Day 274 — October 1st 2021
State of Decay Parts One and Two
State of Decay – Part One
I think as fans we can often caught up in what we ‘know’ about the quality of particular stories or people involved with Doctor Who. I talk about it a lot when it comes to the reputation for individual stories. How some tales are considered absolute classics even if I don’t think they’re anything special, or how some are considered to be dreadful simply because that’s what the received wisdom has become.
I don’t tend to discuss it much when it comes to people, because by and large I think I’ve found my feelings in this marathon corresponding with the general consensus. I did find the Hinchcliffe era very strong, just like everyone says it is. The Williams stuff did pale in comparison. Douglas Camfield is usually regarded as Doctor Who’s best ever director, and I think I’d go along with that.
So it’s nice sometimes when these ‘facts’ get challenged. Several of my notes while watching this episode were regarding the direction, and how lovely some of the shots were. The arrival of the TARDIS, dwarfed by the trees of the forest, looks brilliant, and much of the location work gives a real sense of space, coupled with some properly brilliant close ups of Tom Baker. The opening shot of the story is especially impressive, using a glass shot to extend the height of the throne room set into something genuinely spectacular. I spent the full episode wracking my brain to remember who’d directed this one, and I was honestly surprised when the name ‘Peter Moffatt’ came up in the credits.
Moffatt’s reputation is as a poor director (and an eve poorer writer) who was totally at sea on the programme. Looking over a couple of his other credits I think I can see where that reputation might have come from, but it’s not in evidence here. There’s lots of flourishes in the direction here to enjoy, and I think it’s the strongest we’ve had so far this season.
As with Full Circle, I think the story is helped by having lots of location work, which is much more interesting to look at than studio material. We’ve had a fair few forests in Doctor Who over the last couple of seasons — even in the last story — but this one still feels distinct and unique. When I think of Season Eighteen I picture this story — that autumnal feel and the bare trees. It speaks to me in a way that the last few stories haven’t.
The quality of the direction isn’t the only surprise in this one for me — so is the treatment of Adric. By that I mean they still haven’t really made anything of his sneaking aboard the TARDIS. Here we spend the opening minutes in the presence of Doctor Who and Romana with no hint of the boy’s presence, and when he does show up he’s just sort of… there. He brazenly walks back into the main Control Room as though he’s part of the furniture. I quite like the idea that Doctor Who and Romana don’t know he’s there yet, but I’d still like the show to make something of his presence. Have him listen at the door for the Time Lords to leave before emerging, or sneaking in behind their backs, unseen. Something. Anything!
7/10
State of Decay – Part Two
While the director of this story is new to Doctor Who, the writer is a proper old hand — it’s the return of Terrance Dicks for the first time since Horror of Fang Rock, years ago. This story was intended for the same season, but was delayed when the BBC worried that it might clash with a big budget production of Dracula in production at the same time. Of course this has been totally re-written from the earlier script (it features Romana and Adric instead of Leela for starters…) but I think you can tell that this is the product of an earlier era because it feels far more in keeping with the tone of the Hinchcliffe years than anything the show has done recently.
There’s some proper dark moments in this one. The moment when Doctor Who opens up the spaceship’s fuel tank expecting it to be empty, only to discover that it’s filled to the brim with human blood is fantastic, and I think it’s the kind of thing which would have terrified me as a kid. It’s such a simple idea, but it packs a real punch, and the melding of the gothic aspects of Vampires with the science fiction stuff works incredibly well. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the series meld two different styles like this, but I think it might be the most effective example.
I’m loving the idea of the original crew’s names being corrupted over the years, too. A similar trick was pulled with the name of the Sevateem in The Face of Evil, and there’s something about it which really captures my imagination. Perhaps it’s a good thing that this story was delayed in the end, because ideas like that, and the primitive society having descended from a space-faring crew might have felt a bit passé coming so soon after that story.
Dicks is indisputably an expert when it comes to penning Doctor Who, so it should be no surprise that this script manages to offset the darker aspects with some properly funny dialogue. I think this is the best script we’ve had for humour since the new team took over, and it’s clear that Tom Baker and Lalla Ward are relishing the chance to play it. I’m especially fond of their reaction to the Three Who Rule having such an abundance of food while the village is starving;
Doctor Who: ‘You do better than the peasants. Bull’s blood, I think?’
Camilla: ‘The peasants are simple folk. Richer fare would only distress them.’
Doctor Who: ‘Quite right. Probably give them indigestion. There’s nothing worse than a peasant with indigestion. Makes them quite rebellious. I hear you’ve been having trouble that way.’
Camilla: ‘There are always a few ungrateful ones who do not appreciate all that we do for them.’
Romana: ‘And what do you do for them, apart from saving them from gluttony?’
I’ve not discussed the music very much yet this season, even though it’s a pretty marked departure form the style we’ve had for pretty much the entire run of the show up to now. This story is Paddy Kingland’s third score for the programme (following Meglos and Full Circle) and I think it’s one of my favourites. In some ways it feels like it’s dated quite a lot — it feels very ‘early 1980s to me — but I don’t think that matters. Paired with this story it somehow makes me feel nostalgic for an era several years before I was born.
This story is oddly linked with music to me, because there’s a few shots of the Three Who Rule in Part One which make me immediately think of the brilliant Doctor Who Years videos which were on the BBC website around the time the series came back in 2005. They paired shots from every Doctor Who story with the music in the charts when those stories were broadcast. For some reason watching this story makes me think of those videos, and I’m fairly sure that Fade to Grey was the song which accompanied this story, or at least one of the ones either side of it. Sadly there only seems to be fragments of the videos online these days, and despite my best efforts I’ve been unable to check. If any of my readers happen to have copies saved which they could share, do let me know — I’d love to watch them again.
The music, the location, the design of the story (both the sets and the make up) all come together in a perfect storm for this one, making one of the most atmospheric stories we’ve had in a long time.
8/10
