The Claws of Axos

26 Jul 2006, 4:16 pm
Dorney

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Finally getting hold of an, admittedly fairly knackered, old computer means I should be able to knock the rest of this season off fairly quickly.

Having said that, the test then becomes tracking down season 9 onwards - boxed up in storage at my folks place.

Still, let's get on with it whilst we still can.

The Claws of Axos

1:
There’s so much to like about Claws of Axos. It’s sort of a shame that it’s all unintentional -but then, if it was intended it’d lose everything.

After the false security of the monochrome and over spent glory of Mind of Evil, this story immediately takes us back to the cheap childish crassness of Terror. The intentions are signalled pretty much straight away with the bumbling civil servant Chinn being introduced reading a folder with the words ‘Top Secret’ unsubtly filling the cover, followed on by some over acting and a comedy twatting by the door as the Doctor enters.

Chinn is definitely one of the big flaws of the story. He’s a cartoon bureaucrat, not a real person at all. He shoots missiles at the UFO because that’s what cartoon bureaucrats do, not because there’s any logic to it. And he’s not alone. All the characters seem to have been defined by one personality element. Bill Filer for example just seems to have the sole trait of being American (hence his gratuitous reference to the movies by mentioning Errol Flynn - a joke that is fairly incomprehensible. I’ve researched Flynn and I’ve no idea what he’s supposed to be saying). The research complex representatives turn up at the end, and are characterised as a scientist (dressed with a complete lack of imagination in roll neck jumper and glasses and rather self righteous for no clear reason, because that’s his one personality trait) and some posh bloke. None of them have any personality at all. When Filer gets captured by Axos halfway through the episode, we’re supposed to care, but we simply don’t. It’s as if the only reason the story thinks we need to like a character is because he isn’t Chinn. But not being unlikeable is not the same as being likeable. He’s just some guy who we’ve barely met. Speaking to Jo in a friendly way doesn’t make someone one of our heroes. Why couldn’t it have been someone like Benton, we have history with him, something at stake? Why should Filer matter to us more than Pigbin Josh?

Ah, Pigbin Josh. The cult character who, like the Bandrils, is routinely praised by fans in a desperate attempt to show how ‘ironic’ they can be. Actually, that’s a little unfair. There’s a lot to enjoy in Josh. Firstly, the very fact that he has a name, and such a name - can you imagine spotting that in the credits if you didn’t already know who he was? You’d never guess. Also, the way the meteorite is described as heading for the south coast - and then we cut to a shot of a tramp on a beach as if that’s an iconic image that says ‘south coast’ in most people’s heads. Most of all though, there’s the fact that the story doesn’t need to have him in it at all, at least to this level of detail. Any old bloke could have seen Axos land, and get swallowed up with roughly the same effect. It’s a surprisingly nice idea to try and give this guy a past, a daily life so we get to see the death as more than collateral damage. It’s another life. Shame they mess it up by sort of giving the impression that they haven’t really worked that hard on it. If anything, it looks like it’s just made up on the hoof (and it’s rather amazing that it isn’t!).

That sort of sums up Axos. Good ideas done badly. You see, if you can ignore the wafer thin characterisation and fairly broad acting (which I suppose is quite hard to avoid considering the material) the plotting is quite nicely done. For a start, we know that Axos is evil before the characters find this out. Before the regulars have arrived we are aware that something fishy is going on due to the death of Josh and the kidnap of Filer. No, admittedly, this is not exactly a massive shock (it’s hardly a surprise that aliens are the bad guys is it?) but it is quite a nice change to have the audience having more knowledge than the characters. As a result, there’s a corking sense of intrigue in this episode, with the major question being how it all links up. The recent DWM review of the story suggested that blowing the real identity of the monsters at the top of part one is a mistake, but that’s surely a misinterpreation. It’s something of a leap of logic to realise just from this episode that the two creatures we see are actually the same thing. The opening tells us nothing we don’t really already know - it doesn’t even imply the ugly creatures are baddies (remember the period of the show we’re in - ugly rarely equals evil at the moment). All it does is offer contrasts. The big questions of this episode are ‘who are the big spaghetti things’ in the same way as City of Death - having them appear and then vanish until the cliffhanger is an exercise in unsettling the audience. Adding a factor that seems to be ignored throughout the rest of the episode adds intrigue. Imagine this episode without them - the alien ship would land, we’d get the sense that the aliens are bad (through the Doctor’s distrust and the series set-up). You’d sort of figure out where the plot is going fairly quickly (or at the very least, you’d think you had). But by including the monsters at the start, we’re forced to consider what precisely what’s going on. It’s less clear. There’s the clear implication of something else happening within the ship that we’ve had no clues to.

