Day 58 — February 27th 2021
The Dancing Floor and The Final Test
The Dancing Floor (The Celestial Toymaker — Episode Three)
I spent most of yesterday’s blog entry complaining about this story not translating particularly well to audio, and I’m afraid I’m gonna do it again here, because it wasn't until Steven points it out in dialogue during this episode that I remembered all the Toymaker’s playthings are played by the same group of actors.
The major guest characters in the first three episodes are played by Carmen Silvera and Campbell Singer, and it’s a sign that they’re very distinct in each role that I’ve not noticed it until now. I think today is the best showcase for them; the roles of Mrs Wiggs and Sergeant Rugg have actually entertained me more than their previous characters. There’s something about the larger-than-life characters they play this time around which works in a way that the clowns and the playing cards didn’t, particularly.
Strangely, this episode goes out of its way to make it clear that they’re the same people as before — Dodo comments on it, so does Steven, and ever the narration makes the point that Mrs Wiggs is a ‘familiar-looking household cook’. I say strangely as I don’t think it had been noted in the script or narration before now. Possibly the result of the story being heavily re-written, and it only being thought to include such a reference now, after the first two episodes had been finalised?
I also commented yesterday that Steven and Dodo get plenty to do in the absence of Doctor Who, but today Dodo’s coming across as just a bit thick, isn’t she? Early in the episode she recites the Toymaker’s latest riddle (which she’s only heard once!) word perfectly to Mrs Wiggs;
‘Hunt the key to fit the door that leads out on the dancing floor, then escape the rhythmic beat, or you’ll forever tap your feet.’
The cook’s reply is along the lines of ‘there’s only one “Dancing Floor” round here, and it’s through that door’, at which point Dodo is troubled to find the door locked, and completely forgets the first part of the rhyme. When she’s asked to repeat it, she only recalls the ‘rhythmic beat’ part, and is then overjoyed to be reminded that the riddle is also about finding a key. It’s just frustrating to find her swinging so wildly from having total recall to being baffled like that, and it means she doesn’t come across well.
Steven doesn’t come out of this one smelling of roses, either. I get that he’s frustrated by being trapped in the Toymaker’s games, but he’s particularly angry at the world this week, which isn’t especially becoming of him!
It’s probably my favourite episode of the serial so far, but still only a 3/10.
At the end of the episode, the pair find themselves face to face with another TARDIS, and Steven comments that it’s ‘another fake’. He’s not entirely wrong in that assessment from a production point of view, either, as it’s not the usual Police Box prop, but the ‘porch’ doors last seen in The Massacre.
This is the last time that we can definitively say they’re seen on screen (there’s reports of one later appearance which I’ll mention when we get there).
The Final Test (The Celestial Toymaker — Episode Four)
We can actually see this final episode, and I have to admit that it does help with making the story a bit more interesting. There’s several little visual tricks — like the Toymaker appearing from thin air — which work surprisingly well, and we know that similar tricks were employed earlier in the serial, too, overlaying a shot of Michael Gough against a black background onto the main image to make him appear ghostly. The most effective moment is achieved with some clever cutting between cameras, though, when the Toymaker goes from appearing on one of the TV screens dotted around the set to standing right next to Steven. It’s surprisingly effective, and it does go some way to making me think that this story would definitely rate better if we could see it all.
The main thing which surprised me about this one is how long it takes them to get William Hartnell back involved with the action. He remains mute for the first eight or nine minutes of the episode, and doesn’t return in full intil fifteen minutes in. I speculated that it had originally been part of a decision by John Wiles to minimise his role in the series, and wonder if this is just a hangover from that which has survived into Gerry Davis’ rewrite.
I speculated yesterday that I wasn’t sure the often quoted story that Hartnell’s health was the reason for his minimal involvement in this season, and it’s interesting that in the Fantom Films commentary for this episode Peter Purves is asked directly about Hartnell’s health problems during his time on the show. ‘I wasn’t aware [that he has unwell],’ he replies. ‘He hid it well’. I increasingly think that Hartnell’s ‘ill health’ has been overplayed as a factor over the years. He was certainly ill towards the very end of his time on the show (he had to drop out of the penultimate episode of The Tenth Planet for example), and he wasn’t a well man in the decade after his departure either, but I don’t think it was as bad at this stage as is often made out.
The commentary for this episode is a good one, by the way, and well worth a listen (although I’m perhaps biased, as I provide the covers for that range of CDs). Although Peter Purves asserts twice that The Celestial Toymaker was probably the inspiration for both The Crystal Maze and The Adventure Game, and that seems optimistic at best to me…!
Overall, being able to see this one has improved things — and it’s getting the highest score of the serial — but not enough to convince me that this one was ever particularly a ‘classic’. Tell you what, though, it’s made me want to create a board game version of the final game! 4/10.
There’s no particularly interesting TARDIS stuff to discuss for this final episode, which is a rarity with this serial, so let’s talk costumes for a bit instead, with a couple of facts which I think are fairly well known but always bear repeating!
First up is the fact that the Toymaker’s costume is the same one worn by Mark Eden in an episode of Marco Polo broadcast two years to the week before the first episode of The Celestial Toymaker. In reality, of course, it’s just the costume designer pulling something out of storage that feels suitable, but within the narrative I like to imagine the Toymaker has specifically chosen his attire based on Doctor Who’s memories. It makes sense, I reckon.
Dodo’s costume for this one was supplied by Jackie Lane herself, and she was reportedly very pleased with the outfit. You have to wonder if she was inspired by Lulu’s appearance on Thank Your Lucky Stars just a couple of weeks before recording for The Celestial Toymaker. Fashions move quickly in 60s London, but I reckon this one has a cool kind of retro vibe which still hold up today. There’s a reason that this is the costume people choose when they’re cosplaying as Dodo!
Finally, it would be ridiculous for me to dress my son up as Steven Taylor just because I really like his costume in this story and I want to liven up the end of the blog post.
But I’m also a Doctor Who geek who’s stuck at home in lockdown and in need of the clicks, so I take my kicks where I can get them. Peter Purves talks in the commentary about really not liking this costume, and says that it doesn’t suit him at all, but I think it looks great, and George agrees!
