#68 14 Jul 2004, 10:16 pm
Dorney
Time Lord
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ice Warriors 1:
I love the start of this story. That weird ethereal singing. The special backdrop. There's no obvious reason to do it, it has to be said, but it's definitely kinda funky. I suppose this is because the story has several fine elements of juxtaposition. The angelic singing contrasts with the series as a whole. The mansion in the middle of the ice is quite a nice image (I would kill for a proper model shot though, rather than mere suggestion), and derives it's impact from it's context.
There's a surprisingly long build up to the TARDIS landing here. It's an unusual device, and not an entirely comfortable one. We as the audience feel impatient waiting for them. The opening few minutes are kind of interesting, but we don't fully grasp the set up yet, and that leaves it slightly frustrating. It does indicate, however, a basic truth of the show - that the regulars are the one's who lead us into the strange new worlds. Without them, we feel a little lost.
We are, however, given a little more time to get to know the guest cast. The first few minutes only really allow us to examine Clent (Miss Garett's the only other character to figure, and she doesn't really have much personality... at least not yet). That is fine, however, as Clent is as finely sketched a character as you'll see in Who. It's hard to tell how much is Barkworth's performance, and how much is Hayle's script, but the character is immediately distinct and real, edgy and awkward but without seeming dislikeable (the limp is a gimmick, of course, but it does aid the uniqueness of the character. We get a sense that there's a history there, a life beyond what we see, and the character exists outside the story. Could have done without hearing of the 'vibro-chair' though). Equally complex, when we get to him later, is Penley - again a good example of script and actor working brilliantly together. In only a few lines we get to see the edges of these characters, what they're about, who they are. Three dimensional figures swiftly drawn. In deed, even the minor characters, like the general human scientists and Storr have similarly individual lives.
One of the reasons for this is the odd structure of this story. This first episode is essentially a prologue, concentrating on establishing location and characters before letting the story go. But, unusually, in this story that's mainly because the story really doesn't begin til the cliffhanger. For the most part in this episode, you are interested in the world, but you can't really see where it's heading (the body in the ice is treated as a subplot at best). With most story that have a first episode cliffhanger involving the reveal of the monster, the villains have been lurking behind the scenes since the beginning. Not so here. Vargaa and his troops are irrelevant to this episode - if they hadn't turned up it would have remained essentially the same. As structures go, it's rather a nice way of going about it. The episode is engaging in it's way, and is filled with a series of mini-threats to keep us involved (plus a few unexplained elements, mainly the Penley/Clent antipathy). It's main weapons are a sense of humour - the TARDIS crew interaction is a joy. It's easy to forget how well they work together. They've got a good natured humour quality, with the air of the two schoolboys and their bossy classmate getting in to scrapes self evident (the climbing out of the TARDIS scene manages to be fun, despite not being the greatest premise going, and Jamie's gentle natured ribbing/flirting of Victoria about the dress of the base's women, really re-establishes their standpoints. Once again, it's rather sweet, but comfortable and relaxed). And, joyously, we get to see the eccentricities and contradictions that essentially define this Doctor - able to behave like an over-grown child one minute, and then hold the stage, dominate it even, in two bravura scenes of scientific one-upmanship.
Engaging episode then, intelligently written and witty. Not grabbing you yet, but enjoyable.
#69 18 Jul 2004, 12:09 am
Dorney
Time Lord
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ice Warriors 2:
Funny how on the BBC CD of this the computer is utterly incomprehensible... but I had no problem with in the first episode. Odd.
There's a faint filler feel to some of this episode - mainly in Varga hunting breaking out of a room, then having to make his way back there a few minutes later (conveniently seeming to have forgotten the way he's just come). And this is something of a shame, as I've a sneaking feeling the time could have been used better. Varga seems to have made some rather sweeping snap judgements on the human race based on having met two of them in his entire life (and knocked one unconscious pretty damn quickly). Rather than wasting time on him nicking equipment, maybe we should have had a confrontation that would have turned him against humanity. Perhaps something of a cliche, but it would have made Varga a slightly more tragic figure. As it is, he seems wilfully antagonistic. (And indeed, the humans seem to immediately decide he's nasty as well...).
For a base on the forefront of trying to save the world the security's rather lax, isn't it? Varga manages to hide in a store room, and Penley seems to have the run of the place (he's broken in at least twice in an hour or so... now that's confidence).
Plotwise, we start to find the theme coalescing, with the dominance of the computer making itself known. It's quite a nice conceit, coming from a similar place to the cybermen. It's a celebration of humanity over logic, and it's personified in the characters of Clent and Penley, each representing one side. The interest in this thread does rather mean that most of the other scientists are kind of faceless - Miss Garrett has made little impression so far beyond having a miniscule skirt, and Arden, whilst possessing a stock cheekiness in part one, remains fairly 2d.