The appearance of the Master adds to this sense of curiosity. I must confess that getting into this episode, and with his appearance late in the day, I’d actually forgotten the Master was going to turn up by the point he did. I’d thought, in advance, that this was about the point I’d get fed up with him. After the last episode ending with his ‘up yours’ farewell to the Doctor, I’d thought that bringing him straight back could have felt daft. As it is, it just adds another level of ‘what the hell is going on?’ to the story. Maybe as the story progresses I’ll find the overuse wearying, but as of now it’s no big deal.

However, the appearance of the Master does show one of the other problems of the story. It’s really oddly directed and written. His first appearance is in a brief scene with Filer, when the camera pans across and catches sight of him. Cue dramatic music sting. Then a few minutes later, another brief scene has him chatting with Filer and announcing himself as ‘the Master’ cue another dramatic sting.

And that’s what I don’t get. Surely the whole point of the first dramatic sting is that we already know it’s the Master. We recognise him. So why is him announcing his name afforded the same treatment as if him saying it is equally dramatic. It only makes sense if we don’t immediately recognise him. Are the audience supposed to say ‘oh hell, it’s the Master’, and then a few minutes later say ‘oh hell, he’s introduced himself’?

For that matter, why have two scenes at all? It’s not as if there’s too much information to fit in one scene. And this is something that recurs throughout the story. Precisely how many shots of Pigbin Josh acting like a tramp do we need before the audience realises he’s a tramp? Four the makers think. (There’s a glorious one in the cut scenes on the DVD - after the Brigadier announces the UFO is heading for the south coast, we should have had a shot of the Doctor wandering over to the map and a close up of the south coast, because clearly the audience couldn’t figure out what those words meant without a helpful aide memoire).

The story is insanely bitty. It can’t stop cutting away to new scenes as if that somehow makes it pacey. It is impossible to believe that this is the work of the man who made the impeccable Ambassadors a year earlier. Now the DVD shows that the desperate gallop through introducing the characters the story’s going to need in the first few minutes is partially due to a couple of scenes being unusable - but we have to judge the show we get not the one we might have got. And as it is, it’s just lacking in focus.

And that’s a real shame, cos there’s some great design work (both varieties of Axons look amazing, with the less celebrated humanoid form demonstrating the value of simplicity in their rather uncomfortable just off-human feel, and the ship is wonderful)

Mind you, can you hate a story which opens with two technicians clearly written as cockney and inexplicably being played by a couple of posh blokes? I’m not sure you can.

2:
After the at least intriguing plotting of episode one, episode two is a definite turn for the worse.

This story begins to have the feel of being over re-written. The script has lost a sense of what the plot actually is. The clearest example of this is the duplication of Filer. It’s a problem in so many ways. If we ignore the way it seems to occupy a fairly self contained five minutes (set up, developed and resolved stupidly quickly) it really does feel like it’s wandered in from another plot (probably the Autons). This incredibly useful ability is never used by the Axons again (say, when they need to send someone to make sure Axonite goes global. Why do they need to use the Master?). And if they can replicate human beings so well, why do they go for the ping pong ball eye look when they’re trying to blend in. Perhaps most gloriously of all, the Filer duplicate gives himself away within five seconds flat by trying to use force, instead of stealth which surely has to be the major selling point of the idea (it’s not like they’re afraid of getting spotted - they’re completely blase about sending in full spaghetti creatures overland in the cliffhanger). In deed, they love drawing attention to themselves. They’ve managed to infiltrate Earth and endear themselves to the authorities - so why send someone to attack the Doctor and rather blatantly reveal your nefarious agenda?

