The Enemy of the World

Enemy of the World 1:

Those of you who have been paying attention might remember one of the little ongoing mysteries of Day by Day. Around the time of Myth Makers I pointed out that there were fifteen missing episodes I really wanted back (obviously, I'd prefer them all, but it would only take a specific batch of fifteen to make me happy). The first four were Myth Makers. The next six were Power of the Daleks. The final five are the missing episodes of Enemy of the World.

Mad I know. To ignore Web, Evil, all that for Troughton with an accent. I don't know why, but I've always had a sneaky fondness for this story. Partially due to the double dose of the lead, always my favourite in the part. Partially due to it being the only Who story set, for some of it, in the land of half my ancestors, Australia. And it's the story I chose to write about for DWAS 40th anniversary Drabble collection, Who XL (and I'm still disproportionately proud that not one of those hundred words was 'Salamander'). OK, that was partially because I was in Australia at the time, and the stories I had to hand were limited (I'd just won the cd in a competition with the Oz Who fans at a mini convention, in a Mastermind quiz amazingly). And I'm fond of it because it has one of the three greatest twists in Dr Who ever (as I resolve one mystery, I start up another - what can the other two be? I will tell you in time).

Of course, I reserve the right to add Fury to my list, not having any real knowledge of that story. But for now, all I want is Enemy.

So what's this episode like... hmm. It's an intriguing opening, offering one of the most immediate drop ins the series has managed, with the action happening thick and fast, taking up the first half of the episode. It's quite unusual to have the first major action scene before the premise is actually set up, but that's what happens here. And as an immediate link into the story, it's rather effective -a touch jarring at first, but before you know it you're involved... (sort of like Die Hard with a Vengeance). It's quite a nice device, because it does put us in the same frame of mind as the characters. I'm reminded a touch of Caves of Androzani here, because they both feature a story being thrust onto the TARDIS crew rather than curiosity allowing them to stumble into it. I've never been quite sure of the Doctor's refusal to be involved here, and it does still seem a touch out of character that he doesn't even consider looking into it, but relistening it does come across a touch better - bear in mind that the Doctor's been jolted into action here, he's been shot at, the world's going mad around him, so the wariness is rather more plausible, and less of a 'Galaxy 4' style convenience.

It's a shame that the representation of Australia is a bit weak though. The beach scene doesn't really look all that Australian, being too grey and windy - that's not to say you don't get grey and windy beaches in Australia, you do, I've been on enough, just that if you're going to set a story somewhere foreign, it really helps if it looks more like how the audience would expect, much as in the same way you don't necessarily want authentic accents, you want accents that sound like you expect them to sound. Speaking of which, the guest Aussies for this episode (those in the hovercraft) look and sound like no Australian I've ever seen (but then they are so interchangable that watching the photonovel on the BBC site at the same time as listening to the audio I noticed that the narration on the two can't quite agree on which one of them gets shot).

I do like the hovercraft stuff, I should say. It's a shame it can't be seen, as there is something menacing about being chased by an amphibian craft (meaning that when they stop and hunt on foot, sort of reaching level pegging with the regulars, slightly loses impact). The lack of personality for them, and the swift way in which they get conveniently blown up is more problematic, as it does make the sequence feel a little tacked on. But it is completely in keeping with the plot, and so it doesn't feel contrived, and it does get us right into the story in record time.

The briefing by Kent does slightly smell of TV Comic obvious plotting in terms of the Doctor immediately being regarded as the man to save the day (he could be anyone, there's no reason to assume he's not a plant from Salamander, his brother or someone altered by surgery - surely such a resemblance wouldn't be so immediately taken as chance - given that Kent and Astrid are so suprised that The Doctor doesn't know about Salamander, why aren't they surprised no-one's mentioned it to the Doctor before, or there haven't been reports of a lookalike), but combined with the beginning that's disconcerted us and the Doctor's reticence, it manages to work. His immediate desire for the Doctor's help is a sort of desperation I suppose, so again it just scratches by as believable.

