Day 250 — September 7th 2021
The Androids of Tara Parts One and Two
The Androids of Tara — Part One
This episode marks the Doctor Who debut of director Michael Hayes, and based on the material we get here he’s very welcome. It’s going to sound like hyperbole, but this is some of the best location work I can remember us having an an absolute age. There’s several shots — Doctor Who and Romana outside the TARDIS, Romana crossing the stream and exploring the woodland — which look seriously stunning. It reminds me a lot of when, in the 1960s stories, you’d suddenly get an episode by Douglas Camfield, where every shot felt as though it had hours of consideration poured into it.
The first ten minutes or so of this one are fairly leisurely, but thanks to the direction they’re never dull. It feels like we’ve got the time to explore these locations, and I’ve really enjoyed spending a sunny afternoon in the countryside with our heroes. I praised The Stones of Blood for putting the TARDIS down somewhere normal, but I think this is even better in that regard. It’s almost a shame when the story does kick in, and we have to start following the narrative rather than just enjoying the sights.
Regular readers will know that I’m not a huge fan of the Newbury TARDIS prop from this era of the programme, but I think it actually looks rather lovely when it appears in the woods here. There’s something about the lighting and the framing which really works for it, and although it looks like it’s been given a darker paint finish I think it’s just an optical illusion. Indeed there’s a beautiful photo of the prop on location (which was used for the cover of a Doctor Who Magazine Yearbook in the early 1990s) where it almost looks like a model. I’m on board for any episode which can make me appreciate possibly the worst-looking Police Box prop…!
I appreciate the change of pace in the storytelling, too. The problem with sending Doctor Who and Romana on a quest to find the Key to Time is that there’s a constant drive to get to the next piece, and there’s not always the time to simply enjoy their company. There’s something enjoyable in having this story take a different turn, with the segment discovered — and even transformed — all within the first ten minutes. Only afterwards does it all go wrong. This time it’s not a battle to find the segment, it’s about trying to escape with it from what initially felt like an easy assignment.
This episode has worked wonders for my appreciation of Romana, who’s come on so much in my estimations that I’m amazed I didn’t take to her right asway. There’s something so fun in her parking the TARDIS perfectly (even down to knowing exactly when they’ll materialise) and it seems only fitting that she should find the segment so easily. I wonder if the White Guardian is watching all of this and thinking he should have done without Doctor Who on this mission?
This is the second story in a row for newcomer David Fisher, and it’s filled with the same sparkling dialogue we were treated to in the last one. I love Doctor Who making up the rules about being allowed fifty years off for every ‘four hundred years and twelve parsecs’ travelled, and his negotiation his fee with the prince (for half the money initially offered) feels so right. People talk about the New Testament taking inspiration from the way Douglas Adams did Doctor Who, but I think Fisher is just as much of an influence if not more so. As the 1970s have worn on we’ve seen the final contributions to the show from so many of the original stalwarts so it’s nice to see that there’s new voices still joining the show now who can be every bit as brilliant. The Androids of Tara so far is one of those joyous meldings of writer and director.
I’m perhaps a little biased as about fifteen years ago I discovered that David Fisher only lived up the road from the farm I grew up on, and we shared a cup of tea while I quizzed him about all sorts of nonsense from thirty years earlier. It’s always nice to discover that the people you admire are lovely.
Not so lovely, and unavoidable when talking about this episode, is the Taran Wood Beast. Oh lord. When I first got into Doctor Who it was something of a running joke. Synonymous with ‘shit’ for describing a bad costume or effect in the series, and usually the punchline to questions of which ‘classic’ monster might make a return to the series next. I think Russell T Davies may have even joked about it in his Production Notes column once.
Over the years I’ve convinced myself that it’s not that bad and certainly doesn’t deserve the derision it receives… but good grief it’s dreadful, isn’t it? I was genuinely a bit floored when it appeared for the first time. Almost everything about the creature — from the design to execution and performance — feels out of place in an otherwise well-crafter episode. I’m not sure what I’d have done differently, but some stock footage of an actual bear may have saved them a lot of hassle.
Overall, though, there’s lots to like in this one, and for the direction alone it deserves a decent score, so I’m going with a generous 8/10.
The Androids of Tara — Part Two
Tom Baker’s on brilliant for in this one, isn’t he? I think you can always tell when he’s enjoying a script, and this is one he’s definitely engaging with. It helps that Fisher writes my favourite version of the Fourth Doctor Who — he’s petulant and silly, with a streak of anger, but you can’t help but enjoy every moment spent in his presence. I’m especially keen on him describing the events here as ‘the politics of your piffling little planet’, and I love his outburst when someone insults K9;
Zadek: ‘What is that thing?’
Doctor Who: ‘That thing? That’s my dog.’
Zadek: ‘But it’s a machine.’
Doctor Who: ‘Well, so is your Prince!’
I worried, having praised the direction and general atmosphere of the location filming in Part One, that things might fall apart once we got into the studio, but I needn’t have worried because everything is working brilliantly well here. Of course the BBC are right at home with sets like these (I’ve never noticed before how unusual it is to have two medieval-inspired alien civilisations in Season Sixteen, only a couple of stories apart) but it’s the lighting which is really selling the effect.
During the Hinchcliffe years I often praised the work of the lighting team on stories, and felt that more than any other era they really knew how to make the most of attention in that area. That’s something which has largely been forgotten over the last season and a half, so it’s nice to see it given such prominence again here. The tunnels especially look wonderful, bathed in an eerie green light and standing out as their own distinct setting. The lighting continues to impress inside, too, and there’s some especially nice shots of Doctor Who in the coronation room which stand out as being a cut above the rest. Crucially, I feel as though all the places we’re seeing here belong to the same world — it’s a much more cohesive vision than we had with our last alien world in The Pirate Planet.
As ever with these things, the characters are as much an important part of making a world feel rich as any of the set design or location material. It’s a good thing, then, that Fisher seems right at home in creating rounded characters. I understand everyone’s motivations, it’s easy enough to keep the different factions separate in my head, and I’m interested in seeing what happens to each of them. This episode is especially good for slipping in lots of little details which aren’t strictly relevant but which help add to the overall picture — the detail that Grendel and Madame Lamia have had sexual relations in the past (and carefully written for a tea time audience) is an unusually honest revelation, and it works all the better as a result of being such a rare sentiment.
I think there’s only one area where I don’t buy this world, and that’s the rules of succession when it comes to the monarchy. The prince is due to be crowned at a pre-appointed time, and if he’s late then it’s up to Cyril Shaps from The Tomb of the Cybermen to pick any old person who is there instead. It stretches credibility just that bit too far for me, and makes me wonder too hard about Grendel’s plan to marry the princess… if the Archimandrite can pick anyone to take over, then what’s the point in having a line of succession?
Another good one, and another 8/10.