It’s a shame, because the basic storyline is kind of good. The Greeks bearing gifts idea is interesting, and it leads to an intriguing conflict for the Doctor (he’s used to being the lone voice of reason, but it’s rare to see that reason being dissent). Having to fight against positivity as opposed to negativity is a lovely idea. The plot itself in its simplest form is about invasion by PR, and as a result contains some nice elements of unconscious satire on our modern world. Perhaps the best expression of this is the greed of Chinn - ready to blow up any outsider until the point when he realises that the outsider can offer him something, then he’s all smiles. In that sense it’s a counter-piece to Ambassadors, offering the same situation almost in reverse. The disquieting message is that we’ll accept anything if it’s got the right image. And we won’t accept anything that’s presented badly. Trust is not earned, it is bought. It’s a fab idea, and the story is paced well to develop this (a first episode of intrigue, a clear development into obvious threat in the second, and a few answers). Unfortunately the script can’t keep to this lovely central idea and has to chuck in ideas that could be interesting elsewhere, but just don’t mesh here. Filer’s double is one, and the Master’s plotline is as well. They distract from the story’s fine concept.

The intrigue promised by the Master’s appearance in part one is brought back by this episode when it becomes clear that it’s just another one of his dodgy schemes. His entire plan here is almost sensibly motivated - for a moment or two it seems that he simply wants to be set free - but unfortunately the script seems desperate to tag on his ‘evil mastermind’ tag, by his demands to Axos including the destruction of the Doctor and the extinguishing of all life on Earth (the former I can just about buy, petty revenge… but it’s hard to see what he gains from the latter).

Still, he does manage to get a few good scenes - the action sequence when he leaps onto a truck and hypnotises the driver whilst he’s driving by use of the wing mirror is glorious extravagant fun. Although the follow up scene in the UNIT corridor where he orders his puppet to nick the TARDIS is somewhat undermined by the fact that the second half of the scene reveals that another soldier has been stood within plain sight of his evil dealings throughout.

To be brutally honest, it’s another example of the awkwardly shonky direction. There’s a lot of this throughout (there’s a particularly awkward bit of blocking for Katy Manning when she’s locked up in the hut and is getting angry that just looks like we’re at the level of the school play). It’s really hard to tell why this should be. Maybe Ferguson had less time. I don’t know, but he’s simply lacking in anything worthwhile this time round.

The acting is a bit better this episode, with Tim Piggot Smith managing to do quite a bit with his couple of lines (and rather clearly looking better than Richard Franklin at the very least). Perhaps it’s cos he’s not been asked to move around all that much. Also Bernard Holley’s nastier Axon leader has a genuinely chilling edge at points. But otherwise, it's still a little too broad throughout.


#457 26 Jul 2006, 8:30 pm
The Secretive Bus

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Quote:
and some posh bloke. None of them have any personality at all.

I really liked that character, mainly as he's played by the Colonel from "It Ain't Half Hot Mum".

Good analysis going on there and I agree with all of it - it's a moderately enjoyable story but one that doesn't really know what it's doing. I'd never considered how pointless the Filer thing was before now. And your assessment of those that like Pigbin Josh IS jolly unfair. I don't like the character myself, but will you also mock me for my maniacal liking of that infamous Welshman Mullins?

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#458 27 Jul 2006, 11:19 am
Dorney

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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Secretive Bus
"I really liked that character, mainly as he's played by the Colonel from "It Ain't Half Hot Mum".