I notice that looks like I didn't like the episode. I do. It has faults, but it's written with conviction and well performed (if bizarrely choppy in its structuring, cutting suddenly into the middle of scenes). The central premise is intriguing, and the episode has the feel of a prologue, all set up before the main plot arrives, with a few nice bits of exposition and action warming you up. Not a main meal yet, but a perfectly enjoyable starter.


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#85 5 Oct 2004, 4:12 pm
The Secretive Bus
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Re: Day by Day

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Yay!

The Enemy of the World is one of my top 10 Who stories. Actually, so far you've liked all my favourite stories (The Gunfighters, Power of the Daleks, you sort of liked The Daleks' Master Plan)...

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Ben grins out of the cockpit window:
“I am only borrowing this. I’m Ben Chatham” before expertly taking off into the clouds.

- "Face of Death" by Sparacus


"They laughed at Gallileo once."
- Sparacus


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#86 6 Oct 2004, 12:53 pm
Dorney
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Re: Day by Day

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Ah, Bus, well you always had exquisite taste. Except for not liking Dr Strangelove...

The Enemy of the World 2:

One of the things I love about the cd of this story is that it completely misinterprets how important some of the characters are when it designs the cover, favouring Denes and Fedorin and Fariah who are all in, what, two episodes or so each, over Kent and Bruce, even the regulars. That's what you get when you've only one existing episode, you overweigh minor characters.

Having listened to this episode though, you can sort of see why this happens. For characters that are essentially minor in overall time, practically everyone has a distinct personality. Everyone talks about this with Griffin the chef in the next episode, but never with everyone else and amazingly it's always as a negative (I'll cover him more next time, obviously). OK, you can pretty much sum each character with one word (Fariah is surly, Fedorin nervy), but it makes each individual distinct in a way the minor parts of other stories never are. As a result, the main strength of this story is the characterisation and the dialogue. The first confrontation between Bruce and Benik, for example, only just shifts the plot forward, but is filled with great detail - watch how quickly the mild antagonism of the relationship between them is bashed out, Benik's sarcy handkercheif line in particular illustrating how the two fit together. (In deed, it's worth looking to see how many of the characters are placed in pairs to discuss plot points, allowing us to understand more of each individual by how they react to the other, less by stating their own position clearly - it's deeply skillful character work, written and played beautifully by a great cast).

One other thing people talk about when they discuss this story is referring to it as being 'James Bond' esque. At times you can see their point. Salamander, outwardly respectable, but with as mad a plan as any you'll come across, foreign and with a tendency towards being ruthless when disappointed (and a somewhat foolhardy tendency to immediately trust any bloke who 'saves his life') does come across as an archetypal Bond villain. Also the sudden shifting between exotic locations, seemingly on a whim and for little plot justification, has a similar feel as well. The only thing that really knocks the comparison on the head at the moment is the more inherently political slant to the story than the Bond flicks.

One advantage of a lot of this is that this really does feel like something epic. With 'the world' in the title, it's nice to feel that the adventure truly is global, and the threat is just not to a bit of Berkshire. By travelling the world, rooting it's villain's power in the problems of today, such as famine, and dealing in the political this story is, future setting notwithstanding, very much connected with the planet we know today. It's a 'five minutes into the future' type story, and the lack of monsters and individual complexity makes it feel closer than usual to us. The slightly abrupt cutting in mid scene remains (suddenly Fedorin is being blackmailed, almost out of nowhere), but it's indicitative of the fact that this story is bigger in scale than the usual series. There's almost as much plot in these first two episodes as there was in the whole of the last two stories. The script is motoring along at quite some rate, with the allegiances shifting all the time, the regulars driving the story for a change. And its interesting to note that you do begin to side with the Doctor's awkwardness over interfering (in politics the villains are smaller than those he usually fights, less obvious). The more we see of Salamander, the more unpleasant he seems (Partially in contrast to the Doctor but mainly in personality terms) - but he's a politician, we expect that, and it's hard to see him as actually evil. That is, until the end of the episode when he casually chats about the impending assassination of Denes. And by virtue of his smallness, suddenly he's miles more unpleasant than any number of human beings we've had so far. He's a fairly real villain, by the show's standards.

