse and a lonely wife to fuck!".

Then there is the moment where Archer having deactivated the bomb get's alot of credit and applause from the FBI agents back at the office and smiles thriving off the attention he says to them "Everybody I want to thank you for enduring all these years that I was an insufferable bore!". And one of the agents Wanda, asks him "Sir, did you have a surgical procedure?" and Castor a little agitated asks "What do you mean?" and the agent says "I mean did they successfully remove the stick from your ass?" and they all laugh as does Castor.   

Another good scene is when Castor does his one good deed in the whole film when he prevents Jamie from being raped and afterward tells her "Dress up like Halloween and ghouls will try and get into your pants!".  And then Castor asks Jamie "While we're on the subject, do you have protection?" and Jamie asks "What like condoms?" and Castor then expertly pulls out a switchblade and says to her "Protection. Next time, let Carl take his pants down, slip this in his thigh, twist it. So the wound won't close.." and he closes up the knife and hands it to her and says "Now get out of here" and she leaves and he sits down and says to himself "I am the king".

And another one of Travolta's best moments comes when as Castor he suddenly for the first time (and only time) personality wise becomes like Archer when he hears that Archer has escaped but is presumed dead and Castor says "Where is his body? I must see his body".  And the agent, Wanda says "It hasn't been recovered yet" and Castor suddenly explodes "IT HASN'T BEEN RECOVERED YET????!!!  Get the LAPD on this!". Wanda then says to Castor "Even if he is alive, Castor isn't sutpid enough to come back to the city" and Castor puts his hand on her face gently and says "You must trust me...he's already here".  

Then there is the scene which is one of the best visual moments in the film where Castor raids his own headquarters to kill Archer and the two of them stand either side of a double glass windowed pillar.  And Castor says "I don't know what I hate wearing more... your face or your body!  Let's face it we both like it the other way yes?  How about we trade back" and Archer says "You can't give back what you've taken from me!" and Castor says "Oh well plan B.  Let's just kill each other!" and they both point their guns at each other from either side of the glass.  

Another good scene is when Castor confesses to Lazarro that he really is Castor Troy and he says to him "I've got a confession to make and you won't like it" and he grabs Lazarro and says in his ear "I AM Castor Troy!" and he attacks him and puts him on the ground with his hand over Lazarro's mouth. He then get's up and makes a call on his phone and says "Could you call the paramedics? Victor Lazarro has just had a heart attack!".   

And last of all is the scene where Castor and Archer face off (again!) at the church with Eve caught in the middle of their guns. So, Archer says to Castor "This is between us. Leave them out of this" and Castor says "No. You should have left them out of it. Your son was an accident. I wanted to kill you. But, you took it too personally. Why couldn't you just kill yourself or let it go?!" but Archer says "No father could" and Castor says "No brother could either!". And as more of Castor's men show up with their guns and the stand-off ensues, Castor smiles and says "Woo-wee! What a predicament!".

Nicholas Cage next also provides a bizzare but also pretty good performance that has a mixture of seriousness and decency as Archer and gleeful madness as Castor.  

Cage also has his moments in the film such as the start where dressed as a priest activates the bomb at the LA convention centre.  And he afterward joins the choir spotting a pretty choir girl and he goes up to her and says "I never really enjoyed the Messiah, in fact, I think it's fucking boring. But your voice makes even hack like Handel seem like a genius!" and proceeds to grab her ass and groan in orgasmic delight (classic Cage moment!).  

Then there is the scene where Castor arrives at the private airport and he pays off guards protecting Pollux and he tells them "You're paid to protect him from everyone including himself" as he hands them their money.  And Castor then says to them "Oh and avoid dowtown on the 18th as things may get a bit smoggy!" and Pollux grins as he boards the plane.  

Another good moment is when Castor and Archer face off each other at the start off the film in the airport hanger and Archer has Castor at gun point.  And Castor feigns being scared as he says "Please don't shoot me, man. I'm scared, Sean!" and then "Well, I think you better pull the trigger, because I don't give a FUCK!" and he discreetly pulls a knife out from behind his back and signs (rather annoyingly I have to admit!) "I'm ready, Ready for the big ride, BABY!".  

And then we have the scene where Castor wakens from his coma with his face wrapped in bandages he removes to see his face missing and yells out in hysteria.  And after calling his gang they bring Dr Walsh over to him and Walsh asks "What do you want?" and we see the reflection of Castor's bloody visage of the skin removed from his face he says "Take one goddamn guess!".  

Then once Archer undergoes the facial surgery there is probably the unintentionally hilarious scene where he is sent to prison and whilst in line waiting for dinner he spots Pollux but he is attacked by another prisoner Dubov.  And Archer starts to try and take on Castor's persona by suddenly grinning madly at Pollux and then beating Dubov and yelling at the inmates "I'm Castor Troy!!" and making "Wooo!!!" noises but we clearly see his pain and anguish as well.  

Then there is the scene where Archer finally speaks to Pollux and he get's him to admit the location of the bomb. And in the scene Archer says to Pollux "We're gonna blow up LA, bro, ain't it cool?" and Pollux says "Rub my nose in it, why don't you? 10 million dollar design and those Militia nuts get to keep their cash". Archer than angles for Pollux to admit to the bomb's location by teasing him and saying "Its so fucking unfair! That bomb of yours does deserve an audience. I mean its work of art. It belongs in the Louvre!" and Pollux finally admits "Yes it does. Oh well, I guess the L.A. convention center will have to do" and Archer suddenly changes tone and smiles and says to Pollux "Thank you" and Pollux, a bit surprised asks "For what?" and Archer says "You are so fucking pathetic!" and walks off.

Another amusing scene later on in the film is when Archer in prison figures out the only the way to have his magentic boots removed is to be put in the chair where they administer electric shocks.  So Archer attacks a guard and grabs a cigarette and he is taken away by the guards for electrocution and he yells out " I NEED A LIGHT!! I NEED A LIGHT!! HAS ANYONE GOT A LIGHT?!" with the inmates all cheering him on.  

Another notable scene is where Archer having made it back to LA he steals a car and calls the FBI office and speaks to Castor who answers saying "This is Sean Archer speaking" and Archer says "Well if you're Sean Archer, I guess that makes me Castor Troy!" and he hangs up with Castor sighing to himself and saying "Oh yes".  

Then there is the scene where Archer goes to Castor's headquarters and Dietrich gives Castor some drugs and under the influence he tells them his plan to get Castor (well Archer really, yep confusing!).  And one of the gang asks "When we get him, what next?" and Archer says "Tiny, tiny surgery" and then "Yes I want to take his face off".  And Dietrich asks again "I'm sorry you want to take his face off?" and Archer says "Yes.  I want to take his face... off. Eyes, nose, skin, teeth. It's coming off!".  

Another good moment from Cage is when Archer sneaks back into his house and he tries to convince Eve that he is himself and he says to her "The last time I saw you was in this room, we had a fight when I said I had to go away again I spent the night in Mike's old bed, the assignment was to enter a federal prison as Castor Troy, just fucking insane!  A special ops surgeon gave me Caster's FACE and somehow Castor came out of his coma and killed everybody who knew about the mission not before transforming into me!". And before Archer goes he tells Eve "I know you don't believe a word I'm saying, well here's proof doctor your husband, me, my Sean's blood type O-negative Castor's AB" and put his hand on her face and tells her "And I love you" before leaving a shaking Eve.   

Joan Allen provides a very good performance as Archer's long suffering wife Eve, who is a also a doctor.  

Allen also has some good moments in the film such as the scene where Castor is as Archer, drives back to Archer's home and nearly drives right past Eve as she comes out of the house. So, Castor backs up the car and get's out and smiles and Eve somewhat bemused says "Well, Sean I knew it was only a matter of time before you forgot where we lived!" and Castor grins and says "Oh come on, give me a break, all these houses on this block look the same".  

Eve and Castor visit Michael's grave and she lays down some towns on the grave and breaks down in tears "Happy Birthday, Mikey. He took our baby, Sean. He took our little boy!" with Castor consoling her feeling a bit of remorse as a result.  

Another good scene is when Eve discovers that Castor is indeed the man posing as Archer as she has taken a sample of his blood (while Castor was asleep) and analyzes it the hospital where she works and shows Castor's blood type "AB".

So, its shocked and stands back and says to herself "Oh my God!" and we see that Archer stands behind her and says "I thought you might come here. Thank you for trusting me" but Eve then grabs her purse and takes out a gun and points it at him and says "Right now, I don't know who to trust!". Archer then moves toward her and gently moves the gun aside and places his hand on her face (in that annoying way he always does!). Archer then shares a story of their first date together and Eve finally realises that he is Archer and she says "I've been living with that man for a week!" and Archer tells her "Eve, I put you in that position and I don't know if I can ever make it up to you" and Eve turns to him and says "Well you damn well better try!".     

And lastly there is the scene I will mention is when Eve comments on her daughter Jamie not showing up for Lazarro's funeral "She stole $50 from my purse this morning and just took off.  She wouldn't even come to our son's grave so why should she give a damn about your boss's funeral!" and gets in the car leaving Castor looking a bit annoyed.  

Gina Gershon is also excellent as Sasha Hessler, one of Castor's lovers who also has a son, Adam and is mixed up their drug business along with her brother and drug kingpin Dietrich.  

And Gina has some good scenes also such as where Sasha introduces her son to Archer (as still Castor) and she says to Archer that guns are his, and Archer says "He's a good looking boy" and Gina says "Yeah, he's yours too".  And as Sasha tells Adam to go over to Archer he gives the boy a warm hug as the boy resembles his own dead son Michael and Archer starts to sob saying "Michael...Michael!" and Sasha says "Cas, stop it!  You're scaring him!".  And during the FBI raid on the headquarters there is the moment where Sasha runs carrying Adam and one of the agents stops her and she kicks him in the nuts and says "I never want to see you do that!".  

And lastly there is the scene where Sasha turns up at the funeral and points her gun at Castor (as Archer) and she asks Archer (as Castor) "Are you OK, baby?" and Castor says "Sasha, baby, I'm Castor.  THAT'S Archer" and Sasha says "And I'm bored.  Put the fucking gun down!". And after the gun fight ensues and Sasha is mortally wounded in the stand-off, she grabs Archer with her dying breath and says of her son "Take care of our baby. Make sure he doesn't grow up like us" and Archer nods and says "I promise".