Good analysis going on there and I agree with all of it - it's a moderately enjoyable story but one that doesn't really know what it's doing. I'd never considered how pointless the Filer thing was before now. And your assessment of those that like Pigbin Josh IS jolly unfair. I don't like the character myself, but will you also mock me for my maniacal liking of that infamous Welshman Mullins? "

Actually, not at all. Mullins is played by the ever entertaining Talfryn Thomas and is a brilliant cameo. There's nothing 'ironic' about loving him. Odd perhaps, but not ironic.

#459 28 Jul 2006, 10:36 am
The Secretive Bus

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorney
"Actually, not at all. Mullins is played by the ever entertaining Talfryn Thomas and is a brilliant cameo. There's nothing 'ironic' about loving him. Odd perhaps, but not ironic. "

Then have a beer, friend. I don't drink them so you can have it.

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#460 29 Jul 2006, 4:47 pm
Dorney

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorney

"Ah, Pigbin Josh. The cult character who, like the Mandrils"

Of course, it would have helped if I'd said the 'Bandrils'.


#461 30 Jul 2006, 3:16 pm
The Secretive Bus

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorney
"Of course, it would have helped if I'd said the 'Bandrils'. "

I think with the Bandril Ambassador it's just the fact that it's a great big plush puppet thing and yet is a better actor than anybody else in "Timelash". Just gander at its first scene when it looks away and shakes its head at the end in a really sad and "Those crazy fools..." sort of way. Almost majestic. Larry Olivier would have been proud.

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#462 31 Jul 2006, 5:14 pm
Dorney

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The Claws of Axos 3:

You know, I’m kind of enjoying this. I know that’s terribly unfashionable to say, but Axos is really kind of fun.

It’s flawed, definitely - but it’s the first time in this season that the dog has wagged the tail. For the first time we don’t have a central conceit that doesn’t need a plot to go with it. This story has a plot at its heart for a change, not a concept.

There’s still the massive problems of focus. For a start, the Doctor and Jo are all but written out of the episode when the Axons capture them in the first few minutes - leaving Filer behind, somewhat inexplicably; he was good enough to be a hostage an episode ago, and rather than recapture the escapee with the massive insider knowledge of their evil(now bolstered by the Doctor’s scientific evidence), they decide to leave him alive and in a heap for no obvious reason, and then (with their brilliant flair for self-publicity) point him out to the authorities in case they miss him. With the Doctor out of the way (in an admittedly brilliant psychedelic sequence of flashy visual effects within Axos)the Master is left to carry the fort.

Now, there’s a degree to which the story has felt like the Master is just forced into a story that doesn’t actually need him. Certainly, it’s not like we need him to lead the Axons to Earth (it’s not like hundreds of aliens haven’t been able to find it perfectly well off their own bat) And the subplot of his escape to alert the authorities (which the Axons could do on their own) is just a mechanism to get him involved in his own TARDIS nicking subplot (notice how the Axons seem to forget he exists the moment he nips out the door). However, this episode, he’s the main focus. As the Doctor spends most of this episode having a fairly uncomfortable sit down, the Master carries the bulk of the audience entertainment, getting to wander around being charismatic and leading the goodies. For the first time in the story, it’s really a bonus that he’s around. In deed, it’s tempting to think that if you showed this episode to someone who knew nothing of the show, they’d think he’s the hero.

Plotwise, the story does still feel like it’s filled with loads of offshoots from it’s earlier, longer drafts. Last episode’s Filer duplicate was the clearest element, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that Filer himself is as well - just what is the point of him? What is the point of having a random American around (one pretty much 100% heroic cliché)? He adds nothing to the story, and he’s just not as likeable as the makers seem to think. Maybe he performed some of the Master’s role in the original version (and miraculously curing both of the borderline pointlessness) but he shows every sign of being a character left over from earlier draft when the authors can’t bear to part with him.