Utlimately, the lack of monsters, or obvious heavy sci-fi trappings lend this story a poor reputation, a dismissal. But it's genuinely different and adult, it feels like no other story, and about human evil, the potential for evil we have inside us, rather than some simple 'nasty aliens' story. It's quite an uncomfortable tale. But it's pretty good.


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#87 6 Oct 2004, 2:03 pm
The Secretive Bus
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Re: Day by Day

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorney
Ah, Bus, well you always had exquisite taste. Except for not liking Dr Strangelove...


... which is now one of my top 10 films.

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Ben grins out of the cockpit window:
“I am only borrowing this. I’m Ben Chatham” before expertly taking off into the clouds.

- "Face of Death" by Sparacus


"They laughed at Gallileo once."
- Sparacus


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#88 8 Oct 2004, 12:06 pm
Dorney
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Re: Day by Day

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Glad to hear it Bus!

Enemy of the World 3:

This is a unique episode for me. I listened to the cd recording of it when I was travelling Australia, but didn't have access to the video of this sole existing episode. As far as I can recall it's the only time I've ever listened to the BBC Radio collection version of an episode that exists fully - don't you feel slightly sorry for them? Doing all that work on an episode you know very few will listen too? (suddenly remembered DMP2, but that doesn't really count... honest).

It's really astonishing how fast paced this story is. Compare how far the characters have moved on through the course of this episode, how much they've done, to the progress in The Ice Warriors. One or two - the Doctor and Kent, most noticeably - don't change their position a great deal, but they only have one scene. Everyone else is go go go.

Now admittedly, I begin to get the impression that these whole two episodes have been something of a sideshow, an expository side step rather than dealing with the plot in particular - this is suggested by Salamander's implication that he's heading straight back to Oz. But this is merely a foreshadowing of the famous Robert Holmes dictum of splitting six parters into smaller, more manageable chunks. These two episodes offer a slice of the reality of this world, the way it runs. And they demonstrate quite how nasty a piece of work Salamander is. The world and it's politics are the root of the story, and they have to be established.

One of the reasons I think this story is under-rated is because it's very much about humans. It's the most non-fantastical non-historical out there (well, at least til Arrangements for War). The concerns are about human emotions - Salamander's lust for power, for example - and the battles are played out on a personal, human level, which gives it a grittier, nastier feel. Without the over-arching fantasy adventure feel, Salamander's casual murder of Fedorin is brutal. Likewise the shooting of the eminently likeable Denes (who's utmost jollity even when under guard makes his death all the more of a shock) is unpleasant in a way that any number of people being attacked by Yeti's or Daleks doesn't manage - it's human murdering human, for petty human reasons. Its a shame that dodgy direction (from Barry Letts, amazingly) and editing slightly nullify the impact of this moment. (We're not really allowed enough room to breathe between scenes, each one starting the instant the previous one is over - must have been a nightmare for the cd narration writing). I've said several times (and in deed, it was the theme of my drabble for this tale) that our perception of the quality of the missing stories is usually derived from the effect they had on the child audience who grew up to be fans. Enemy isn't a child friendly story, even from the get go, with their trusted hero warped into a murderer, and a lack of obvious child friendly thrills - no monsters, no spaceships. It must have seemed so dull surrounded by yetis and the like, but it's an interesting and startlingly relevant piece.