And the last couple I will mention are Nick Cassavettes as Dietrich who is also good in his role and he also gets some good lines.  And as a couple of examples there is the scene where Archer arrives at Castor's headquarters and Dietrich gives him a warm welcome and says "You know, I should never have sold you those bombs, its my curse I can't say no to my friends" and Archer says "You can't say no to money!" and Dietrich says "That's my other curse!". And Archer makes a half-hearted grin at him and says "You drug dealer!" and Dietrich says "What's the matter?  You look like you've just fucked your mother!".  

And then there is the moment where Dietrich gives a glass containing solvent drugs and as Archer in a drug induced haze says of Castor "I want to take his face off!" and leaves to go to the bathroom.  Dietrich says "You want to take his face....off!" making a gesture with his hand and then says to the others "No more drugs for that man!".  

And last of all is Dominique Swain as Archer's daughter Jamie, a teenage upstart and she is also quite good in the part.  Dominique also has some good moments such as the scene where Jamie is almost raped by her boyfriend and is saved by Castor.  And afterwards as she sits in the house Jamie says "That's typical Dad.  Somebody tries to rape me and I'm to blame!".  

And lastly there is the moment where Castor (as Archer) grabs Jamie holding her at gunpoint and she manages to take out the switchblade Castor handed her earlier and she stabs him in his thigh and Castor limps off.  And Jamie hysterically sobbing hugs Eve saying "Will someone tell me what planet I'm on???!!".  

DIRECTOR

As for the director, John Woo does a fine job here and effortlessly handles the film's action scenes as it is his forte and he manages to make the scenes almost balletic in his use of slow-motion.  Woo's pacing of the film at times however is a bit inconsistent as he tends to drags things out but nevertheless he manages to keep the pace going fairly well at the right rate.  

MUSIC

And then there is the music score by John Powell which is OK but it isn't anything too great to write home about and its sounds like your average, pretty generic Hollywood action score, so there's not much to separate it from other action film soundtracks out there. It does fit its purpose I guess so its OK but certainly not worth listening to on its own.

FLAWS

So, moving onto flaws... yes, Face/Off isn't quite perfect and it has its share.

And for starters it has to be said that as I previously mentioned that the film's pacing is pretty inconsistent at times and there even some sections of the film which are a bit boring.  This is especially the case in the film's long and I mean LONG drawn out climax where after what seems an age Archer finally kills off Castor.  And the film almost has the feel of Lord of the Rings - Return of the King as it has appears to have a few moments where you think "OK now THAT should be the ending!" but it still keeps on going!  Not to mention there is also the scene where Archer escapes from the prison and he jumps off the roof and we see four separate shots of him fall toward the water before he actually finally goes in!!!  It really is overkill.   

Then there are some plot inconsistencies and one that really sticks out is the moment where Dr Walsh tells Archer after he has undergone his facial surgery he has a small micro audio sensor taped to his chest to make him sound like Castor.  And Walsh says to him "Now be careful as something as simple as a sharp sneeze could dislodge it".  OK now if that is the case then how come it never got dislodged when Archer was in prison getting the crap beaten out of him?!  I mean if I sharp sneeze could dislodge it then surely being kicked and punched in the face and stomach will certainly do it and it would instantly blow Archer's cover!  

Its also bizarre to imagine in the scene where Castor, in Archer's form while romancing Eve and taking her to "bed" upstairs, where it is implied they have sex that she wouldn't notice maybe his genitals are  a different size! Unless they somehow managed to surgically give Archer the same penis size as Castor, I mean hell, I guess they could have done that! ;-)

Another thing that bugged me was Archer's insistence on stroking his hand gently down his wife and daughter's face and (of course his late son's as seen at the start of the film) as if it was some sort of special gesture.  But I just think that this is actually pretty creepy!  And after a while it just becomes grating to watch Archer do it over and over and surely you would think his family would eventually find it tiresome as well and would say "OK!  Stop doing that!  You are creeping me out!".  But nah this is Hollywood and its seen as a sign of affection.

I also felt it was a stupid decision on Archer's part to get Pollux to admit to where the bomb is located and then instantly throw it back in his face as he calls him pathetic. Wouldn't it have been smarter for Archer to try and play along with Pollux rather than immediately call him out to his face?? Ah well, I guess in the end it doesn't matter so much given that Castor reawakens anyway.


The film also has some ridiculous moments in its action scenes such as where Archer during his escape somehow miraculously manages to dodge the prison guards bullets by diving into the corner of the room.  Also he conveniently finds a bottle of sulfuric acid nearby and having grabbed the gun from one of the guards he expertly throws it into the air and shoots at directly at two guards which explodes in their faces.  Now that is either some serious sharpshooting or its just a pile of ridiculous Hollywood BS, but I think we all know the answer to that one! ;-)

Not to mention in this sequence as Archer finally reaches the prison's security systems he suddenly knows how to deactivate it and get outside but surely to God he would have NO real knowledge of how to actually do that given that its a prison that he knows nothing about and doesn't even know where its located!  But again, yep its a Hollywood film that defies all sense of logic and convention.

Also its funny how the film is filled with a ridiculous amount of explosions such as during the scene when during the opening chase scene with Archer trying to take down Castor shoots out one of the engines with his gun and it causes an explosion in the engine.  Now I don't know if such a small bullet could make such an impact on a big plane engine but it does seems a bit improbable to me.  And later there is the final speedboat chase scene where one of Archer and Castor's speedboats (can't remember which!) does a ramp jump through a boat causing the boat to suddenly explode into flames which frankly IS ridiculous!  Unless of course the boat itself had some flammable containers or items onboard there is no logical reason for the boat to suddenly explode like that.  So again convention is thrown out of the window.   

And lastly I have to say its bizarre how Eve and Jamie don't really twig sooner how different Castor (as with Archer's face) is in terms of personality than Archer is, although Eve twigs it alot sooner but Jamie never does until the funeral!  And also even Archer's fellow FBI agents must surely twig that something is up in Castor's (again as Archer, yep it is getting confusing) drastic contrast of personality in comparison to Archer's drab and dour demeanour.  But yet again being just a movie this is never really questioned at any time and everyone just excepts it for what it is.

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Face/Off is an entertaining albeit highly over the top and cheesy action film, which is improbable as Hollywood action films get (or just about) but the two lead performance of Travolta and Cage make it worth watching as well as the skillfilly directed and paced action scenes by John Woo. The supporting cast are also pretty good with Joan Allen, Gina Gershon and Nick Cassavettes providing some solid performances.  

However the film is of course really silly and preposterous and its premise will intriguing leaves a whole bunch of plot holes that don't quite add up when it comes to Archer and Castor's biological make-ups as well as John Woo abusing slow-motion to the hilt throughout the film. But if you look past all that then Face/Off is still worth a look even 25 years onward from its original release.

So, I will give Face/Off:

7.5 out of 10

OK, thats it for now I will be back with another post at some point soon.

Until then bye for now! 

 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Remastered Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, well time for a game review for a change on this blog since I've done a bunch of movie/TV stuff and the game in question is one I have already reviewed, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. However, the difference this time is I will be looking at the remastered version for the PS5, which was released very recently and I've just finished it playing it, so I figured it was a good time to relook at this game. 

So, with that said let's see how the PS5 remastered edition fairs...

Meant to also say that most of this review will be based on my original however for the PS4 but I will expand on it as usual. 

And now for the warning...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY 

So, as for the story it sees its main character, Nathan "Nate" Drake (voiced by Nolan North) who formerly lived the dangerous life of a treasure hunter, but is now married and settled down with his wife, Elena (voiced by Emily Rose).  Nate now does deep salvage work for a company in New Orleans but he still misses the life of adventure.

One night however Nate is visited by his older brother, Sam (voiced by Troy Baker) who during a flashback sequence we were left to believe that Sam was killed during an escape attempt from a jail they sneaked into in Panama.  Sam explains that he actually was survived and was patched up by the prison doctor and he ended serving a life sentence but got broken with help from a fellow prisoner, a drug lord named Hector Alcazar (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes).  

However during a flashback sequence after their escape Alcazar becomes angry when Sam appears to have mislead him to know the whereabouts of a legendary pirate's treasure, Captain Henry Avery, so Alcazar gives Sam three months to find it or he will kill him.  Nate on hearing this is at first reluctant to help but realises he little choice and calls up Elena and as a cover tells her he has heard word about a deep salvage job out in Malaysia and he is going ahead with it, while instead he embarks on his journey with Sam to locate the treasure.

So from here Nate and Sam recruit the help of Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Richard McGonagle) to help them out in their quest.  However along the way the three men are confronted by a rival treasure hunter, and the game's main antagonist, Rafe Adler (Warren Kole) who is accompanied by Nadine Ross (voiced by Laura Bailey) who Rafe has recruited Nadine's PMC, Shoreline to help them find the treasure.  And what follows is a long and very dangerous journey as Nate and Sam try to race against time to get to the treasure before Rafe and Nadine can....

THOUGHTS

There is a little doubt that Uncharted 4 is an excellent adventure game that is almost every inch as good as the highly acclaimed Uncharted 2: Drake's Fortunate, which is has often been lauded as one of the greatest games of all time and this isn't too far off.  And what is key to the game's success next to its gameplay and action is also its engrossing story which really pulls you in, which is something Naughty Dog (the developer of the game) excel at creating a gripping story line to follow.

But also what works so well in Uncharted 4 is the characters, particularly the four leads of Nate, Sam, Sully and Elena as they are all very engaging and likeable characters.  And I also think its fair to say that the new gritty Tomb Raider games borrowed heavily from the visuals and action of the Uncharted series the only difference is the Uncharted the characters are forever bantering back and forth with witty dialogue, helping to keep the game light-hearted by comparison (although Shadow of the Tomb Raider remains one of my favourite games of the last decade!).

GAMEPLAY

As for gameplay I've split it into sub sections below as usual with my gaming posts.

MOVEMENT 

Movement wise well its pretty similar to what went before in the previous games as the main playable character, Nate can do all sorts of moves and is an adept climber as he can jump, sprint, swim, climb, scale ledges and swing on a rope via the use of a grapple hook. This time however, Nate can also use a piton, so he can traverse rocky terrain that requires extra grip, so that he can reach ledges etc. 

WEAPONS AND COMBAT 

Nate also has access to an array weapons that include pistols, assault rifles, shotguns and grenades but he can also perform melee attacks on his enemies and take the guns of his fallen foes, although Nate can only hold two guns at a time.  Nate can also perform stealth attacks on his enemies and the game features moments where he can hide in tall grass to prevent himself from being seen to sneak up and literally break their necks. Nice, Nate!   

