Bonnie Langford-A Very Happy 49th Birthday!

                              In 1986 actress Bonnie Langford was chosen to succeed Nicola Bryant as Colin Baker's sixth doctor's new companion Melanie "Mel" Bush,the "computer programmer from Pease Pottage".  Though she was the transitional companion between the sixth and seventh doctors, her time on the show was extremely short lived as she was only featured in six Doctor Who serials,two with Colin Baker and four with Sylvester McCoy before herself being succeeded by Sophie Aldred's Ace in 1988. Known before Doctor Who for her children's entertainment project Bonnie has continued acting in theater and has maintained involvement in Doctor Who-known for her friendliness and likability among Whovians. So today I wish Bonnie a very happy birthday.

Doctor Who-The Gunfighters

                         
                 The last ballad of the Last Chance Saloon is about to be sung as the doctor,Steven and Dodo arrive in Tombstone just in time for the infamous gunfight between the Earps and the Clanton's at the O.K. Corral. Of course upon arriving the doctor,suffering from a toothache is recommended by Bat Masterson himself to visit Doc Holiday. Steven and Dodo,masquerading as a musical troupe, wind up entertaining the Clanton's at the saloon. During the extraction,the doctor distracts the Clanton's who've paid a visit by making them think he is holiday. Holiday gets the idea to skip town before the ensuing shootout with his fiancee Kate. Meanwhile the doctor maintains the guise while making the entire Clanton family think hes on their side when entering the saloon. When she becomes aware of the trickery,Holiday holds Dodo hostage while he and Kate skip town until,in the end Dodo holds Holiday up holiday with his his rifle and forces him to return her to Tombstone.

                       Meanwhile fellow outlaw and ex lover of Kate,non other than Johnny Ringo returns to town-killing the Last Chance's barkeep Charlie for knowing his name,thinking he would foil his plans. Steven himself is almost hung in the ensuing confusion over the true identity of the doctor. When Wyatt Earp himself sees how well the doctor has handled the situation, he deputizes him and he elects to attempt to talk piece to the Clanton's before the inevitable bloodshed he despises. Ringo meanwhile is raising distrust between the Clanton's and the Earps-playing each side against the other until Holiday's return with Dodo. Holiday of course learns of Kate rekindling of her relationship with Ringo and desides to join the Clantons side in the ensuing conflict-heated up further when Warren Earp is gunned down. Steven,held by Pa Clanton, is given back over the the doctor and Dodo during the shootout-after which they escape following Ringo's murder by Holiday to the TARDIS-where he and Kate thank the doctor and his companions before they depart.

                       One of the few purely farcical historical stories Doctor Who ever did,this does an excellent job at pointing out the highly absurd "clishe ridden convention of the American West",as the doctor himself calls it in the conclusion of the story. And this story is full of them. Actors seemingly flubbing their Western accents on purpose,the narrative song "Ballad Of The Last Chance Saloon" that seems to annoy some Whovians (but which I personally find a hoot) and the characters constant emphasis on their guns. Of course within the story,the doctors adamantly maintained dislike of firearms projected throughout this story point to a very implied anti gun message. Every character,even the Earp's themselves are continually shown behaving totally irresponsibly when handling their six shooters. Of course its the 19th century American West-that was part of both the charm and the impropriety of the era. Of course its an era the doctor,unlike the very enthusiastic Dodo and Steven, is not particularly fond of and is all too willing to leave-even with the story playing out with all its comical ironies. Overall,this story is a good deal of fun.  

                

Doctor Who-The Ark

                  The doctor,Steven and Dodo find themselves in a jungle that Dodo-suffering from a mild cold, is sure is the Whipsnade Zoo she visited on a field trip. The realization that this jungle contains two of every animal on Earth leads the doctor to find they are on a spaceship. Once within the control area they meet the Guardians,humans leaving an Earth about to descend into its sun to colonize the nearest Earth-like planet Refusis III. A group of guardians are awake to look after the spaceship,which Dodo correctly compares to Noah's Ark, while the rest of humanity as been reduced to microscopic size and place is cryogenic suspension for the 700 year multi generational journey. The Guardians are helped by the Monoids,non verbal humanoid cyclopes who came to Earth to impart their knowledge but have been reduced to a lower order servant class. 

            After Mellium,daughter of the Guardian Commander shows them the multi generational statue built over time during their journey to honor their ancestors and descendants, her father falls ill and the doctor and his companions are suddenly prime suspects by Guardian head of security Zentos.  Since the cold was cured on Earth millennia ago,Dodo's is more virulent to their society. After Steven volunteers himself as a representative for the trial,he too falls ill and the Guardian Commander orders from his own sick bed that Steven be used as a guinea pig for the doctor-who did claim responsibility for the illness,to help find a cure. Using fluid from every animal,the doctor is able to synthesize the original vaccine for the common cold-curing Steven and the Guardians as well. After Zentos,the Commander,his daughter Mellium and attorney Baccu thank them and bid them farewell. Upon leaving in the TARDIS the doctor and his companions find themselves in the same place-only to find the statue has been completed to resemble a Monoid.