The characterisation still runs high. Denes as I say remains utterly likeable and sweet. Benik is one of the more memorable psycho's the series has had, simply by virtue of being underplayed (he reminds me very much of the great villain Count Rugen in the Princess Bride, played by the equally great Christopher Guest). As I said last time, Griff the cook is lovely, genuinely funny, and a testament to the level of intelligence in the writing... even minor character's are given their own distinct personality (look at Janos, the guard. He's the same. You get a real sense of his personality from his few lines. He's not just another grunt). The only oddity with Griff is that he's also Australian, which considering the rest of the story is set there seems a bit of a mad coincidence (when of course in reality, it probably means he auditioned for one of the three men at the start of part one, and was offered this part in stead).

As a final point, whilst it seems disappointing at first glance that we're not offered enough of the central trick of this story - the comparison of the Doctor and Salamander - in context the effect is better. By contrast, I don't mean the two interacting... that sort of stuff falls into tricksy cleverness even now. No, the major central effect is seeing how different the two men with the same face are. And watched in isolation, the Doctor's central five minute scene doesn't really offer enough. But in context, it doesn't really matter. We don't need to see the Doctor to tell how different Salamander is from him, we've been watching the Doctor for weeks, months! Troughton's dual performance truly is the tour de force of repute. Only once or twice you get flashes of similar technique (both characters can burst into fast,light, tight moments. The sequence early on where Salamander puts Fedorin's file in a safe is mildly reminiscent of the Doctor). But these are understandable, and the reality is that you can see you're being guided by a great performer.


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#89 10 Oct 2004, 11:24 pm
Dorney
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Re: Day by Day

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Enemy of the World 4:

You forget how good it is to have the telesnaps. Having got used to them covering my back for such a long time, the sudden loss of them for this episode leaves you slightly askance. OK, it isn’t as bad as it could be – the fact it follows on directly from an extant episode really helps, as it means for the first half of the episode at least you do have a visual sense of the story. You’re completely screwed for the second half of course, which introduces several new characters and locations, but at least you’ve warmed into it (this leads me to suspect that Invasion and Space Pirates might be a little trickier than I’d thought. The idea that something could make watching the latter even more of a trawl is a concept I find hard to grasp).

The other note I want to make first up is a little confession. I’d never quite managed to connect Giles Kent with Bill Kerr out of Hancock until now. I’d known that the latter was in Enemy but somehow I’d managed to convince myself that he was the chap playing Donald Bruce, rather than Kent. I finally righted myself of this misconception today, and its something of a relief. I'd not quite been able to fit the grumpy soul of those old Hancocks with the sensible security man here. (Ironically, if you'd asked me who Colin Douglas played in the story, I'd've known he played Bruce... so I sort of knew, but didn't, if you get what I mean).

This episode deals with the fallout from episode three, and its slightly annoying that the events in the past two episodes don't really change the rest of the story (none of the characters from the central zone last beyond this episode, and the files on Fedorin don't persuade the Doctor - and Benik gets them back in any case). However, it doesn't matter too much - firstly, it's quite unusual for the story to start a long time after the plot is underway - Salamander has been doing his stuff for a long time now - and where we're pretty much told who the villain is straight away. So we need to have an expository few episodes establishing how he behaves (in this way, the story is structured so that it starts with an episode that would usually fit in the middle, and the middle is the usual start of the story, the villain is revealed first, before the world is revealed, and in deed before his actual villainy is clear). And the travel and mass locations for the story give the story a fairly unique global threat (compare with, say, the 10th Planet, which tries to seem like a global peril, but really only feels like its trouble for one room in Antartica). So the central zone section does add to painting a portrait of the characters and the world that enrichens it (after all, this is a Doctor Who defined more than most by the relationship's between the characters - Kent vs Salamander is pretty much the central thrust). The only thread left hanging from the previous episode at the end of this one is Jamie and Victoria's capture. It's a tiny bit of a shame that their obvious absence isn't played for the tension it could be - mainly as a result of having to have the Doctor and Salamander take halves of the episode each.