QUICK TIME EVENTS

As for others aspects of the gameplay it deploys the use of quicktime events, where you player needs to press a button to make an action to either avoid say falling debris or an explosion and there are sequences where Nate must run away from armoured vehicles or indeed actual explosions that required fast movement.   The game makes use of the quicktime events also later on towards the game's climax during a combat scene but I won't say anymore than that but its pretty much a familiar thing in itself so if you have played Uncharted before then you will know to expect it.

VEHICLES 

Nate can also drive cars in the game or he can take during certain action scenes, jump between cars and take control of them.  And another feature relating to the cars in the game are the use of a winch which is attached to a car that Nate uses during the later levels which he uses to tie around solid objects (e.g a tree) to pull the car up difficult terrain or even use it to activate other equipment. 

PUZZLES 

Puzzles also play a key part in the game as there are several puzzles to be solved throughout the game as Nate and Sam often need to work together to figured specific puzzles to help them progress through areas. The puzzles can also be quite tricky to suss out and I for one suck at doing puzzles, so you can imagine I was straight onto Youtube to figure them out!

GRAPHICS 

As for the game's graphics, well since we are talking about the PS5 version, the game has been remastered and now support three modes, 1440p at 60fps, which is a performance mode, 4K at 30fps, which is a fidelity mode and lastly 1080p at 120fps, which is a high refresh rate mode. And its safe to say the game looks even better than it did before as the graphics are even more detailed than before and with the higher frame rate it makes playing the game that bit more enjoyable.

As for the character models and the environments they also look superb and that models for Nate and co have aged very well given the game is now six years old, it has held up visually remarkably well. So, overall the remaster has made a handsome looking game even better and regardless of what mode you choose to play, you are sure to enjoy the visuals and the PS5 remaster is a worthy upgrade.  

VOICE ACTING

As for the voice acting it is top notch and all the cast give great performances throughout and they are given some great, witty dialogue to deliver.

I won't go into too much detail on this but I will quickly mention some of the main voice actors, starting with Nolan North who reprises his role as Nate and he does a great job once again and he plays the part with a great deal of humour, warmth and geniality.  

North also gets some great lines of dialogue that include a scene where Nate is at home with Elena and Elena challenges Nate to a game of Crash Bandicoot on her PS1 (yep shameless product placement Sony, or rather Naughty Dog (the company behind both Uncharted and Crash).  And in the scene as Nate loses the game he says to her "So, why do you keep playing this?" and Elena says "Cos I'm great at it!" and Nate says to her "I don't know why people get into video games!".

Then there is Troy Baker who is great as Nate's older brother, Sam, who turns up out of nowhere and they end up going on the treasure hunt together.  Baker is also a very versatile voice actor in the gaming industry so its good to see him get a really good part here as Sam must easily be one of his best voice performances. And Baker does a great job at projecting Sam's mischievous but also charming and likeable nature as a guy who is in over his head in his search for Avery's treasure.

Baker also has some great lines in the game as Sam, such as the moment where Sam turns up out the blue 15 years later after Nate presumed he was dead and with his back turned to Nate, Nate asks "Can I help you?" and Sam says "Yeah, I'm looking for my little brother!".  

Richard McGonagle is also great as Sully, Nate's mentor, who is a wizened and wise-cracking veteran who helps out Nate and Sam. McGonagle also provides plenty of charm and humour to the proceedings and and gets some fun dialogue too. And my favourite line comes when Nate and Sam steal a cross at an auction and they are about to knock out the power as Rafe and Sully bid on the cross and Sully says in his earpiece to Nate "OK. Let's ruin this asshole's night!".

Emily Rose also does a fine job as Elena, Nate's wife who is unaware that Nate is off on a treasure hunt but (SPOILER!!) she does find out about later on. 

And Rose also has some good moments and plays her character with a relaxed charm and even though she has her differences with Nate during the game, she also ultimately helps him out. She also has some good dialogue, especially in the moment where she tracks down Nate and finds out he has been lying to her about his whereabouts and as Nate finds her in his motel room, she says "How is the Malaysia job going, Nate? Appears you are a hair off course!". So as they argue, Nate tries to brush off his excitement to find the treasure "I don't even care about the stupid treasure!" and Elena says "You should have seen yourself when you walked in here. If you're done lying to me then you should stop lying to yourself!".  

Warren Kole also gives a very good performance as the main villain and rival treasure hunter, Rafe, who is after Avery's treasure also. Rafe is portrayed as self-centered narcissist, who will do anything he can to try and secure the treasure even if he is already incredibly wealthy! Although for Rafe it is all about the glory of the hunt I guess itself.  

And lastly Laura Bailey does a fine job as the secondary villain in the game, Nadine Ross, although there was some controversy over her casting as she is voicing a South African character but Bailey herself is a white actress and some groups felt it was a racial misrepresentation. She also nails the South African accent very well, which has to be one of the most difficult accents to master for any actor!

MUSIC 

As for the game's music score, it is by film and video game composer, Henry Jackman and its a very good score indeed and it perfectly fits the tone of the game as it has plenty of tracks that convey the game's sense of adventure and excitement.  Jackman replaced the original composer of the series, Greg Edmonson and in doing so he's done an excellent job with the game and its probably even a soundtrack you can listen to independent of the game itself.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for the game's flaws... well Uncharted 4 is so good it doesn't have anything major worth moaning about but it still does have one or two quirky niggles.

And for starters I thought one of the few things wrong the game was its cover system during combat scenes, where Nate tries to duck for cover behind a wall or under a post or a bolder etc, and sometimes Nate ends up not being able to duck properly and he still takes gunfire.  This is also a problem when the enemies often come at Nate from all sides so when he tries to take cover he still get's caught in the crossfire so the cover system is certainly less effective than it was before. This is also a problem when Nate dives underwater, as it can be hard to get him to dive under consistently when trying to avoid gunfire and one time, I ended up dying anyway! 

Another issue I had with the game was to do with the inconsistency of its use of in-game physics relating to Nate's ability to drop from certain big distances without dying yet at other moments Nate can appear to be less high up on a platform but when he drops off he will instantly be killed!  So in these moments you think that's where the creators of the game had a big lapse in their logic of keeping the game's system all in check and consistent but instead we get moments we Nate surely in reality wouldn't actually even die from dropping from a fairly small height but in the game he doesn't even take any damage from dropping from greater heights!

I also felt the game's lack of silenced weapons was a bit of a pain because it would have made taking down the endless amount of Shoreline soldiers a lot easier rather than having to noisily engage them in a gunfight. Instead however all the weapons are not silenced and if you want to start a gunfight then you just have to do it the noisy way! 

Further to this point, I felt that it was a bit excessive for Nate to always stealth kill enemies when sneaking up on them and I think it would have been better if they gave you the option for non-lethal takedowns, which is something I often prefer in games (if a given choice). I mean Nate could easily just do a choke hold or simply just knock them out rather than snapperate their necks! ;-) Also further to the point of snapping necks, Nate somehow manages to snap enemies necks as if he were snapping a twig but in reality it is apparently really hard to kill someone by breaking their neck, so this is just a typical Hollywood/Video game trope.

I also felt that even though the game's action is largely very well done, the nature of it can be very repetitive given the narrative of the story as Nate and Sam turn up a new location and pretty soon they have to fight Shoreline. Then they go to the next location, they fight Shorline, and then the next location, they fight Shoreline again! And half the levels are so (or maybe more!) are just the same format action wise. 

And lastly even though the game's story is very entertaining and engrossing I did feel that some of the flashback scenes did drag the pace of the game down a little bit, especially the chapters where it flashes back to when Nate and Sam were kids. I mean these sections are OK in themselves and do give a bit of important background to their characters (particularly how they got their surname as Drake) but they do pale in comparison to the rest of the game. 

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP 

So, to sum up Uncharted 4 is still an excellent, highly entertaining action game after six years and the PS5 remastered edition really does help improve the game's experience with higher resolution and frame rates of the game's already very impressive visuals not to mention the gameplay and action pretty solid.  Not only that the game also has a very engaging story and its characters are really likeable and relatable and that has always been the appeal of the Uncharted series, its not just about the action its also about the story and for me that is what makes a great game.

So, for me the remastered edition is definitely worth a look if you own a PS5 and if you already own the PS4 game then its a modest price to pay (£10) to upgrade it to experience the enhanced version although it would have been nice if Sony provided a free upgrade instead but I guess we can't have it all! Either way this is still a highly entertaining game and well worth checking out. 

And with that I will rate Uncharted 4: A Thief's End...

9 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will be back at some point with yet another post.

Till then its bye the now! 

Doctor Who - Android Invasion Review (Revisited) "Is that finger loaded??"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, time for another revisitation of a previous post on this blog and this one will be on a Doctor Who story from the original series and the story will be from the Tom Baker era: The Android Invasion. So, I will do the usual bits of expanding sections here and there as usual.  

Now this story has never really been considered a classic or one of the best stories of Tom Baker's era but how does it stack up after 47years???  Well, let's find out....

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY

So, the story begins with the Doctor and Sarah-Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) arriving in the TARDIS in what appears to be modern day Earth in the English countryside and they soon encounter a group of men in white suits and helmets, who shoot at them with their index fingers.  As the Doctor and Sarah manage to evade the men they see what appears to be a UNIT soldier (Max Faulkner) fall to his death over a cliff.  The Doctor searches the soldier's body and finds a wallet that is filled with mint condition coins all dated the same year and he also stumbles along a casket shaped pod nearby, which the Doctor seems to recognise.

The Doctor and Sarah after once again evading the men in white suits, arrive at a village, which Sarah recognises as being Devesham, which is located near a space defense station and Sarah once covered a news story there a couple of years ago.  The Doctor and Sarah then enter a deserted pub and on checking the register find the same mint condition coins all dated the same year.  Then a truck arrives in the village that is filled with people in a trance like state, which has been driven by the white suit men and they enter the pub with the dead soldier from earlier.  In the pub they take their places and stand still in a catatonic state and when the clock chimes, they suddenly come to life and act normally.

The Doctor then tells Sarah to stay at the pub while he sneaks out to go to the space station and contact UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Task Force) and Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart.  Meanwhile Sarah at the pub, questions the dead soldier, who acts strangely and tells her to go and she leaves the pub, however outside she notices one of the men in the white suit has a robotic face underneath their mask.  Sarah then heads back to the TARDIS and places the key in the lock but it then suddenly dematerialises, leaving Sarah standed who then notices the pub from earlier open, which is occupied by a man who attacks her but she manages to escape.

