The Doctor Who Thread - Page 547

Demdike@Cult Labs · #**5461** 21st February 2017, 09:47 PM

@ Inspector Abberline

Can't wait to read your thoughts on The Mind of Evil. One of my favourite third Doctor stories.

Inspector Abberline · #**5462** 22nd February 2017, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

@ Inspector Abberline

Can't wait to read your thoughts on The Mind of Evil. One of my favourite third Doctor stories.

Yes,I shall give it a good coat of looking at over the next few days....

Demdike@Cult Labs · #**5463** 22nd February 2017, 08:10 AM

The Mind of Evil (1971)

Demdike@Cult Labs · #**5464** 22nd February 2017, 05:32 PM

Daemos Rising (2004)

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart responds to a messagge from an ex-UNIT operative, Douglas Cavendish, turning up at his secluded country cottage she finds herself caught up in ancient rituals involving the return of a demonic power that her father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart helped defeat years earlier. A Daemon has been summoned and is set to return to Earth.

Direct to dvd sequel / spin off of the classic Jon Pertwee story The Daemons. Daemos Rising is a low budget affair, in fact it's very low budget, however that shouldn't put you off. It's a mere 54 minutes and it flies by. It's very moody and atmospheric, the way the mist shrouds the eerie demonic statue throughout is very chilling, and is superbly acted by Beverley Cressman, Miles Richardson and Andrew Wisher with a voice over cameo by the great screen actor Ian Richardson. Tension develops throughout and when the Daemon appears, in CGI guise, everything comes to the boil. Despite being low budget it's technically very good with great sound and a fine score and is well directed by Keith Barnfather and the night time cave photography is outstanding.

As with productions such as this or the Big Finish audio plays, it's common to ask is it canon in the Doctor Who universe? Well, in the case of Daemos Rising i'd say that's a very big yes. The character of Kate, the Brigadier's daughter originated here (In the earlier story Downtime initially but brought to the fore here) and was later brought into 21st century Doctor Who by Steven Moffat in the 2013 story The Power of Three and has been a recurring character since. It's surprising how much Cressman looks like Jemma Redgrave who plays Kate in Nu-Who. As well as the Daemons returning there is also another well known Pertwee threat on show, but i won't spoil it here for anyone who wishes to watch this for themselves. Finally there's a major discussion of UNIT's infamous Black Archive. Again this is a plot point introduced here that has featured in both 21st century Doctor Who and also The Sarah Jane story Enemy of the Bane. It should also be noted how similar the Daemon here looks to the Beast in Doctor Who two parter The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit (2006). In this respect Daemos Rising has been quite innovative and even ground breaking.

If like me you've come to the end of your regular Doctor Who dvd purchasing then i'd certainly recommend this as one to add to your collection.

Inspector Abberline · #**5465** 22nd February 2017, 06:22 PM

The Mind Of Evil.
Brain washing criminal's into rational well balanced people,by extracting there negative impulses that are sent to a box that stores them up,when the negative impulses are removed we have a normal lowly member of society,thus is the purpose of the Keller Machine. So its a good job that the Doctor and Katy Manning (Jo Grant) have arrived at Stangmoor Prison on behave of Unit to check up on Keller and his new gizmo.Mean while Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier ,is over seeing the first World Peace Conference,and is having trouble with the Chinese delegation,especially Pik-Sen Lim as Chin Lee..The story by Don Houghton has rather marvelous ideas,especially the machine that captures all the negative impulses,and like most of the best Who stories,its quite heavy going for what was principally seen as a kids show,if the brain washing was not enough to send the kids scurrying behind the sofa then the brain sucking machine creating havoc amongst the hardened criminals and killing anyone in close contact by showing them there worst fears,must of been a real high light for a Saturday early evening slot,as the family sat round the telly eating there early evening meal.Production wise the location of the Prison makes for a great setting,and Dover Castle in Kent certainly looks better than say the usual gravel quarry or sand pit,and even the interiors of the prison are not to bad looking,certainly as good as any episode of Porridge any way.We also have a wonderful piece of set decor in the shape of an actual missile launcher they managed to borrow from the navy,a rather menacing piece of hardware which would of been hard to replicate real size,although im sure the special effects department would of come up with some wonderful models im sure,but nothing beats the real thing does it. This is my first time seeing Roger Delgado as The Master,and I have to say he fits the role splendidly ,he never crosses over into pantomime villain,although he does come across more like a Bond villain at time,he manages a level of menace that is realistic without going OTT. Yet he also manages to be quite a charismatic character, and you do get the feeling that The Master and the Doctor have a past history which he uses to his advantage,especially at the very end of the show with his phone call.The other highlight was of course Katy Manning,easy on the eye but a good strong character at times.I thoroughly enjoyed this series,the acting was well above average and Delgado was excellent.