Varga is immediately impressive though - in sound, in appearance (well, as far as we can tell from the telesnaps). He towers over Victoria and is given plenty of good menacing lines. He seems to have a bit of personality. OK, so the dialogue track stumbles over his introduction, and if you listen hard you can hear Bresslaw... but it doesn't really matter, because it's nice to have a monster who feels like an individual for a change.
The Doctor gets some nice scenes, sparring with Penley and Clent, although ultimately he's fairly impotent in the episode, mainly acting as a conduit for the theme. His opening scene, extrapolating logically from the warriors presence to deduce a threat to the base shows a wonderful quickness though, out-thinking everyone else. Victoria doesn't get much - she's trembling in captivity for the entire episode - but Jamie gets to show his reckless brave side again (surprisingly, I think it's been a while since we've really seen this. Maybe even as far as Evil).
Good episode then. The story trotts along pleasantly enough, and seems to be going intriguing places... the threat is more about logic than violence at the moment, which suggests a nicely thoughtful piece.
More soon...
#70 15 Aug 2004, 2:31 pm
Dorney
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just popping by to say I'm having a fab time in Edinburgh, and I'll be back soon. Hope you're all well.
#71 15 Aug 2004, 4:00 pm
Benjamin Adams
Rubber Sole
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We're all OK here, never mind us! Enjoy your hols!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#72 6 Sep 2004, 4:30 pm
Dorney
Time Lord
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And I'm back. I'll be finishing off Ice Warriors some time this week (I'm going to rewatch the whole thing, I think, as I made it through to part four, but didn't write it all up). I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things very soon.
#73 7 Sep 2004, 12:32 pm
Captain Renault
Time Lord
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome back - hope Edinburgh went brilliantly.
I've really missed your reviews.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#74 28 Sep 2004, 11:51 am
Dorney
Time Lord
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, finally it is time for...
The Ice Warriors 3:
One of the useful things caused by my, frankly, lazy updating of late, is that it's been very easy to view this episode as an individual unit. I watched it in July, and caught up in the story I don't think I noticed the main thing that struck me this time. Rewatching this morning it leaps out. This story isn't really about the TARDIS crew at all.
If you pay close attention to the episode you'll see that the story is mainly driven by Clent, Penley, Garrett, Varga and Arden. The Doctor and Jamie react to them. This works to the degree that it is conceivable that the story could be made into a straight sci-fi drama without them. The Doctor for example does nothing in this episode at all. His lines could be transferred to other characters without too much difficulty. Likewise, Arden and Jamie could be merged. Victoria is the only member of the crew who has her own distinct plotline - but having said that, it isn't exactly rooted in her identity. The hostage could really be anyone and the script would still function.
And it's odd because there are so many opportunities for the Doctor to do things, but Hayles is slightly more interested in his own characters - witness Clent's telling Arden not to blame himself early on in this episode. It makes for an interesting new facet of his character, but surely it'd be more appropriate for the Doctor. And likewise, wouldn't it be more interesting to send the Doctor to Penley in stead of Miss Garrett? Again it adds layers (there's even the faintest suggestion of a sexual subtext there), but it does mean that it shifts the Doctor out of the centre of the drama. The most interesting characters in this episode are not the nominal lead. And that makes it feel slightly off kilter. Even the moral point of this story, the technofear element, is expressed better by Penley than it is by the Doctor.
This is something of a filler episode in any case. The story hasn't really shifted a great deal from the end of the previous episode - well, technically it hasn't really shifted all that far since the end of part one (it's clear how the video reconstruction was able to telescope the two into one with ease). The six part format does allow for a little more exploration of character and theme but it does so at the expense of pace, somewhat. It's not a bad thing, and the story is still enjoyable and involving, but a little more direction and purpose could have been nice.
The performances remain top notch throughout. Bresslaw doesn't get a vast amount to work with, but is fine. Everyone else, bar the somewhat dispirited regulars who seem to be just going through the motions, are excellent. To be honest, this might be due to the way the script does feel like, as I said, a straight play that the Doctor and co. have been forced into. The story deals with themes for the script, emotions and feelings for the support roles in a way that Who rarely does, certainly in this time period. The characters are real, flawed and believable, which makes us care for them a lot more. The regulars seem almost lost in contrast. And that's a crying shame, as with a bit more effort to contain them within those same themes, this story really could be brilliant. Maybe they'll merge more in the next few episodes.