The Doctor meanwhile soon meets the senior defence astronaut, Guy Crayford (Milton Johns) and the Doctor introduces himself as UNIT's scientific advisor but as he tries to escape but he is placed in detention.  Sarah however soon manages to sneak in and frees the Doctor from his cell but as she does so an alien figure spies on them from a distance, a Kraal named Styggron (Martin Friend).

Not long after the Doctor and Sarah escape they are pursued by Crayford's men but they manage to evade them however Sarah sprains her ankle, which leaves the Doctor having to place Sarah in a tree to hide her but she is soon captured by Crayford's men but Styggron insists to leave the Doctor alone as he has plans for him.  Sarah meanwhile is taken to an alien looking room where she is scanned by an android version of Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) who also was accompanied by an android Sergeant Benton (John Levine).

Meanwhile however Styggron speaks to another Kraal named Chedaki (Roy Skelton) and together they talk about their plans to conquer the Earth and other worlds.  And its from here the Doctor must try and find a way to stop Styggron from carrying out his plans for invasion.....

THOUGHTS

After so many high quality stories in the early years of the Tom Baker era, "The Android Invasion" isn't quite a classic but regardless of that its still an entertaining story that has got quite a bit going for it.  However as this was the last UNIT story of the original series until "Battlefield" in the Sylvester McCoy era, it is disappointing that the UNIT days did not end on a higher note.  Also what's more disappointing is the exclusion of Nicholas Courtney here from the story as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, one of the key stalwarts of the UNIT era but Courtney himself was unavailable to play the role.      
The story however is fairly unique as one of the very few that Terry Nation wrote for the show that didn't feature the Daleks as the only other story that Nation did that didn't feature the Doctor's deadliest foes was "The Keys of Marinus" back in the Hartnell era.  So for that alone the story does offer something up a little different, particularly from Nation with whom we associated the Daleks so much but he requested himself that he be able to write a non-dalek story.

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

As for the performances, well they are mostly pretty good here from both the regular cast and also the supporting cast.

Starting off with Tom Baker, who is great again as the fourth doctor and he has now grown very comfortably into the role.  His second season however in the role saw Tom play the part with rather inconsistent changes in the Doctor's personality because in stories such as "Pyramids of Mars" and "The Seeds of Doom" the Doctor is pretty serious but here he remains quite light-hearted and jokey with everyone.

But regardless of his mixed approach, Tom is great here once again and he has some good scenes that include the one where the Doctor is captured by some android guards who have weapons concealed in their fingers. And in the scene, the Doctor points to one of the android guards and asks what was an improved line by Tom, "Is that finger loaded?". 

 

And there is the scene where the Doctor is talking to an android version of Sarah and he rumbles her as the replica.  So, the Doctor says to Sarah "This isn't Earth. This isn't real wood. It's some kind of artificial material like plastic. These are not real trees. And you're not the real Sarah".  And on this revelation, the android Sarah takes out a pistol and says "Step back, Doctor" and the Doctor says "I knew at once. You see, the real Sarah wasn't wearing her scarf" and he produces Sarah's scarf and then he sharply swats his hat against the android Sarah's hand, knocking the gun out of it".  The Doctor then grabs the fake Sarah and asks "What have you done with Sarah? Where is the real Sarah?!".  And the fake Sarah tries to run off but she falls and her face masks comes off revealing her android circuitry and two robotic eyeballs.  

Then there is the scene where the Doctor is strapped down in Styggron's disorientation centre being subjected to an intense mind analysis machine, which Styggron has left on until it will kill the Doctor but Sarah arrives to rescue him and turns off the machine.  And the Doctor afterwards in a daze says to Sarah "Once upon a time, there were three sisters, and they lived at the bottom of a treacle well. Their names were Olga, Masha, and Elena.  Are you listening, Tilly?".  Sarah then says "I'm Sarah!" and the Doctor says "What?" and Sarah says "Sarah!" and the Doctor comes round a bit and says "I feel disorientated!" and Sarah says "This is is the disorientation centre" and the Doctor says "That makes sense!".  

Another good scene is when the Doctor tricks the android version of Benton that he is one of the androids and he says to Benton "Don't be a fool, Benton, I'm one of you. Didn't you hear the Colonel just now? The Doctor's not here, he's at large somewhere in the complex!". The android Benton apologetic says "Yes of course, sir. I'm sorry, sir" and the Doctor tells him "That's alright, Benton but keep your wits about you. Nobody knows who's who around here!" and he walks off.

 

However, the android version of the Doctor later walks in and the android Benton says to him "Stay back, Doctor!" and the android Doctor says "Don't be a fool, Benton, I am one of you!" and the android Benton shoots the android Doctor a few times but the bullets have no effect and the android Doctor coldly says "Satisfied?!". 

Then there is the scene when the Doctor makes it back to Earth and to the real space centre where he is soon confronted by the android version of himself.  And the android Doctor says to the real Doc "We didn't want any shooting until our takeover was complete" and the real Doctor says "Hello, Doctor, we've been waiting for you!" and the android Doctor says "Stand back, Doctor!" and the real Doctor then says "You know, the resemblance is astonishing. For a moment, I thought I was seeing double" and he slams the door and the crashes out the window!  

WARNING: BIG SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!

And last of all is the scene near the end where the Doctor defeats Styggron by reprogramming his android replica to attack Styggron. 

So, in the scene the android Doctor says to Styggron "Excuse me!" and he attacks Styggron, who falls back ontop of his virus container that dissolves and kills him but he get's a shot off and shoots the android Doctor who collapses leaving Sarah distraught as she leaves over him. And then we hear the words "Don't waste any tears on him, Sarah, he's only an android?" and Sarah tearfully looks up and says "An android!" and the Doctor says "Yes, my replica. I reprogrammed it to confuse Styggron" and we see the android Doctor avert into its robotic form and Sarah says "Please don't ever do anything like that again!" and the Doctor smiles and says "Come on". 

Elisabeth Sladen also does very well in the story as Sarah-Jane Smith, one of the show's most popular companions (and with her longer hair she looks pretty nice in this story!) and she is given plenty to do in the story given she plays dual roles as Sarah and her android replica.     

 

And Liz's good scenes include the one in the first episode where Sarah encounters the android villagers in the local pub and she sees the soldier who died at the beginning of the story.  And after Sarah is told to go by the soldier she says "Look, if there's some sort of trouble, perhaps I could help. I see. Well, I intend to find out, anyway I'm sure you shouldn't be drinking so soon after breaking your neck!" and she walks out.  

Then there is the scene where the Doctor and Sarah stay out of sight in the space defence centre and they talk about Guy Crayford.  And Sarah says to the Doctor "But that's impossible. Guy Crayford was killed.  That was the first test of the XK-5 space freighter. Crayford was out in space, deep space, and then they lost him. The ship just vanished. They thought he'd hit an asteroid".  Then we hear some soldiers footsteps pass by and then Sarah continues "Guy Crayford is dead, Doctor".

Another good scene is when the fake Sarah meets with the Doctor in an old shop in the village and the Doctor is somewhat suspicious of her but plays along.  And Sarah tells the Doctor of her capture by Crayford's men "I climbed out of the tree and those soldiers were waiting for me. I was knocked out. When I came round, I was in some kind of operating theatre. Doctor, I was so frightened!".  And the Doctor says "Yes, I'm sure you were.  Here, have some ginger pop" and he takes out his bottle of ginger beer and Sarah takes it from him and takes a sip and she says "That was delicious" and the Doctor knows there and then its not the real Sarah as she said at the start of the story she "can't stand the stuff!". 

WARNING: This last paragraph pertains to SPOILERS that conclude the story!! 

And last of all I will combine two scenes in one paragraph, first off is the scene where Sarah finds the real Harry Sullivan all tied up along with the real Colonel Faraday (Patrick Newell).  And Harry asks Sarah "What's going on?" and Sarah says "Its a long story.  For a start, you've got a very nasty twin!" and Harry looks at her disbelievingly and says "Twin???!".  And finally there is the penultimate scene of the story (SPOILER!!!!!) where the Doctor defeats Styggron with the help of his reprogrammed android double.  And the Doctor says to Sarah "Don't waste any tears on him, Sarah, he's only an android" and Sarah surprised says "An android??" and the Doctor says "Yes, my replica.  I reprogrammed it to confuse Styggron" and Sarah sighs with relief and says "Please, don't ever do anything like that again!".

As for the supporting cast Milton Johns does not too badly in his role as Guy Crayford, the astronaut who was presumed dead after a space flight but was in fact abducted by the Kraals and manipulated by Styggron. 

And I will mention a few of Johns's scenes starting with the one where Crayford first meets the Doctor at Crayford's office. So, in the scene the Doctor picks up an ordinance survey map and unfolds it and Crayford suddenly appears with a gun and says to the Doctor "Keep your hands where I can see them!" and the Doctor puts his hands up with the map concealing his face. The Doctor then says "These are the first friendly words I've heard since I got here" and Crayford sharply asks him "I'd dare say, how did you get here coincidentally?" and the Doctor says "Oh, I dropped on. I do from time to time" and Crayford warns him "I can easily get the truth out of you!" and the Doctor says "You're getting it" and Crayford smacks the map out of the Doctor's hands. 

The Doctor then asks Crayford "Who are you?" and Crayford warns him "I have the gun and I ask the questions!" and the Doctor says "You know, you're in someone elses office. It says Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart on the door" and Crayford asks "You know the Brigadier?" and the Doctor tells him "Yes, I'm his unpaid scientific advisor" and Crayford realises who he is and says "Oh, yes. Yes, I see. You're the Doctor" and the Doctor says "Yes". The Doctor after a short while says "Look my arms starting to tire, why don't you call the Brigadier and ask him to identify me" but Crayford sharply tells him "Lethbridge Stewart is in Geneva, Colonel Faraday is in command!". Crayford then presses a button on an intercom at his desk and the Doctor teases him and says "If you are calling the butler I am very partial to tea and muffins" and Crayford tells him "You're going to have to say in detention until you're identity has been confirmed!". The Doctor then says "Oh no not detention you see I get..." and he knocks the desk over and runs out with Crayford shooting after him. 

 

And in the scene Sarah asks Crayford why he betrayed Earth and Crayford says to her "Well, didn't Earth betray me?! I was written off, wasn't I?! Left to die in space! It was the Kraals who saved me. I mean, I was dying, wasn't I? I was being torn apart by gyro failure. And they reconstructed me, Miss Smith, in every detail. Except the one eye that for some reason couldn't be found! Oh no, I owe them everything!" but the Doctor disdainfully tells him "You've been brainwashed, Crayford!" but Crayford dismisses what he the Doctor has said and then leaves "I'm sorry I have to go now. Trust me, I know what I'm doing".   