Likewise, the PR invasion aspect of the story is quietly shunted aside in this episode. It progresses a little with the putting down of Chinn and the Brigadier’s release… but then the story shifts towards the more technobabble heavy attempts of Axos to take over time. This would make considerably more sense in a longer story (where it could be a switching of a plan A to a plan B - look at the Silurians for the sort of thing I mean), but in the context of a shorter story this is a little unfocused. The first plot hasn’t run out, and they’re already bringing in another. It would probably work in heightening the story if it was presented in parallel with the other, but they do seem to forget the older story.

But as I say, in spite of all this, it’s fun. The monsters are glorious (in both forms), with the Axon rampage through the complex being particularly memorable - in deed, with sequences like this and the mentalness of the interrogation, you can actually see the previous quality of Michael Ferguson’s direction (which does rather beg the question of why so much of the rest of the story seems choppy and disjointed and weirdly cut together). The Axons are cool villains - properly nasty and powerful, articulate and unnerving (Holley really is unsung for this story). It does feel like the Doctor’s got an enemy that’s properly dangerous on a large scale, which Pertwee hasn’t had to face off with before (for once the threat is bigger than Earth, and the villains have a clear desire other than generic ‘invasion'). Finally, the protagonists, whilst as two dimensional as they come, have obvious and logical aims. If anything, it’s biggest problem is it has too much plot. But that’s pretty much the only time in the Pertwee era to date that you can say that. It may be childish, but that’s only because it wants to be fun.

The Claws of Axos 4:

Did you know that there’s a sequence at the end of this episode where the cast hide from a nuclear explosion in a ridiculous way, and then return to the newly destroyed power station with no fallout whatsoever?

Of course you do. It’s one of those criticisms and observations everyone makes. Okay, for once it’s true (unlike, say, the common comment that the title of Robots of Death gives away the answer to it’s whodunnit). But, really, isn’t there a bit more to the story than that?

As always, the major problems are important if people don’t like the story, and invisible if they like it.

You see, as stories go - it’s great fun. OK, there are still elements of the over plotted nature of the story showing up - the sequence with the death of Hardiman, for example, seems to do nothing of any real interest (the character’s been so pointless up til now that you know he’s dead the moment he speaks up!) and Filer remains utterly pointless throughout. But this is about as good a final episode as you can get.

For a start, it’s packed to the gills. After abandoning the PR invasion plot in the second half of the last episode, it becomes clear that the control of time subplot from the last episode was just something to do with the Doctor to fill in time as the overall plot kicks into high gear.

As the Axons attack, there is a genuine feel of everything falling apart. This is helped by the Doctor’s convincing abandonment of the planet, but also down to the slow motion attacks of masses of Axons (who seem to be everywhere) and a proper sense of desperation and cost (such as Benton and Yates blowing up a jeep in order to escape). With the goodies trapped in the reactor at the end, they feel properly overwhelmed (and they absolutely are, with no way out). That works as a contrast to the last episode of Mind of Evil (which has already thrown away it’s biggest set piece, and has the villains with the weaker hand). This does feel like a properly structured story, with only episode three not really fitting as an ideal example. The story started mysteriously, developed the threat, and now the stakes are raised to their highest level as the villain seems evil and unstoppable. It’s a constant upward curve of energy. All of sudden, the story kicks into high gear.

As I said, the Doctor’s fake abandonment is the icing on the cake. With even the Doctor seeming to give up, this story pushes the characters to the brink of disaster even further. It’s nicely performed from all involved, with Pertwee managing to look convincingly ruthless pretty much right until we figure out what he’s up to. Obviously, we know it has to be a bluff, but it’s a damn good one, and it gives the episode a welcome air of darkness. For once, the story really manages to look like it could almost end badly and it has a doom laden air that almost reaches Inferno heights.

There’s a degree to which the story never really decides what it wants to do with the Master - but that’s kind of a strength too. Without being the main antagonstic element in the story, we get the Master as player, selfish and amoral, purely out for himself. It’s rather more interesting than the meaninglessly ‘evil’ figure of the previous two stories, with no real logic. Simply, this is a Master with motivation for a change, and he’s at his most fun - always trying to please whoever he can use, ready to sell anyone out for himself. It’s a trait that returns to the series occasionally, and is usually the sign of the best Master stories.