#75 29 Sep 2004, 8:39 am
Carlos R
Patron
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome back sir! We've missed your reviews around here.
Carlos
p.s.: Congratulations on "Faith Stealer"!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#76 29 Sep 2004, 7:57 pm
Alzarian
Time Lord
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glad to see you are back, safe and sound! Looking forward to reading your reviews again. You really get into the nitty-gritty of each episode!
Alzarian
View Public Profile
Send a private message to Alzarian
Send email to Alzarian
Find More Posts by Alzarian
Add Alzarian to Your Contacts
#77 1 Oct 2004, 12:20 pm
Dorney
Time Lord
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheers for the nice comments chaps. Always rather hard getting back into the swing of things, hitting the routine again. Still, must power off...
The Ice Warriors 4
It should already be blatantly obvious that this is the marching on the spot episode. Practically every character fails to progress in this episode. Jamie starts and ends the episode unwell with Penley. Victoria starts and ends a captive. Clent and Miss Garrett, and the Ice Warriors themselves do nothing at all. (though the Ice Warriors tortoise like head retreat is a wonderful moment, and very alien)
The only character who really ends the episode in a different place is the Doctor, and this is in many ways a good contrast to his lack of use in part three. Still, it's not exactly like he's made a major journey throughout the episode - he pretty much just goes from the base to the spaceship - but it's nice to see him being used properly in the centre of the drama. Penley and Storr get a tiny bit of development each - the former gives in to the Doctor and prepares to head back to the base, which is at least significant. And the death of Storr is quiet nicely characterised. It seems appropriate, even if in all honesty it doesn't have a vast amount of point (I've a sneaky feeling he's killed for two reasons alone - 1) He's just run out of plot function, especially with Penley heading back into the fold, Storr doesn't really have a part to play. Just kill him and save having to think about it. 2) The episode is otherwise seriously lacking in moments of action. Dr Who is basically a fantasy adventure, and that requires threat. Killing Storr off reminds us of the stakes, and without it we'd have quite a quiet episode.
That's not to say it's lacking in set pieces - Victoria's chase through the ice caverns is nicely shot and atmospheric (the music is really terrific, not obviously apposite but it adds a lot). There are a few too many 'hiding in plain sight' moments, and the end, with Victoria just letting the Warrior grab her is a bit rubbish. But ultimately, it's a pointless little diversion that doesn't progress the story. Even some of the more interesting dramatic elements - Victoria trapped in the Warrior's claw - aren't really dwelt on, or dramatized in any real way. It could have been a moment of high suspense, but it just isn't.
Speaking of moments of high suspense, I'm quite annoyed with the cliffhangers. The last two are a little bit rubbish. The 'let's shoot her, oh let's not' resolution of part three's is just woeful, and the desperate contrivance of the airlock business here is just rotten (the Doctor is willfully awkward in a rather stupid and needless manner, almost as if he's been checking his watch and knows that twenty five minutes are nearly up).
None of this is to say that I disliked the episode particularly. The scripts are pleasant enough, the characterisation fine, with nice atmosphere and a great look. It's just all slightly lacking in drive. Remember this is a six parter pretty much entirely powered by people wanting to check up what sort of engine someone else has got. And not much else. It's a good job the characterisation is worked on as hard as it is, otherwise this would be deathly dull. Let's hope it warms up a bit in part five.
Dorney
View Public Profile
Send a private message to Dorney
Send email to Dorney
Find More Posts by Dorney
Add Dorney to Your Contacts
#78 3 Oct 2004, 7:48 pm
Dorney
Time Lord
Bromley, Kent
Joined April 22, 2004
Last On: Today 10:50 am
Posts Here: 4,637
Re: Day by Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ice Warriors 5:
As I suggested the cliffhanger resolution is as annoying trite as I was expecting, exactly the way out you would have guessed a week ago. Desperately obvious and underlining the contrivance - and as an extra point, why are the Ice Warriors so interested in finding out who the Doctor is that they're prepared to kill him? Seems a bit of an over-reaction to me. The finale for this episode is considerably better, however, even if it is a little clumsy in execution. At least it feels like a proper part of the story, rather than a meaningless peril.
This episode does demonstrate that there are two types of padding. The story is still slight as hell, and the story once again progress only an inch or two. So it has to be filled out. And here we see some examples of quality padding, and some of poor padding.