And last of all is the scene where the Doctor reveals to Crayford that Styggron was using him all along and that he never lost his eye and was brainwashed into thinking he had. 

So, in the scene, the android Doctor has the real Doctor at gunpoint as Crayford walks in and asks "What's going on?" and the android Doctor says "The Doctor has interfered in our plans for the last time!" and Crayford shocked says "But Styggron promised me there would be no killing" and the android Doctor says "Fool! Do you reall think the Kraals will spare humanity?!". Crayford however refuses to believe it and says "Styggron wouldn't do that! He's a surgeon, a genius! Look what he did for me!" and the real Doctor tells Crayford "He did nothing for you, Crayford. Absolutely nothing except brainwash you" and Crayford says "That's not true" but the Doctor tells him "You were hijacked by the Kraals, nothing was wrong with your rocket. You weren't even injured. Take off the eye patch and look for yourself" and Crayford then looks in a mirror on the wall and removes his eye patch to see his eye is still intact and he then storms out.

Martin Friend on the other hand is the weak link in the cast here as his performance is a bit hammed up here as he uses his theatrical voice to decent effect but he is ultimately let down by a poorly written character in Styggron, the ruthless alien Kraal that intends to invade Earth via the use of his androids.

Martin still has one or two good moments however such as the scene where Styggron has the Doctor strapped in the disorientation centre as he prepares to torture him to death with his mind analysis machine.  And Styggron says to the Doctor "In eight minutes, Doctor, the Analyser will have completed its recording. Unfortunately, I shall not be here to turn it off. Your brain tissue will expand under the stimulation until eventually, your skull bursts. I imagine it will be a most disagreeable death!".  And the Doctor struggles and says "We shall see!" and Styggron says "Defiant to the end, Doctor. But you will soon be screaming for mercy and there will be no one here!" and he leaves.

Another noteworthy scene is when Styggron creates a new android from Crayford's brain print, as he has Crayford on a table being analyzed to help create a hostile new android. So, Styggron says to his fellow Kraal, Chedaki "This should answer your fears, Chedaki. From Crayford's memory cells, we will now create a totally hostile android!". So, Styggron turns on the analysis machine which soon creates a new android in soldier form that attacks Styggron who shoots it dead and it falls down and averts to its android skeletal form. So, Styggron "See, they are not indestructable, Chedaki! What I can create, I can also destroy. Science, Chedaki, will make the Kraals invincible!".

WARNING: Again references here to the end of the story so SPOILER ALERT!! 

And lastly there is the scene near the end where Styggron, having arrived on Earth, finds Sarah at the space centre and he says to her "The enterprising Earth girl! No! Don't move. The sensors indicated an intruder. I hardly expected to find it was you.  I know the Doctor managed to escape, but you must indeed have a charmed life!".  And then they are interrupted by an angry Crayford (who at this stage no longer wears his eyepatch) who says "Styggron, you have betrayed me!" and Styggron turns to him and says "Betrayed you? I used you, Crayford, as I use the androids, but you are no longer of any value!".  

As for the other cast members, Ian Marter makes his final appearance as Harry Sullivan and unfortunately he is somewhat underused in the story and appears mainly as his android version rather than the human version of Harry.  Ian still does well with what little he is given here in the story but its a disappointment that he wasn't given more to work with.  Ian later sadly died of a heart attack due to complications brought on by his condition of diebetes in 1986. 

 

And I will mention a couple of Ian's scenes such as the one where the real Harry awaits the arrival of Crayford's shuttle at the research centre on Earth. And in the scene, real Benton is worried about the Doctor and Sarah not turning up and he tells Harry "We'll we've searched the village and asked the locals and not a sign of the Doctor and Miss Smith anywhere" and Harry says "Well, he'll turn up when he feels like it. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about" and Benton worriedly says "I hope you're right" and Harry smiles and says "You're a pessismist, Mr Benton. What could possibly happen to the Doctor in Devesham woods?". 

 

And lastly there is the scene where Sarah finds the real Harry all tied up in the hold of Crayford's rocket and Sarah starts to untie him. So, Sarah says "Harry!" and Harry says "Sarah! What's going on?" and Sarah tells him "Its a long story, for a start you've got a nasty twin!" and Harry confused says loudly "TWIN?!". 

 

John Levene is also underused here in his final story as Sergeant Benton, the UNIT soldier, who is also captured and had a facsimilie made of himself by Styggron.

And I will mention a couple of Levene's scenes such as the one at space centre when he makes a call to arrange a date.  And he says on the phone "Yes, yes. Make it eight o'clock outside the Chinese takeaway. And don't be late!" and he puts the phone down and one of the station employees, Grierson (Dave Carter) smiles and says "You've got her well trained!" and Benton says "Yes, well, to be honest with you, it's my kid sister! I'm taking her to a dance at the Palais tonight".

And then there is the scene where the android Benton is fooled by the real Doctor into thinking he's the android version. 

So, in the scene, the Doctor walks into the research centre and the android Benton aims a gun at him him and say "Hold it, Doctor!" and the Doctor says "Don't be a fool, Benton, I'm one of you. Didn't you hear the Colonel just now? The Doctor's not here, he's at large somewhere in the complex!". The android Benton apologetic says "Yes of course, sir. I'm sorry, sir" and the Doctor tells him "That's alright, Benton but keep your wits about you. Nobody knows who's who around here!" and he walks off.

 

However, the android version of the Doctor later walks in and the android Benton says to him "Hold it, Doctor!" and the android Doctor says "Don't be a fool, Benton, I am one of you!" and the android Benton shoots the android Doctor a few times but the bullets have no effect and the android Doctor coldly says "Satisfied?!". The android Benton looks confused and says "But I thought that...he just passed me a minute ago" and the android Doctor asks "Which way did he go?" and Benton says "To the scanner room" and the android Doctor moves off.

Max Faulkner who was one of the main stuntmen for the show back in the 70s makes a rare acting role performance here as the UNIT soldier, Corporal Adams.  And Faulkner actually starts off the story himself very well with a jarring scene of Adams android version going a bit beserk as it wanders through the countryside and then falls over a cliff to its death.

Peter Welch also does pretty well in his role as the android barkeeper, Morgan, who serves the Doctor at one point in the pub.  And to mention one of his scenes, Welch has a good one where Morgan serves the Doctor, who asks him "Do you get much custom down here" and Morgan flatly replies "Nothing for them in Devesham. Nothing for strangers here".  And the Doctor says "Yes, too quiet for them, I suppose" and Morgan says "Except for darts club night, of course".  Yep that'll get them going there! ;-)

Roy Skelton also makes a rare physical performance in the show as one of the Kraals, Marshal Chedaki and he actually does pretty well with the part and he uses his voice to good effect, although if you close your eyes you can surely detect a flavour of Zippy from Rainbow in there! 

And last of all Patrick Newell is one of the weaker cast members as he plays Colonel Faraday, the replacement character for the Brigadier and he is given a very stereotypical British military figure to play.  

 

However Newell does get a priceless line when the Doctor meets with Faraday near the end of the story and he tells Faraday of the androids and Faraday says "I'll not have my command infiltrated by aliens!".  And the Doctor tells Faraday "They've made replicas of you and Harry, Colonel" and Faraday surprised says "Of me?" and the Doctor says "Yes" and Faraday says "Confounded cheek!  How dare they!". Harry, who is with them then suggests "I think we should run a complete medical check on everyone" and Faraday smiles and says "Good idea, Sullivan, that'll learn em, eh Doctor?" and the Doctor says "Yes but it would take too long, so we could use this" and he holds out a device and says "Its a robot detector that lights up in the presence of androids" and Faraday looks wary as the Doctor uses it and it does light up and Faraday says "The thing must be faulty" but the Doctor says "I don't think so. It seems I was just a bit too late".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As for the direction, Barry Letts takes the director helm this time and it would also be his final contribution to the show and for the most part he does a good job here although the pacing does lag in the middle of the story.  Regardless of this though, Letts does do a pretty good job overall and he impressively opens the story with the image of the crazed soldier walking through the woods that helps grab the audience's attention straight away.  Letts has directed better stories of course but this certainly isn't a bad one to finish on. 

Music wise we get another fine score from the show's regular composer, Dudley Simpson, who provides another pleasant score that has a good mix of intrigue, suspense and fun and he was the show's regular composer for good reason given that he always churned out good quality stuff and this score is no exception.

FLAWS (Warning: this section may also contain spoilers!)

As for flaws....well yeah, the Android Invasion is not perfect.

And to kick off one of the problems for me is that the plot doesn't really make a whole lot of sense with the Kraals deciding to build an exact replica of the space defence station on their own planet, which seems a pretty complex and elaborate way to try and devise their plan.  They obviously had the means to do it all in the first place but it seems just a bit daft and unnecessary for them to go to all that bother when they could probably work out their calculations, build their android army and then invade Earth without all the hassle of building a replica of the Devesham village!

Another problem is also to do with the Kraals themselves as they are pretty dull villains and remain one of the least most memorable in the show's history.  And all the Kraals mostly do is batter back exposition with one another, which actually get's boring pretty quickly and its a pity that Nation didn't write a better alien menace than this one.  And there is not much doubt that the scenes with Styggron and Chedaki really do drag the pace of the story down and the story after the strong first two episodes does hit a bad lull in the third episode before it picks up again in the fourth episode.  

Then there is the issue with Crayford and his eye-patch and how he believed he lost one of his eyes yet all he needed to do is just remove the eye patch at any time and see if it was actually there or not!!!  I mean for God's sake, surely the guy would have felt his eyeball moving around underneath the bloody patch!  But I guess it was part of Styggron's brainwashing of Crayford that he had been conditioned to believe that he had lost the eye anyway.  However it still doesn't get away from the fact that its pretty stupid that Crayford at no point would consider take off the eyepatch at any time even just a peek to see what was under there!

Then there is the laughable scene near the start of the story where Sarah takes a nasty fall down what is supposed to be a steep cliff edge, which she clings onto for dear life but its actual just a small slope with incline!  And its moments like that make you laugh at just how daft the original series could be back then and how they tried to spin moments of suspense out of something that is blatantly silly.

 

I also felt as a final story to involve UNIT in any shape or form until the Sylvester McCoy era with Battlefield, it was a pretty disappointing way for them to disappear from the show especially given how big a staple UNIT were in the early 70's of the TV show. I mean we only had Benton and the fact that Nicholas Courtney wasn't brought back was a letdown although this was because he was not available at the time of production. I think in retrospect, they would have been best to have left UNIT out of this story to be honest and just made Terror of the Zygons to be the last story to feature them. 