So, all in all - a good story badly told. The acting and characterisation leaves a lot to be desired (Chinn is badly acted throughout, Hardiman and Winser well acted but without any scripted character worth mentioning), the direction is frustratingly inconsistent, and there’s too much going on in most of the middle sixty minutes or more. But it tells a rattling yarn with enough good ideas to keep going. I rather liked it.



#463 6 Aug 2006, 10:21 pm
Broton


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I very much enjoyed watching the whole of Claws of Axos recently, viewing it through two doorways whilst having a bath. Not a bad story at all, though the bath was quite cold by the end.

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#464 13 Aug 2006, 7:37 pm
The Secretive Bus

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So when do we get...

"... the DOOMSDAY MACHINE!..."

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#465 16 Aug 2006, 3:22 pm
Dorney


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Next week probably. I hoped to type it up last week, but I kind of ran out of days. I want to keep reviewing stories only when I can watch them as a whole, otherwise it sort of misses the point, and I wouldn't have been able to do all the episodes before leaving town for a week.

For what it's worth, I'm looking forward to it. I feel it is sort of underrated, or have done in the past. But opinions can change...

#466 16 Aug 2006, 5:35 pm
Tom Payne

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You have alot of free time...

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#467 17 Aug 2006, 3:19 pm
Dorney
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tardis Ville
"You have alot of free time... "

Not exactly - it wouldn't have taken me nearly three years to do the first eight seasons if I did! There's a reason why it was more regular in the old days...


#468 17 Aug 2006, 5:14 pm
The Secretive Bus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorney
"There's a reason why it was more regular in the old days..."

You were 14 when you covered the Hartnell era, admittedly.

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#469 18 Aug 2006, 10:44 am
SecondDoctorWho

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Broton
"I very much enjoyed watching the whole of Claws of Axos recently, viewing it through two doorways whilst having a bath. Not a bad story at all, though the bath was quite cold by the end. "

I enjoy watching 'claws'. The story is original and there are some fantastic location scenes.

Plus it stars JP, NC and KM.

Rob



#470 20 Aug 2006, 5:02 pm
AlMiles

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I have nothing to add to this thread but encouragement. Your in-depth reviews and intelligent description of your own thoughts and reactions are a great companion to any viewing of the episodes - please keep it up!

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#472 10 Sep 2006, 5:50 pm
Dorney



#473 14 Sep 2006, 10:19 pm
The Secretive Bus

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Damn it, man, you've got to! Men out there, young men, are dying for it!

And I'm now a temporary 4 year resident of Edinburgh, so if you're ever up here again perhaps we could hold a conversation in a surprisingly spacious cafe?

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#474 15 Sep 2006, 11:20 am
Dorney
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Will do, in deed. I'm going to try to start the review tomorrow if my girlfriend will let me. Colony isn't neccessarily the best one to show an intelligent woman. Though, my new avatar should give a clue that I'm trying to get back into the habit. Been carrying the sodding tape around for weeks.

#475 17 Sep 2006, 3:06 am
The Secretive Bus

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Girlfriend, eh? You saucy fellow. Well done.

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#476 26 Sep 2006, 11:33 am
fortmap
fool's gold

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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Secretive Bus
"but will you also mock me for my maniacal liking of that infamous Welshman Mullins? "

If you liked him, you might very well love series one of Survivors. It's very good, you see.

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#477 26 Sep 2006, 1:29 pm
Dorney

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And he does of course feature heavily in the episode 'Law and Order', probably the most harrowing piece of television I've ever seen.



#478 29 Sep 2006, 12:32 pm
kimwong

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which episode is that?



#479 2 Oct 2006, 5:55 pm
Dorney


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Girl raped and murdered at a party by Mullins.

Then it gets worse.


#480 10 Oct 2006, 6:20 pm
Dorney

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OK, finally got started on Colony. The episode one review is typed up. The others will be following. I'll post the lot in about a week.