And it still is rather nasty, and bleak. Benik is a thoroughly unpleasant piece of work (his deathbed interrogation of Fariah sounds painful). And that's cos it could be any country in the world today - it's not until the halfway point of this episode, well into the story, that we begin to sense any sci-fi undertones. Until here it's a political thriller, not a fantasy, its about terrorism and murder, of ordinary people for reasons of power and greed. It's really with this episode you get the point behind the Doctor's reluctance - he knows he is being hired as a hitman, essentially and that would require a direct brutality the Doctor isn't capable of (of course, he's perfectly at home in a kill or be killed situation, say with the Ice Warriors, but if he is asked to murder someone who has not posed an obvious threat to him, it's good that he finds it hard).

Why is Astrid so convinced that Fedorin really was a suicide? Seeing as she's suspicious of Salamander all the time, why does she take this convenient and swiftly timed death at face value?

The scene is Salamander's bunker slips us into the main plot that's been bubbling away since around the end of part two, and we begin to get a sense of the overall plan and what Salamander is up to. It's a shame that there's no vast mystery preserved about the function of this base, it's pretty much explained instantaneously (whilst the whole 'scorched earth' thing could be kept, we don't really need to be told that they're the ones causing the Earthquakes yet. It does smack a little of laying all your cards on the table too soon. All the mysteries are cleared up now, and to be honest, practically before we'd realised there were any).

A quality episode nonetheless, moving the story on, action packed and involving. Still an oddity amongst Who, one of the least characteristic tales in the canon. But fun nonetheless and even featuring an early ventilation shaft escape (we ain't had many of those have we?)


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#90 11 Oct 2004, 12:21 am
The Secretive Bus
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Re: Day by Day

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I've never used telesnaps for these missing stories, I'm content with the BBC radio collection narration and my own imagination. Scenes like the Dalek army of "Power", the Massacre, and the Dalek conferences in "MasterPlan" look so much better without the constraints of a BBC budget...

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Ben grins out of the cockpit window:
“I am only borrowing this. I’m Ben Chatham” before expertly taking off into the clouds.

- "Face of Death" by Sparacus


"They laughed at Gallileo once."
- Sparacus


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#91 13 Oct 2004, 12:29 am
Dorney
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Re: Day by Day

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The Enemy of the World 5:

What a strange gun Bruce's guard has. One of the ugliest in the series, imo.

The impressive thing about this story remains its shades of grey. Very few of the characters are the stereotypical black and white characters you tend to get in Who. Bruce effectively changes sides in this episode, but it is noticeable that he does so without really changing his personal stance. His attitude and personality remain the same. Many characters are prepared to switch loyalties the more information they get (even in microcosm - witness Fariah's changing attitude's to the regulars for example). The world changes around Bruce, rather than him changing himself (and Astrid will find this occurs in part six). What it also reveals is another rare thing in Who - the individual personalities are driving the plot more than events. With the Doctor in full Salamander makeup throughout the pace can pick up (previous episodes having to either focus on one or the other, or just go in halves). But it remains a quiet episode, dealing with the character journeys. The direction the story goes in from here is directly defined by Bruce's thoughtfulness, Swann's rebellion, and by Kent's precise reason to want to help in the uncovery of evidence. The story's major incidents and turning points are internal, moments of personal change and revelation rather than vast action sequences. The crisis point for Salamander in this episode is created purely through him having to confront someone with enough force of personality and power to cause him trouble - and his weedling out is wonderful. This is a villain who's main power is guile. He's not the villain through sheer force of numbers, he's the villain through intelligence. Likewise, Swann's fate is created not through Salamander orchestrating an upper hand - but by Swann giving him all the chances in the world through sheer naivety.

And once more it reminds me of Caves of Androzani. The Doctor is in both motivated more by a desire to help his companions than he is to directly interfere in the world he arrives in, and his involvement is defined more by chance than by desire. And the more you see, the less you can blame him. Salamander is a dangerous man, but the Doctor has never felt the desire to act as judge and jury (and the permanent humanisation of all the characters - here very noticeable with the highly strung Colin, and last episode with Salamander's cigar smoking coming across as a fine touch of wit, something rare in a Who villain - reminds us this is about individual distinct people killing other individual distinct people).