 

And lastly there is the cliffhanger of episode three where the Doctor and Sarah sneak onboard Crayford's shuttle just before it prepares for take-off and the Doctor warns Sarah that they must find protection of some kind or else the G-Force of the blast off will crush them.  But the two of them fail to secure themselves in one of the travel pods that the androids use with the Doctor collapsing before he could get in one and Sarah lying face up in one of the opened pods as she gasps for breath on take-off.  Now in reality surely they would have been killed by the G-Force on take-off anyway just as the Doctor said but at the start of episode four, they are both fine!  It really negates the purpose of the cliffhanger in the first place!  

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up, The Android Invasion is an enjoyable story from the Tom Baker era but its certainly not one of the strongest as it does have its problems with its somewhat mixed plot, mediocre villains and the lacklustre use of Harry and Sergeant Benton let it down somewhat, which provides a pretty half-assed attempt to farewell UNIT from the show until Battelfield in 1989.  However it still does have some entertaining moments and Tom Baker and Lis Sladen once again do shine together as they both play off each other nicely.  It also features a good score by Dudley Simpson and Barry Letts provides a very decent and credible last contribution to the show as its director.  

So while its not perfect and has its flaws, The Android Invasion is still worth a look and for me it is somewhat underrated and in my humble opinion, I much prefer it to the overrated "Planet of Evil" that featured in the same season, which I would place as the weakest story in the season and this one as the second.  And if you are a fan of the Tom Baker era of the show its worth taking a second look at this one if you are willing to give it another go.

And so I will rate the Android Invasion: 

7.5 out of 10 

 

So, that's it for now and I will be back again sometime soon with another post of some sort of other!

Until then, bye for now! 

Doctor Who - The Planet of Spiders "Wakey! Wakey! Rise and shine!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK, sorry for the lack of posts on the blog of late but I figured I would do another one since we are at the start of February. So, this post will be another revisitation of a Doctor Who story review and this one will be The Planet of Spiders, which is of course Jon Pertwee's final story.

So, 48 years onward, let's take another look at Pertwee's swansong and see how it fairs...

And the usual warning is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So the story begins with Mike Yates (Richard Franklin) who is now a civilian since he was discharged from UNIT (in the Invasion of the Dinosaurs story) and attends a Tibetan meditation centre in rural England.  Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) pays a visit to the center and along with Mike they uncover some strange things going on there organised by one of the resident's, Lupton (John Death) along some of his fellow residents. 

Meanwhile the Doctor (Pertwee) has developed an interest in psychic ability as he attends a magic show with the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) he later invites one of the show's performers, Professor Clegg (Cyril Shaps) to UNIT where he reveals that Clegg has actual clairvoyant powers.  At the centre Mike and Sarah witness Lupton and the others perform an incantation which conjures up a large spider, which leaps on to Lupton's back and disappears and then it manifests itself in Lupton's head and tells him to seek a blue crystal.  

The blue crystal in question turns out to be in the hands of the Doctor who recieved it back from Jo Grant (his former companion who left UNIT after the events of The Green Death).  However things go badly wrong during the Doctor's experimentation with Clegg who takes a hold of the crystal during Lupton's incantation and he suffers a fatal heart attack after seeing the image of the spiders.

Afterward Sarah returns to UNIT where she tells the Doctor of her findings at the center, however Lupton then sneaks in and steals the blue crystal from the Doctor's lab and a big chase ensues outside where Lupton eventually escapes being teleported by the spider back to the centre.  The spider then tells Lupton that it is from the planet Metebelis 3, which is where the blue crystal originated and the spider intends to plot against some of its sister spiders back there. The Doctor then goes back to the center with Sarah and they meet with the deputy abbot, Cho-Je (Kevin Lindsay) and tell him that something strange is going on.  

Meanwhile the crystal is taken by Tommy (John Kane) who is a simple-minded handyman but his mind is soon improved by the power of the crystal.  Sarah then manages to follow Lupton to Metebelis 3 via teleportation (as she steps on the mandala in the cellar) where she meets with the humans who live who are slaves to the spiders there who rule the planet and she is captured by the spiders.  And from here the Doctor follows Sarah to Metebelis 3 and must try and find a way to rescue her and also help out the human slaves from their fates at the hands of the spiders that rule them...

THOUGHTS

As the swansong to the Pertwee era of the show, Planet of the Spiders is a very entertaining one and overall its an excellent send off for the Third Doctor.  The story is also well noted for introducing the concept of regeneration as up to this point it had not been given a proper name, but here the Doctor explains that "when a Time Lord's body becomes worn out, it can regenerate and become new". 

The story was also known for featuring one of Pertwee's favourite vehicles in the show, the Whomobile, which was essentially a hovercraft and Pertwee was no stranger to having fun with it!  And the story also makes reference to Harry Sullivan, who would of course later become the Fourth Doctor's companion in Tom Baker's debut story "Robot" but at this stage Sullivan's character is merely mentioned and doesn't actually appear in the story.

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

Performance wise the story is pretty good mostly despite maybe one or two exceptions.

To start off there is of course Jon Pertwee who puts in his last regular performance as the 3rd Doctor and he is great here as usual and he has plenty of good scenes in the story.

As a few examples for starters there is the scene where he meets with the clairvoyant, Professor Clegg and reveals to him that "You made a couple of mistakes last night, Professor.  You gave the answer before your assistant had uttered a word".  And he goes to tell the troubled Professor about his ESP skills " Mister Clegg, your powers may seem to be extraordinary, but I assure you that they lie dormant in everyone. They're perfectly natural". Mr Clegg, sounding a bit more hopeful asks "You mean, you can find out why I'm different?" and the Doctor says "Possibly!" and Clegg says "Very well, I'll help you all I can" and the Doctor says "Good!".   

Then there is the scene where the Doctor makes a rare reference to his past and that when he looked into the blue crystal "You know when I was a young man, there was an old hermit who lived half way up a mountain just behind our house.  I spent some of the finest hours of my life with that old man.  And it was from him I first learned how to look into my own mind".  And the Brigadier pushes the Doctor re: the crystal and what he saw and the Doctor says "Well that's just it, Brigadier. When I looked into that crystal, all I could see was the face of my old teacher".

Another good scene comes when the Doctor arrives on Metebelis 3 and he fights with the spider's slave guards and he zapped by a beam from one of the guards, which causes him to fall into an almost coma like state.  And the Doctor later manages to muster enough energy to tell Sarah there is a tool on the TARDIS that can revive him but she is captured by the guards before she can take it to the Doctor.  So one of the human salves, Arak (Gareth Hunt) takes it to the Doctor, who weakly uses it on himself and he then gasps with relief afterward feeling a bit better "Thank you!  Thank you very much!".  And this is nicely followed by the next scene in the morning where a revitalised Doctor awakens and says loudly to Arak, Tuar and Rega "Wakey! Wakey!  Rise and shine!  Shake a leg!  Weather's fine!". 

Another good scene from Pertwee comes when the Doctor is captured by the guards and placed in a spider web cloth covering his body, but he somehow manages to wriggle free from it.  And as one of the captives, Sabor asks "What are you doing??" the Doctor replies "Compress the muscles.  Its a little trick I learned from an old friend of mine.  Harry, er what was his name???  Hopkins.  Er no, that's not right.  Hetherington, not that's not right either.  It wasn't an English name.  Hackenschmidt!  No but I know it began with an H!" and he finally remembers "Houdini!  Yes that was it.  Harry Houdini!" and he finally frees himself and get's up.

Then there is the scene where the Doctor first mentions the term "regeneration" in relation to when a Time Lord changes their appearance, they regenerate their bodies.  So, in the scene Sarah asks what the term means "Regenerate?" and the Doctor tells her "Yes, when a Time Lord's body wears out, he regenerates and becomes new".   

And last of all there is the Doctor's poignant regeneration scene where Sarah asks him "Oh, Doctor, why did you have to go back?!" and he weakly tells Sarah after suffering a heavy dose of radiation on Metebelis 3 that "I had to face my fear, Sarah...I had to face my fear".  And as Sarah sobs and the Doctor gently says his last lines "A tear, Sarah Jane?  Don't cry.  While there's life there's...." before he seems to pass on.

Elisabeth Sladen is great once again in her role as Sarah Jane Smith in her last adventure with Jon Pertwee.  

And Liz's good scenes include the one where Sarah and Mike meet Lupton at the meditation center and Mike is compelled to hurry Sarah away in his car to avoid her asking questions.

So, as they drive off, Sarah annoyed asks Mike "Look, what's this all about?" and Mike tells her "That was Lupton" and Sarah says "Oh, so that's why you pinched me! I'll be bruised for a week". Mike then warns her "You heard what he said, he knew you were coming" and Sarah asks "So?" and Mike says "Well don't you see, he was responsible for that hallucination, he tried to kill us!". Mike stops his car outside the meditation center grounds and Sarah asks "So, why are we running away?" and Mike gets out the car and tells Sarah "We're not. We're letting him think we're running away, now we'll go back on foot". And Sarah then gives a sly almost sexy look and say to Mike "The fiendish cunning of the man!" and she gets out the car.

the Doctor tells her about how he got the crystal in the first place and Sarah stares in disbelief at the Doctor's story.  So, Sarah says to the Doctor "You know, this is barmy. Here am I, calmly discussing fabulous planets with blue moons, giant spiders, magic crystals, as if I was talking about er, pussycats, fish and chips and the Liverpool docks!".  The Doctor then Sarah "Well, they're just as real" and Sarah exclaims "Oh, I know, but that's what get's me!". 

Another good scene is where Sarah tells the Doctor about the spider appearing during the meditation session involving Lupton and that the spider jumped on his back afterward but the Doctor is too distracted as he is analyzing the Metebelis crystal. 

So, as the Doctor is only half listening he tells her "Well go on, I'm listening!" and Sarah feeling a little frustrated by the lack of attention from the Doctor says "So, there they all were in the cellar, chanting away like billy-o. And all of a sudden this giant spider appeared and jumped on Lupton's back!". The Doctor again not really listening to her says "Its coherent thought!" and Sarah annoyed says "Oh, Doctor really!" and the Doctor still not listening says "Scientific pun!". The Doctor then suddenly turns round and with urgency asks Sarah "What did you say?" and Sarah frustrated says "I said really. But you're so interested in that wretched crystal..." and the Doctor interrupts and says "No, no before that. Did you say spider?" and Sarah says "That's right". The Doctor now serious says "Now listen to me, Sarah. This is very important. Tell the whole story, right from the beginning" and Sarah sighs "Oh!".  

