Day 248 — September 5th 2021
The Stones of Blood Parts One and Two
The Stones of Blood — Part One
There’s something really charming about Doctor Who’s gentle excitement about heading back to Earth, and it’s especially noticeable because I think I’m right in saying that this episode follows the longest stretch of adventures away from Earth that we’ve ever had. We were last there in Image of the Fendahl, and since then we’ve been to Pluto, the edge of the universe, Gallifrey, Ribos and Zanak. Even in the Hartnell era, when he struggled to get back to the 1960s, he still rocked up in Earth’s history roughly every other story. I think it’s fair to say that this era of the programme just isn’t all that interested in Earth — we’ll be away from it again for the next four stories, and all but one of next season will be elsewhere in the universe too. Add to that the fact that we’ve not had a companion from Earth in two years at this point, and our next is another two years away, and you realise that this is the most alien Doctor Who has ever been.
I wonder if that’s one of the reasons the Graham Williams era isn’t connecting with me? I’ve quoted Russell T Davies’ 2004 pitch for the return of the series before, but I think it bears repeating here, because it chimes so strongly with my own views on the series;
‘If the Zogs on planet Zog are having trouble with the Zog Monster…
who gives a toss?’
We open this story on the fringes of the last one, with Doctor Who and Romana assembling their two collected pieces of the Key to Time and spouting exposition at each other. It’s not particularly interesting and feels more like an afterthought; the series opens with Romana in the dark about the true origins of their quest, and here they decide to remedy that by simply having Doctor Who catch her up. I worried that we were in for another dodgy story that wouldn’t grab me. It’s telling, then, that with the return to Earth in this episode and the introduction of normal, real people, my interest has been piqued far more than the last few stories — or even that opening scene — have managed. I think I’d have cut the first two minutes and opened with the beautiful shot of the Moon.
There’s just something which feels so right about seeing the TARDIS parked up in the English countryside, and it helps that there’s such a brilliant shot of our heroes emerging from it and breathing in the fresh air. I know I complained about the design work in the last story, but even the beautiful sets of The Ribos Operation can’t hold a candle to being somewhere like this. I love all the jokes about the planet, too, which feel more natural and genuinely funny compared to the slightly forced attempts of The Pirate Planet;
Doctor Who: ‘Anyone for tennis?’
Romana: ‘Tennis?’
Doctor Who: ‘Yes, it’s an English expression. It means, is anyone coming outdoors to get soaked?’
My absolute favourite joke follows that moment, and it feels like we’ve finally gotten to the version of K9 that most people think of when picturing the character. His personality has been coming on leaps and bounds across this season, but his exchange with Romana about tennis is genuinely brilliant, and is the highlight of Season Sixteen so far;
Romana: ‘K9, what is tennis?’
K9: ‘Real, lawn or table, mistress?’
Romana: ‘Never mind. Forget it.’
K9: ‘Forget. Erase memory banks concerning tennis. Memory erased.’
The setting of the stone circle feels so right for Doctor Who that I’m amazed we’ve not really explored it before. We’ve had quite a lot of mystical cults in the series during the 1970s, but this is the first time the idea has really clicked with me, largely in part to how good it looks on screen here. I can get on board with the people chanting in cloaks because I’m too busy admiring the setting behind them.
I’ve a couple of other things I want to praise from this one, but I’m going to hold off because I suspect they’ll get even more of the limelight in the next few episodes. I’m going to open with a 7/10.
The Stones of Blood — Part Two
Let’s be honest: there’s one thing in this story which raises it up massively, and that’s Professor Amelia Rumford. God, she’s fabulous, isn’t she? We’ve had a handful of characters like this in the Baker era, from Ms Ducat in The Seeds of Doom and Granny Tyler in Image of the Fendahl, and I think it’s fair to say that slightly eccentric elderly women work brilliantly well opposite this incarnation of Doctor Who. Rumford is my favourite example of the type so far, and every scene she’s in is automatically brilliant.
I think I’m right in saying that Baker pitched the idea of having the character join as a companion but was over-ruled, which if true must be one of the worst decisions ever taken in the programme’s history! God, what I’d give to see a whole series of adventures with Doctor Who and Professor Rumford together. Can you imagine her facing down the Daleks? She’d be incredible! As it is, Beatrix Lehmann died only around nine months after the production of this story, so it wouldn’t have been possible on screen. I’m amazed that the audios haven’t tried to bring her back, though. I listen to very few of them, but I think I’d be pre-ordering on Day One for a run starring this pairing.
Elsewhere this episode continues to be a lot of fun, and I’m finding the humour here so much more to my taste. It manages to walk the fine line of being silly without going too far, and the jokes simply fit in with the narrative, never undermining the darker aspects of the story. I’m particularly fond of Doctor Who trying to convince K9 that he’s ‘always’ wanted to be a bloodhound (‘yes you have, K9, yes you have’) and Baker is able to cut through the high stakes of being moments away from sacrifice by opening a single eye and quipping ‘I hope that knife has been sterilised’. This story feels much more like the Doctor Who I know and love, and I’m enjoying it all the more after a run of episodes which haven’t done very much for me.
We’re also on much safer ground with the sets in this one. I’ve already praised how good it looks to be back out on location somewhere real, but the interiors are just as incredible, and the perfect example of that often-repeated adage that the BBC’s design department were second to none when creating something real, and only find themselves cut adrift when asked to do science fiction. The main locations of this episode are Rumford’s cottage and the ‘big house’ where leader of the cult — Leonard, a brilliantly normal name for a cult leader — lives.
Both settings are brilliantly rendered, and have some real size to them. Rumford’s cottage feels far larger and more detailed than you’d expect it to be, and I think I could happily believe that both of the houses were filmed on location if I didn’t know otherwise. As much as I bang on about wanting everything shot on location, episodes like this one prove that studio material can look absolutely fine when the script knows what’s possible (I’m looking at you, The Pirate Planet).
I’m going with an 8/10 for this one. It’s possibly a point higher than I’d have otherwise given, but it’s so nice to be genuinely enjoying the show again — that’s felt depressingly rare lately.