Perhaps the only sequence which doesn't work as the rest is the interrogation scene, mainly because it doesn't really drive the plot forward. However, it is nicely written and the deeply camp Benik manages to be surprisingly menacing. Again, it's there to illustrate character for the most part - Benik is however, probably the only totally one dimensional character in the script. He's a fairly cliched sadist, and is probably the least interesting character in the tale. This isn't a vast insult when you consider the complexity of the other parts and that he's one of the more entertaining ones (everybody else is a little too serious to be really fun).

If anything, that's what makes this story feel so unusual. Its serious air. It isn't a light hearted adventure fantasy, it's a moderately gritty sci-fi thriller. The playful wit inherent in the characterisation manages to keep it feeling 'Whoish'.

The scene where the Doctor pretends to be Salamander to Jamie and Victoria is fab (why does he string it out so long though - its fair enough to tease, but they're in grave danger!). What's particularly interesting here is that one of the telesnaps suggests the Doctor is very much physically himself when playing Salamander - it's number 46 , and the photo's afterwards would suggest this has to be when he's pretending. Physically its clearly the Doctor. These are the bits I wish I could see - this makes it clear that Troughton's too good an actor to just repeat his Salamander performance. Troughton is playing the second Doctor as Salamander and it seems to be utterly different from his performance just as Salamander. It would have been an acting masterclass.

For a story with top cliffhangers (again, all pretty much character based, hinged around moments of revelation rather than moments of danger, particularly the terrific one at the end of part three as you literally see the wheel's turning in Salamander's mind) this one has a weird cliffhanger that doesn't really turn the story (it might in part six, but a cliffhanger with no impact til the next week is weak isn't it?). So in homage, I will end my summary in an odd manner, by simply going to bed.


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#92 14 Oct 2004, 11:34 am
Dorney
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Re: Day by Day

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The Enemy of the World 6:

Well, I said that this story had one of the greatest three twists in the series. If you don't know it (and believe me, you won't want a ginger fool like me to spoil it) I'd thoroughly recommend looking away now. And I'm going to give away the end of Reign of Terror here too, incidentally.

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

Giles Kent's in on it! He's a baddy too! Blimey. As about faces go, this one really pulls the cat out of the bag. Like all good twists, its been carefully layered in - partially Kent's willingness to kill, as the Doctor observes, and partially his odd behaviour at the end of part five. In a series like Who were everything tends to be relatively straight forward, this is quite a shock... because we don't expect a twist. To give you some alternate examples, and how they're less effective - the revelation that LeMaitre and Stirling are the same person in Reign of Terror - well, of course they are. Stirling needs to turn up, he needs to be in disguise and he needs to be someone we know otherwise its a cheat. And that means there's really only one person he could be (call it the 'DaVinci code effect'). Whereas here, the story works without the twist (albeit with a few unanswered questions). The twist flips around your understanding of what's been going on, and makes you view it in a different light - but it doesn't undermine it (a criticism of some of the more 'rabbit out of a bag' twists in modern movies, the Village leaps to mind). There's one little lie at the heart, rather than a house of cards of them, ready to collapse at any point. The change affects our understanding, and our interpretation of character, rather than shifting the story around. And following my thoughts last time about the story being defined by character, it's worth noting that the villains are defeated by each other, rather than being shot or arrested by a third party. Now that we understand that the entire story has been built on their relationship and individual bitterness, it's a beautiful moment of irony that they both get their wish, moments before being destroyed (ok, so Salamander survives, but it is more as a sense of a coda - Kent has already destroyed him, just as he destroyed Kent). Once again, the nastiness of Kent's death is blatant. Shot twice, in pain, blowing himself up. Not pleasant.