Then there is the scene where Sarah has been captured by the spiders (or the eight-legs) and wrapped in the spider webs as well and she sees the Doctor enter the cell and she says with relief "Doctor!  You're alive.  I knew you'd come!" but the Doctor points to the two guards behind him and she sighs saying "Oh, Doctor!".

WARNING: BIG SPOILER RE: THE ENDING!

And last of all is the final scene where Sarah sadly hangs around the Doctor's lab at UNIT in the hope he has turned up and the Brigadier joins her. 

And in the scene, Sarah looks around the Doctor's lab sadly and the Brigadier walks in and says "Morning, Miss Smith" and Sarah tells him "Morning, Brigadier. I just thought I'd pop in and... well I don't know why I popped in really". And the Brigadier sympathetically says "To see if there was any sign of the old fellow?" and Sarah sadly says "Yes. But there can't be now. I mean he's been gone for over three weeks" but the Brigadier tells her "Oh, that's nothing. One time I didn't see him for months and when he did turn up he had a different face". Sarah however sadly says "No, he knew if he went back there he would destroy himself. We will never see him again". 

However at this point, the Doctor turns up in the TARDIS and collapses out of the door on the floor and Brigadier gets a stool cushion and puts it under the Doctor's head. Sarah then asks "Oh, Doctor why did you have to go back?" and the Doctor weakly tells her "I had to face my fear, Sarah. I had to face my fear". Sarah then tearfully tells him "Please, don't die" and the Doctor softly touches her face as she cries and says "A tear, Sarah Jane? Oh, don't cry. While there's life there's..." and he appears to die.

Richard Franklin is also good in his role as Mike Yates, who by this time is no longer an officer with UNIT and he uncovers the strange goings on at the meditation centre.

Franklin also has some good moments and amusing lines such as the scene where Mike and Sarah quietly watch a group in mid-meditation and Sarah asks what are they meditating about and Mike quietly replies "Not about anything.  They're just meditating, watching" and Sarah asks what are they watching and Mike says "They're mentally watching their tummies go up and down as they breathe".

Then there is the scene where Mike and Sarah bump into Lupton at the meditation centre not long after they had their near accident on the road due to an illusion that Lupton and his fellow meditators where able to conjure up to scare them off.  

So, Mike drives Sarah away quickly and Sarah asks "What's it all about?!" and Mike tells her "That was Lupton" and Sarah sighs and says "Oh, that's why you pinched me.  I'll be bruised for a week!".  Mike then says "You heard what he said. He was told you were coming" and Sarah asks "So?" and Mike tells her "Well don't you see? He must have been responsible for that hallucination, that non-existent tractor. He tried to kill us!".  

Sarah then asks Mike "So, why are we running away?" and Mike tells her "We're not running away" and he parks his car in a layby and he looks to Sarah and says "We're not.  We're letting him think we've run away. Now we'll go back on foot!".  Sarah then gives a sly smile and she says "The fiendish cunning of the man!" and they get out the car.

And lastly there is the scene where Mike having been tied up by Lupton's fellow meditation group, he is ungagged by the second in command of the group, Barnes. 

So, in the scene Barnes ungags Mike and asks him "Well?" and Mike asks "What are you going to do?" and Barnes asks "About Lupton! I told you I overheard you talking!" and Barnes says "There's nothing we can do. Just keep you here until he comes back". Mike however reminds Barnes "You said yourself, he might not be able to" and Barnes says "I know. As I said, there's nothing we can do" but Mike insists "Of course there is! Re-establish the link, the contact". Barnes surprised asks "You mean the mandala and the ceremony?" and Mike tells him "He's probably waiting for us to do just that". Barnes however tells Mike "There's only four of us, you need five" and Mike volunteers "I'll help" and Barnes incredulously asks "You? Why should you help?!" and Mike says "Because of Sarah Jane Smith of course! I want her back as much as you want Lupton". Barnes is still unsure and asks Mike "Yes of course, but how do I know this isn't some sort of trick?" and Mike insistently says "Of course its not! Come on, untie me!".

John Dearth also puts in a good effort as the story's secondary villain, the greedy and ambitious Lupton who both does the spiders amoral bidding but also tries to use them for his own selfish ends.

Dearth has some good scenes as well such as the scene where Lupton has just stolen the Metebelis crystal and with the help of the spider and after a lengthy chase with the Doctor, Lupton manages to escape back to the meditation centre and he goes back to his room where he meets with Barnes.

So, in the scene, Lupton explains to Barnes why he came to the mediation centre "Barnes, do you know why I came to this place?" and Barnes says "No, not really".  So, Lupton tells him "All right. Potted history coming up. Picture me, bright young salesman. Salesman of the year, Sales Manager, Sales Director. I gave them twenty five years of my life! Are you with me so far?" and Barnes says "Yes, yes".  So, Lupton continues but while he does so, we see Tommy, the center's handyman, sneakily steal the crystal from Lupton's table next to an opening window.  So, Lupton carries on "Then the finance boys moved in. Merger, takeover, golden handshake. Me, out on the streets. I could even have taken that, but when I tried to set up of my own, they deliberately, cold bloodedly broke me!".

Barnes then asks Lupton "So you came here to get peace of mind?" but Lupton scoffs and says "I came here to get power. Do you think I'm going to let go now when it's in sight, when I can see myself taking over that firm, taking over the country, the entire stinking world. I want to see them grovel, I want to see them breaking their hearts, I want to see them eating dirt!". Barnes looks somewhat surprised at Lupton's revelation and says "I just came here to get peace of mind".

Then there is the scene where the spider tries to control Lupton's mind using some mental power to torment him and Lupton gasps saying "What did you do to my mind?!  It felt like red-hot needles!  Was it this that you did?  Or no.  Was it this?!" and he glares at the spider who twists in agony as well pleading to stop.  And spider meekly says "You are cleverer than the two-legs on Metebelis 3" and Lupton arrogantly says "I'm cleverer than most of them on Earth!".

Another good scene is when Lupton is transported to Metebelis 3 and Sarah manages to follow him as she steps on the mandala in the cellar of the meditation centre and it transport her too and she is taken in by the local villagers, who are humans living under the persecution of the spiders.  So, Sarah in an effort to save the Doctor goes into retrieve a piece of equipment that will revive him from the TARDIS but she is caught by Lupton before she can return.  So, Lupton surprises Sarah and says to her "Well, well, well. Our clever young female journalist. You are keen to get your story, aren't you? What a pity it will never be published!".

Gareth Hunt even though his role is nothing great he still fares pretty well in his part of Arak, the leader of the group of human slaves on Metebelis 3 and he is easily the best perfomer out of the lot of them.

And I will mention one of his scenes, which is the one where Arak decides to try and get the Doctor's device that will help save him, which Sarah left outside the TARDIS when she was captured by Lupton. So, in the scene Arak and his brother, Tuar argue over his leadership and also helping the Doctor by retrieving the device.

So, Arak says to Tuar "Let me pass, I say!" and Tuar says "They'll kill you. Would you so betray our father's love? Sabor left you here in trust to lead us in our fight for freedom!".  Arak then says "A fine leader. One by one the eight legs take us. Soon our settlement will be as empty as Skorda!" and Tuar angrily says "The people of Skorda were cowards. They didn't attack the eight legs, they just sat there like sheep in a slaughter pen waiting for death!".  Arak then tells Tuar "But if we attack we are as dead as the people of Skorda! We must think of something else" and he then looks at the Doctor, who is unconscious and he says "Wait. The girl said this man could help us".  Tuar dismissively says "How can a dead man help us?!" and Arak tells him "The machine" and he takes a peek through the door and we see the satchel left by Sarah outside the TARDIS.  So, Arak says "There it is. The bag he spoke of. I'm going to get it. If I don't come back, it's up to you".

However it has to be said that Ralph Arlis is the real weak link in the cast here as his performance as the whiny human slave, Tuar, is pretty naff, and Tuar is always impatient to attack the spiders (or "eight-legs" as the humans call them and the spiders call the humans "two-legs").  And Arliss's worst line comes when Sarah goes to check on the Doctor, not long after he was zapped by one of the spider's guards.  So, Sarah says "He's still alive!" and we hear the Doctor groan slightly and Tuar looks on surprised and says "You're right, he IS alive!".

Then there is also another naff scene where Arak sneaks out to try and get the Doctor's equipment that will revive him and one of the other slaves, Rega (Joanna Munro) says to him "Arak is not a coward" and Tuar smiles and says "No, he's not".

Nicholas Courtney also appears somewhat a bit more briefly in this story and as ever is fine as the Brigadier and he also has some good moments such as the scene near the start where the Doctor and the Brig attend the magic show.  And the Brigadier watches a female dancer and later applauds enthusiastically after she has finished and he says to the Doctor "Extraordinary muscular control.  Very fit that girl!  I must adapt some of those movements as exercises for the men!" and the Doctor quietly says to him "They would take some adapting!". 

Another good scene is when Professor Clegg is invited to the Doctor's lab at UNIT and he experiments with Clegg's ESP powers.  And in the scene the Doctor says to Clegg "You see I'm doing a little research into ESP" and the Brigadier butts in and says "That's Extra Sensory Perception, you know!".  And Clegg says "Yes, I did infact know that" and the Brigadier says "Oh really? I didn't until the Doctor explained it to me".

Later on there is also the scene where the Doctor tests out Professor's Clegg's skills as he asks the Brigadier to give him his watch to see if he can find out where he got it from.  So, in the scene, Clegg holds the watch and he says " This watch was given to you eleven years ago. You received it in a hotel. A hotel by the sea. Brighton, was it? From a young lady called Doris. She said it was to mark her gratitude to you...".  So, the Brigadier interrupts quickly and says "All true, absolutely spot on!" and he grabs back his watch and he looks embarrassed and says to the Doctor "Surely you've got enough, Doctor?" and the Doctor grins and says "A little too much, eh, perhaps, Alistair?!".    

And lastly there is the final scene of the story where Sarah turns up at the Doctor's lab in hope that he will come back and the Brigadier enters.  So, the Brigadier says to Sarah "Hello, Miss Smith" and Sarah says "Oh, hello, Brigadier. I just thought I'd pop in and. Well, to tell you the truth, I don't quite know why I did pop in, actually".  The Brigadier then asks "To see if there was any sign of the old fella?" and Sarah says "Yes, but there can't be can there?  I mean he 's been gone for over three weeks now".  The Brigadier then tells Sarah "Oh, that's nothing. One time I didn't see him for months. And what's more, when he did turn up, he had a new face. Could have been a completely different man!". 