The scenes with Clent and Miss Garrett (who now seems less of an anti-computer figure than she was in part three, and also a little bit over the top and shouty with little reason... as a complete aside, aren't hotpants a particularly inappropriate outfit to wear in an ice age? can't recall whether she changed when she went to visit Penley), these scenes are all sound and fury, but ultimately come to nothing (A lot of fuss is made about consulting the computer, who then just tells them to do what they already were doing). However, the acting from Barkworth, and the detailing of the moral complications inherent in the premise is sublime and keeps you invested in the action. Likewise the confrontation with Penley is a similarly good moment of high drama. They don't add to the plot particularly, but in terms of raising it to a serious dramatic level they work fine. In the scenes Hayles is essentially using the time to reiterate the themes.
However, in contrast, there are one or two moments where it is just pointless. The bear attack is most noticeable, a random moment of pointless action to fill up space, and as a result it is utterly tense (though, fair play - the direction doesn't make the inability to match up the stock footage with the studio footage too atrocious). And likewise, the comment about 'volunteering' from the comedy guard, just comes across as a bit random, too out of left field and too based on a minor character to be all that interesting.
It's weird that considering the story is named after the Ice Warriors actually do very little. For all the talk at how season 5 is just a series of 'base under siege' stories, it becomes clear as you watch it that this isn't really the case. There's no real siege of any sort in the Abominable Snowmen, and it looks like there'll merely be an attack here. Tomb comes closest, but with the monsters attempting to break out of the enclosed space rather than into it, it isn't exactly a siege story in the way the term tends to be used. Here the Martians have pretty much just sat in their spaceship for three episodes, waiting around for people to turn up. If they hadn't killed off Storr and Arden, it'd be hard to think of them as actual villains. In deed, the detailed depiction of them as individuals does slightly weaken the story, in that Varga's motivation seems painfully lacking (why not try and co-operate with the humans? He just seems wilfully petulant). Their final scenes here show a welcome involving of them, but up to now they're a rather forced villain.
Again, this relates to my observation on the lack of involvement for the TARDIS crew. It's still in evidence here - Victoria barely says a word, and Jamie has remained incapacitated and ineffective for two and a half episodes and adds little. Even with the Doctor playing a more active role, the drama still settles on the human base, with the high points of the episode being the two big scenes there. The regulars feel sidelined, an amusing sideshow. What it comes down to is that we have, pretty much, two seperate and distinct plots. Plot one is a morality play, intellectual debate drama. This centres around Penley and Clent. Visualise the central problem being a buried spaceship's engine, ignoring the Warriors, and you can see how you've set up a problem play, and how it could easily work as a piece in it's own right. Notice how little the characters in this half are interested in the Warrior's proper. Clent pretty much says it - they're interested in the engine alone. This half of the plot is cerebral, based on drama derived from the personal conflict and debate. The second half is the half that features the regulars and the Ice Warriors. This is far more Boy's Own adventuring, filled with more humour (there are one or two beautiful moments from Troughton in this episode alone). And this is written and played as pure dumb fun. The two never really connect. That is why, to my mind, this story, whilst enjoyable, well acted and written, doesn't quite work. The two different halves never quite combine into a coherent whole. It's hard to balance the traditional Who-esque style of the latter, with the high drama of the former, meaning it's slightly unsatisfying and unbalanced. As it is, the adventure side seems to interest Hayles less than the high drama side, and this lack of a focused identity for the script stops it from being the all powerful piece it could have been.
Dorney
View Public Profile
Send a private message to Dorney
Send email to Dorney
Find More Posts by Dorney
Add Dorney to Your Contacts
#79 3 Oct 2004, 8:25 pm
The Secretive Bus
Time Lord
Edinburgh
Joined April 18, 2004
Last On: Yesterday 10:45 pm
Posts Here: 801
Re: Day by Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite the Warriors being my favourite Who alien race, I agree this story isn't too thrilling..
And I thought that the scenes of the bear were specially shot for this story, and it just looks like stock footage as the bear is never in the same shot as an actor...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
View Public Profile
Send a private message to The Secretive Bus
Send email to The Secretive Bus
Find More Posts by The Secretive Bus
Add The Secretive Bus to Your Contacts
#80 4 Oct 2004, 1:59 pm
Dorney
Time Lord
Bromley, Kent
Joined April 22, 2004
Last On: Today 10:50 am
Posts Here: 4,637
Re: Day by Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may very well be right about the bear Bus. Thinking it through, it possibly does match the circumstances too well to be stock.