Beyond that, its pretty much a question of all the points falling into place. Benik's berating of the guard for lacking sense is pretty rich - he clocks that the Doctor isn't Salamander is pretty much the first scene, yet he still allows enough leeway to Bruce that reinforcements can arrive (watch him - he doesn't do anything til about a second before he's captured - what exactly is he waiting for?).

The central trick of the story, the one we've essentially been promised all along, finally falls into place in this episode, with several moments that play on the identity of the central figure. Most of the time, it's fair to say, we're fairly clear who's who, but even then there are doubts (if you've been paying attention, the figure in the records room can't be Salamander... but you're never 100% sure). It is a shame however that the only meeting between him and the Doctor - again a scene essentially promised from the off - is so brief... but then, the Doctor wasn't so much against Salamander but for the world, and it's more appropriate that the vast majority of the climax is devoted to Kent and Salamander's secret war - notice how little the Doctor actually does to defeat Salamander. His main effect is on the other individuals, Bruce and Astrid, enabling them to see through the lies.

Jamie and Victoria don't get much to do, and this means they've been pretty much sidelined for the second half. Their episode away means that the vast majority of the stuff you'd expect a companion to do gets transferred to Astrid - and fair enough, she does it very well. You do slightly miss them though - especially as by episode three, Victoria in particular seemed to be having a bit more fun. She's quite sweetly jolly at points, far from her bossy whingy persona. As I've said before, it does rather render the central European trip a sideshow, but it is definitely a necessary one in order to set up the epic feel.

And epic it is. I remain deeply in love with this story. It's far and away the most underrated Troughton tale, one that's trying to do something different. Darker, grittier, and 'realer' than it's season 5 colleagues, it sticks out like a sore thumb - again something that is amazingly often said as a criticism. A mature script driven by character rather than spectacle. Yes, it never feels quite like the feelgood escapist adventure we think of the series as... but is playing outside the box a bad thing? It still feels like Who, with it's mad villain and sly wit. It's a classy international thriller, done Who style. It dares to be different, and it succeeds. I don't think we should dismiss it because it doesn't conform to a limited view of what 'good Who' is. Does it acheive what it wants to? Does it entertain, does it thrill? Is it a good piece of tv/audio? Yes, yes, and yes. Enemy of the World is excellent.


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#93 14 Oct 2004, 3:23 pm
The Secretive Bus
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Re: Day by Day

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Hurrah!

And next, The Web of Fear, another thoroughly classy Troughton tale. And I'm listening to Fury from the Deep at the moment, which is also turning out to be rather excellent! Season 5 was actually rather decent...

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Ben grins out of the cockpit window:
“I am only borrowing this. I’m Ben Chatham” before expertly taking off into the clouds.

- "Face of Death" by Sparacus


"They laughed at Gallileo once."
- Sparacus


The Secretive Bus
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#94 14 Oct 2004, 10:12 pm
Captain Renault
Time Lord
Leicestershire
Joined April 22, 2004
Last On: Yesterday 11:01 pm
Posts Here: 20
Re: Day by Day

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Well that's three of us then.
I approached this with trepidation as the fan opinion didn't seem to be high.
Got it cheap off Play and listened to all of it while driving to Scotland.
It's just great isn't it.

BTW Mr Bus - Fury is pretty scary - or am I just a total wimp?

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I'm shocked - shocked - to see that gambling is going on in here!


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#95 15 Oct 2004, 12:04 am
Dorney
Time Lord

Bromley, Kent
Joined April 22, 2004
Last On: Today 10:50 am
Posts Here: 4,637
Re: Day by Day

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I think the problem is that Enemy is a fun thriller, rather than a fun fantasy. And some people just don't go for that. It's like me and Natural History of Fear. I appreciate that it's clever, well acted, written and made... it's just not a type of story that gets me. But it's status as an adult drama driven by character just give this one a great feel to me.