And after the Doctor rematerialises in the TARDIS and he comes out and collapses on the floor and appears to die, Cho-Je suddenly appears out of thin air.  So, the Brig asks Sarah "Won't you introduce me to your friend, Miss Smith?" and a distraught Sarah says "Oh, er, yes. This is the Abbot of. No, it's Cho-Je. I mean, it looks like Cho-Je but it is really K'Anpo Rinpoche. I think!" and the Brigadier, baffled says "Thank you.  That makes everything quite clear!".  And after Cho-Je explains what has happened to the Doctor and he helps the Doctor start the regeneration process and disappears, Sarah suddenly sees the Doctor begin to change.  So, Sarah says "Look, Brigadier!  I think its started!" and the Brigadier says the final line of the Pertwee era "Well, here we go again!". 

And lastly in this paragraph there are Ysanne Churchman, Kismet Delgado (the wife of the late Roger Delgado who played the Master) and Maureen Morris who are pretty good in their voice over roles as the spiders from Metebelis 3.  Kismet Delgado plays the voice of the spider, who jumps on Lupton's back where as Ysanne Churchman does some of the other spider voices and Maureen Morris is the voice of the Great One, a giant spider that rules over all the others on Metebelis 3.  And just to save time I won't mention any of their scenes but its safe to say that they all do a good here.

Kevin Lindsay also provides a nice performance as the deputy abot at the centre, Cho-Je who has some good moments in the story as well such as the scene where Tommy who's mind is cleared and improved by the crystal and he tells the Cho-Je about what has happened with Lupton and his men.  So, Cho-Je says "Tommy, you go and get this crystal, and I will go down to the cellar and see what these naughty chaps are about. Now off you go now".  So, Tommy says "Yes, Cho-Je" but before he goes he asks him "Cho-Je?  You don't seem very surprised to find me changed?" and Cho-Je smiles saying "When everything is new, can anything be a surprise?".

And last of all there is the moment where Cho-Je having now taken over as being K'anpo in a newly regenerated form appears just after the Doctor appears to have died on returning from Metebelis 3 in the TARDIS to Earth back in his lab at UNIT. 

So, Cho-Je suddenly appears out of a thin air, hovering in the air, cross-legged, he tells Sarah "Its alright. He isn't dead.  The Doctor is alive".  Sarah however, upset, says "No you're wrong, he's dead!" but Cho-Je tells her "All the cells of his body have been devastated by the Metebelis crystals, but you forget, he is a Time Lord. I will give the process a little push and the cells will regenerate. He will become a new man!".  The Brigadier then asks "Literally?" and Cho-Je says "Of course, he will look quite different" and the Brigadier says "Not again!" and Cho-Je says "And it will shake up the brain cells a little. You may find his behaviour somewhat erratic".  Sarah, baffled, then asks "When will all this happen?" and Cho-je smiles and tells her "Well, there's not time like the present is there?" and he aims his hands at the Doctor and says "Goodbye.  Look after him!". 

Then there is George Cormack who is very good as the abott K'anpo who turns out to be the Doctor's old teacher.

And I will mention only one of Cormack's scenes and its the one where the Doctor realises who K'anpo is.  And in the scene K'anpo says to Sarah "We are all apt to surrender ourselves to domination.  Even the strongest of us." and the Doctor turns surprised saying to K'anpo "Do you mean me?" and K'anpo replies "Not all spiders sit on the back" and the Doctor explains to Sarah "He's talking about my greed. My greed for knowledge, for information. He's saying that all this is basically my fault. If I hadn't taken the crystal in the first place".  The Doctor then has a dawning realisation and says to K'anpo "I know who you are now!" and K'anpo smiles and says "You always were a little slow on the uptake, my boy!".
    
The Doctor then shakes K'anpo's hand and says "Its been a long time" and Sarah asks "You know each other?" and the Doctor says "Oh, yes. He was my teacher. My guru, if you like.  In another time, another place" and K'anpo says "Another life!".  Sarah then says "Oh, no!  Don't tell me you're a Time Lord, too?" and K'anpo says "I am.  But the discipline they serve was not for me" and the Doctor says "Nor for me".  K'anpo then says "I wouldn't have chosen your alternative. To borrow a Tardis was a little naughty, to say the least!" and Sarah grins.  Sarah then asks "Well about Cho-Je?  Is he a Time Lord too?" and K'anpo says "In a sense.  In another sense, he doesn't exist" and Sarah laughs and says "You've lost me!" and even the Doctor says "Me too, I'm afraid".  So, K'anpo explains "Cho-Je is a projection of my own self!" and he laughs softly. 

Then there is John Kane who provides probably the best performance of the supporting cast as the simple-minded and well meaning Tommy, who's mind is improved by the power of the crystal. 

And I will mention a few of his scenes starting with his best one when the crystal clears Tommy's mind as he initially struggles to read from a children's nursery book.  So, in the scene Tommy at first reads a rhyme slowly "We give the flowers..some...water" and he looks at the crystal and then back to his book and he reads "We say our...".  However then the crystal begins to glow an intense light, which has Tommy's transfixed and as the glow increases, Tommy's looks panicked and he soon passes out.

And when Tommy's come around again he looks at his book again and he says slowly at first "We say our prayers" but then his reading becomes more fluent and confident sounding.  So, Tommy continues "Then we write our news" and he starts to flick through the pages excitedly reading them perfectly "We read in the book corner. We measure and we weigh. We buy things at the shop. We have our milk. We play in the playing ground. We dance and..." and the scene cuts away to the next one.

Then there is the scene where Tommy goes to the library and reads from a book, a section of William Blake's poem "The Tyger".  So, Tommy reads the opening line of the poem "Tiger, tiger, burning bright, in the forests of the night. What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?".  And he says to himself in his old voice "That's pretty!" but then he says in his more intelligent voice "No, that's beautiful" and he starts to pick books off the shelf.  

And lastly there is the scene where Tommy helps the Doctor and Sarah escape Lupton's men, who have been taken over by the spiders.  So, Tommy shouts to the Doctor "Quickly, Doctor!  This way!" and he leads them out.  So, as they leave, Tommy says to them "We better get out of here" but Sarah sees that Tommy's mind has been improved by the crystal and she says "But Tommy, you're normal! You're just like everyone else!" and Tommy says "I sincerely hope not!".

And finally the last four members I will mention are firstly Christopher Burgess as Barnes, Lupton's right hand man at the meditation centre, who is actually quite a sympathetic character really, who is really just at the meditation centre to get "some peace of mind" and simply follows Lupton's lead.  Then there are Lupton's other meditation fellows played by Carl Forgione, Andrew Staines and Terence Lodge, who all do well enough in their brief respective roles as Land, Keaver and Moss.

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 
 
Direction wise, Barry Letts does a good job with the story as it was one of the handful of stories he directed for the show during the Pertwee era and he paces the story not too badly and allows for the usual mix of fun, action and drama.  Letts had also produced almost the entire Pertwee era but this wouldn't be his last story on Doctor Who, as he went on to be the producer of Tom Baker's debut story "Robot" and also he would later direct his finale story "The Android Invasion" also during Baker's era as the Fourth Doctor. Letts however was both the director and producer for this serial, so I believe he would only be given one credit due to one person only being eligible for one credit onscreen at that time.

The story also features a pretty good score by its regular composer, Dudley Simpson, who by this time had started to move away from his more electronic compositions and now onto using more traditional orchestral instruments for his scores.  And this is a marked improvement over the former sound of the earlier Pertwee stories from Simpson's scores, which were just a bit too overly reliant on synthesizers.    
FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for flaws..... well Planet of the Spiders sure isn't the perfect Doctor Who story as for starters it suffers that problem that a lot of six part stories did in the show in that it is just a bit too long and it feels pretty padded out in certain scenes and again it would have benefited more from being a four parter than six. 

The sub-plot involving the humans as slaves on Metebelis 3 is also pretty tedious overall and the characters are pretty dull and who would have thought that humans would have been upstaged by arachnids!  And while Lupton makes for a pretty good character it has to be said that his subordinates let the side down as all they do mostly is stand around arguing with one another most of the time, which again drags the story down during their scenes.

And further to my point about the story being padded out it has to be said that most of episode two is a case in point where the Doctor engages in a very lengthy chase going after Lupton by different methods of travel such as car, boat, gyrocopter and the Whomobile, which overall is pretty tedious and could easily have been trimmed. 

And it has to be said in regards to that whole sequence that at the end of it Lupton ends up being teleported away by the spider back to the centre and that begs the question: why didn't the spider and Lupton do that in the first place????!!!  And if they did it would have made the story that bit tauter and we wouldn't needed to have bothered with all that pointless chasing about!  However I think that was in part due to the fact that Pertwee loved using the show's different transport gadgets, especially the Whomobile so they obviously must have worked all that in just so he could use it.

I also thought it was a bit daft of Lupton, as clever as he thinks he is, to actually go back to his room after he retrieved the blue crystal and evaded the Doctor in a big chase, and leave his bedroom window wide open just conveniently enough for Tommy sneak by and steal the crystal from right under his nose!  To be fair though, they do convey that Lupton was feeling a bit hot and sweaty, so he opened the window to get some air and he didn't see Tommy steal the crystal.  However when he was chatting to the spider after, its surprising to see how long it took him to notice that the crystal was even gone! 

Anyway, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP
 
So, to sum up, "Planet of the Spiders" remains an excellent story and a very fine send-off for Jon Pertwee as the Doctor and he even gets a touching final scene, which is nicely underplayed unlike the new Doctor Who series where the program makers demand that you cry buckets of tears and jack the emotions up to 11! The story also has a very good script by Robert Sloman and the performances, especially from Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen, John Kane, John Dearth and Kismet Delgado are very good.

The story is however just a bit too long given that it is a six parter and it could easily have done without the whole subplot of the humans on Metebelis 3, which remains the story's main weakness.  However despite all this it doesn't take away from what a very enjoyable and fitting send-off for Jon Pertwee as the 3rd Doctor, who's portrayal was one of the most popular and well loved overall from the series and he's my personal second favourite (with Tom Baker at the top of the list for me). 

So, I will give The Planet of Spiders:

9 out of 10 

And that's it for this one and I will be back soon with yet another post. 

Till then its bye for now!