The Ice Warriors 6:
Well, episode six does finally turn this script into a coherent story. The Ice Warriors finally seem to actually have an aim (up til now they've just hung around on the fringes looking grumpy, and not really actually doing anything). And the fact that this desire is inherently dangerous to the humans finally justifies the antagonism - for all the talk of the Ice Warriors as noble creatures, that's more about how they are in the Pertwee years, here they're just nasty pieces of work. In deed for the vast majority of the tale it's hard to tell why they don't just try to negotiate, rather than everyone just assuming the other side is evil. The negotiation scene in this episode is really rather good, with it's shifting logic and moments of humour (Clent's awkward greeting to the Ice Warriors 'Gentlemen' is a pricelessly lovely bit of characterisation). It shows how interesting this story could have been with a tighter grasp on the actual motivation of the characters. The lack of a proper motive for the Warriors is really surprising given the intelligence of Hayle's latter scripts, and the detailed characterisation for the main human's here (though the fringe ones do seem to flip flop a bit. Garrett can't decide quite what she thinks about anything, and jolly old Walters, who's been hanging around on the fringes without ever really doing anything since episode one, turns into a ranting screaming nutter this week, for no readily apparent reason, in a moment that has nothing to do with the rest of the script, and really sidelines you by seemingly appearing from a different story all together).
Plotwise, it's a bit weird. A lot of threads seem to get abandoned very quickly - in deed, I'm pretty certain that Jamie might not even say a line in this episode. Certainly, he's pretty much limited to lying down on a table - this wasn't a holiday week, as far as I can tell, but I'm willing to be corrected. He really has done nothing for three weeks, ultimately only acting as something to keep Penley occupied with until he can make the final confrontation with Clent (whilst Penley articulates the anti-computer pro-humanity theme, it's hard to see that his side of the plot connects with the story in any real way. Practically everything he says might as well be said by the Doctor. There's rather a feeble attempt to include him in the action in this episode, turning up the heat to stifle the warriors... but it's half hearted, and comes across as a weird double solution, because it's immediately followed by the Doctor using the gun to cripple the Warriors. You only really needed one of these attacks to acheive the same end, two just seems pointless).
But at least it feels like one piece. The adventure stuff meshes with the arguments, and it works quite well even if the solution is essentially obvious. The Ice Warrior's attack seems like a last minute attempt to graft them onto the main plot, and it does pull this off, but it doesn't quite stop you thinking that they aren't the real villains. Having sat in their spaceship for so long, they can't be. The main villain is the computer itself, and dehumanisation, and it's fitting that the resolution to that side of the plot gets the better treatment. The Ice Warriors are a symptom of the problem, rather than the problem itself - this is obvious when you consider that the moment the computer's stranglehold is released the Warriors are defeated easily, and in the way that we've pretty much been told they will since the beginning of part two - the trick is to break the hold. In many ways this slightly emasculates them as villains, with their threat being nullified so simply, and the threat they themselves, rather than their engines, pose being ignored by the majority of the humans. Rather a generic evil monster at this stage, though there are certainly flashes of wit and intelligence in Varga's dialogue with Clent that suggest the quality there is to come.
The end is decidedly abrupt, it must be said. Whilst I do like the TARDIS crew rushing off before anyone can thank them, the best stories always give us a little coda with them. As it this time, we lose them before we realise, meaning that the end comes just that little bit too quickly.
The Secretive Bus@
Re: Day by Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It really does strike you that, having created this wonderful new race of aliens, they've put them in the wrong story. The story concerns itself with the computer and man v. machines - the Cybermen would have been great in this one, as living walking examples of the possible consequences if man makes a wrong decision. But the Ice Warriors just don't work here - like a gang of petulant teenagers who want to gate crash a party to get themelves noticed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
View Public Profile
Send a private message to The Secretive Bus
Send email to The Secretive Bus
Find More Posts by The Secretive Bus
Add The Secretive Bus to Your Contacts
#82 4 Oct 2004, 8:51 pm
Dorney
Time Lord
Bromley, Kent
Joined April 22, 2004
Last On: Today 10:50 am
Posts Here: 4,637
Re: Day by Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's exactly it. It's like Hayle's had two really smashing ideas... and then just forced them together in the same story. It's especially tricksy considering they don't really get up to anything 'Ice Warrior'esque. They could really be any monster at all. The only moment that maybe requires them to be what they are is Penley's raising of the temperature in part six, which as I said doesn't really affect the plot in any way.
Dorney
View Public Profile
Send a private message to Dorney
Send email to Dorney
Find More Posts by Dorney
Add Dorney to Your Contacts
#83 4 Oct 2004, 9:01 pm
The Secretive Bus
Time Lord
Edinburgh
Joined April 18, 2004
Last On: Yesterday 10:45 pm
Posts Here: 801
Re: Day by Day
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe Kenneth Williams should have been Vaaga rather than Bernie Bresslaw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment