Day 171 — June 20th 2021
Carnival of Monsters Episodes Three and Four
Carnival of Monsters — Episode Three
I’m sure I’ve seen the Drashiegs come in for a bit of stick over the years as an example of a naff special effect in Doctor Who, but I’m questioning that today because they’re actually brilliant, aren’t they? Oh sure they look a bit like hand puppets, but they’re done so effectively that I don’t have to work too hard to suspend my disbelief with them. They’re perhaps at their least effective when there’s a trio of them just chilling in the marshland, but that’s more than made up for by the incredible shots of them breaking free of their environment and escaping into the inner workings of the Miniscope.
Even the CSO work isn’t so bad this week — there’s a bit of yellow fringing around the edges but it’s nowhere near as bad as some of the example we’ve had in the Pertwee years so far. I’d say that this is a great example of just how effective the technique could be, which is presumably why the Blu-ray includes a short film Barry letts made about the practicalities of the technique for making programmes.
It probably helps that this episode is home to some pretty good direction all round — it’s certainly more noteworthy than anything we had in the opening two episodes. They even manage to liven up some dull scenes on Inter Minor by shooting from high angles and framing the aliens against the darkness in stolen corners. All the material here is still weaker for me than the stuff inside the Miniscope, but at least it’s more interesting to watch today.
And I have to admit that I’m finding more to like in the alien stuff as the story goes on. It contains a really rich vein of political commentary, and that’s something Robert Holmes often gets praised for. I’m also really enjoying Leslie Dwyer and Cheryl Hall as the two performers. I’m not sure they’re often considered as one of Holmes’ great double acts but the should be because they’re a lot of fun. They got a decent laugh out of me at times, too;
Vorg: ‘Well, it can’t be a power failure.’
Shirna: ‘The generators?’
Vorg: ‘The generators were built by the old Eternity Perpetual Company. They’re designed to last forever. That’s why the company went bust.’
I’m surprised that we’ve not seen more of the different environments inside the Miniscope during Doctor Who and Jo’s exploration. Having escaped from the marshland they find themselves back on the SS Bernice right away, and I’ll confess that I was surprised because I thought the ship was more or less abandoned as a setting once our heroes had escaped from it. I’m not saying that the story needs more varied settings, but it might have been nice to see them avoid some shots from the Cybermen while making their escape, or having to hide from a pair of Ogrons strolling through the machinery. Truth be told I’m surprised there’s not been any Big Finish stories set in the middle of this episode, taking us through the different circuits.
I’ve also remembered today that this story was the inspiration for the 2010 Doctor Who Live show, and it’s not hard to see why. The concept of the Miniscope lends itself perfectly to the idea of bringing together all the different costumes from the back of the cupboard, and the show even went so far as introducing Vorg’s son as the lead character. The live show’s never made its way to home media, but perhaps it would have been a nice inclusion with this story on the Blu-ray?
Another 7/10.
Carnival of Monsters — Episode Four
‘Disappointing ending,’ says Major Daly of his book, and I’m sorry to say that it’s a sentiment I could equally apply to this final episode. Oh don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot in here to enjoy, but I found it the weakest episode of the four, and that’s reflected in my 6/10 rating.
Let’s start with some of the good stuff. Inter Minor has never looked better than it does here. There’s something oddly unusual about seeing an alien world at night time, and it helps to lend a bit more drama to the place. We’re still in the same two sets we’ve had since Episode One, but at least the darkness outside and the light shone on the back cloth to create a moon give it a little hint of something interesting going on.
And then there’s the attack of the Drashieg, which is brilliantly done. Once again the CSO work holds up flawlessly, and it manages to be surprisingly dramatic. The downside is that this is the only part of the episode which is. It feels like having Doctor Who outside the Miniscope and interacting with the aliens has shrunk the scope of the story. We’re not exploring the worlds contained inside any more, we’re watching a group of men stand around and fiddle with machinery.
Pertwee gets some good moments in the episode — he’s always at his best when able to spit some anger at a supporting artist — and there’s still a good streak of humour throughout the dialogue, but it just feels like we’re lacking some of the excitement which was especially prevalent in the opening episodes of the story. Once again I can’t help thinking that the story may have been better served by letting us see some more of the creatures locked up inside the Miniscope. Imagine this episode seeing the whole lot breaking free, with Inter Minor subsequently being over-run by Drashiegs, Cybermen, Ogrons… the lot.
I also think there’s some interest to be mined from the idea of having our 1926 characters out and about on an alien planet, just as terrified by the events as the natives. I’d even be tempted to leave the ‘Tellurians’ behind on Inter Minor at the end of the story, ensuring that the mystery of the SS Bernice is never solved on Earth (Doctor Who’s first adventure after his release from exile and he’s already changing time again!) and allowing the natives to embrace some ‘aliens’ as part of their world.
As always I feel like a bit of a sham daring to suggest changes to narratives by the great Robert Holmes, but this story has been typical of his Doctor Who adventures so far — it’s filled with some fabulous ideas, brilliant dialogue and rich characters, but the story itself feels like it needs another draft or two to really slot everything together in the most effective way.
That said, I think this is the strongest story Holmes has given us so far (although it’s not rated quite as high as Spearhead From Space, it comes close) and it feels closer to the kind of scripts I think of when picturing his stories. That’s another thing which has been fascinating about watching through Doctor Who in order again — watching the creatives behind the scenes evolve as time goes on.