              They find that shortly before arriving on Refusis III,the virus that had once nearly killed the humans had weakened many of them-to the point where the put upon Monoids were able to force them into building vocal translators for them so that the Monoids could stage a revolution against the humans,reduced themselves now to a labor class,allowing the Monoids alone to colonize Refusis III for their own new life. And the Monoids reveal that they have planted a nuclear bomb to destroy the humans on the Ark upon their departing Upon journeying to the surface of the planet in one of the Ark's colony ships while Steven stays behind to help locate the bomb,the doctor discovers an entire empty humanoid city-populated by no one but the non corporeal Refusians,who built the facilities for the humans they now welcomed-if only they would use the planet in peace. After pointing out to the Monoid Leader Four the error of his ways,he turns against his fellow treacherous monoids and reveals the location of the bomb inside the Moinoid statue,which is ejected from the Ark in time when the Refusians offer both humans and Monoid to colonize their world if only,that is they are willing to live in peace as equals.

                This is a fantastic Doctor Who story and one of my personal favorites in the programs earlier history. For her short time and use of Mod catch phrases such as "gear" and "fab",much to the doctors irritation proves herself a well adjusted and helpful companion-using good sense thinking to get herself,Steven and even the doctor out of sticky situations. She learns quickly and tends to see the glass as half full in life. The story itself is an excellent treatise on unspoken slavery. Though touting themselves as enlightened and peaceful,the Guardians at the beginning of their journey hardly even notice the subservient position they have put the Monoids into. That is,of course it isn't too late. While the exploited Monoids nearly end up becoming the exploiters themselves, it is not the doctor but the very enlightened Refusians,using their guise of non corporeality as a cover,who help both human being and Monoid to see the era of their ways. The writing is sharp,the dialog is involving and the story is extremely well paced. Even the special effects are surprisingly effective. An excellent story,one of only two full surviving featuring Dodo Chaplet and highly recommended to all Whovians who have not yet seen it.

Happy 72nd Birthday Jackie Lane!

                           If your someone who has gotten into Doctor Who via DVD as I have and blinked once too often, you might've missed Jackie Lane's presence in Doctor Who. She portrayed Dodo Chaplet for six months from February 1966 alongside William Hartnell's first doctor. Dodo was an important companion as she anticipated the "everyday person" style of companion such as Donna Noble-so undaunted and stumbling through the doctors adventures she sometimes didn't have time to scream or be rescued. Originally in line for the role of Carole Ann Ford's Susan, Jackie's Dodo was not participating in the show during its most successful months of the period and the character was written out. Interestingly enough she went on to found Jackie Lane Ad Voice. As a theatrical agent she represented Janet Fielding,Nicholas Courtney and Tom Baker. Although she is a very underrated companion, her place is Doctor Who history wound up more vital and important than perhaps even she thought. A very happy 72 to Jackie and her family!

Doctor WHo-The Monster Of Peladon

                      Once again,this time with Sarah Jane Smith the doctor finds himself (though unintentionally) on Peladon-though half a century into its future from where he had arrived. Since the doctors previous visit some disturbing developments have occurred on the planet. The planet have become divided into two classes: an ruling one lead by Queen Thalira-daughter of the late King Peladon, and Chancellor Ortron who are employing a miner class,led by a man Gebek to mine the mineral trisilicate. The miners,especially the angry Ettis, are demanding for improved conditions while Thalira and Ortron are dealing with a war against the Federation by Galaxy 5. Meanwhile some of the miners have been destroyed by what they think to be visions of Aggedor,the once "curse" of Peladon while Ortron-who answers to the authority of an oracle of Aggedor,is convinced same as the miners that Aggedor must be appeased through sacrifice and should decide the punishment of the doctor whom,along with Sarah Jane have pledged to help unite the miners and the Pel ruling class but whom Ortron views with extreme suspicion due to wartime urgency. 

                Upon being released by the Queen from Aggedor,of course an "old friend" of the doctor from their previous encounter Ettis leads an attack on the Citidel to steal a weapon called a sonic lance,which he intends to use to to destroy the entire citidel along with the trisilicate mines if necessary. With the help of another of the doctors old friend Ambassador Alpha Centauri and Enginer Eckersley,in charge of the refinery call in the Federation for help Oroton attempts to recapture the doctor when he believes he is working for Gebek and the miners against the Pels. This is disturbed when,after investigating a mysterious onlooker when Sarah trips off a security program at the refinery that this particular onlooker is actually Ice Warrior Commander Azaxyr,who wishes to put the striking miners instantly back to work to obtain the valuable trisilicate. Through investigations of their own Sarah and the doctor discover that Azaxyr is not working with the Federation but is in fact from a radical faction of Ice Warriors.

            With Azaxyr trying to control Peladon's trisilicate supply,Gebek leads the miners into making them believe they are mining while they plan a new defensive with the doctor and Sarah. As it turns out Eckersley is working with Azaxyr for the promise of an enormous sum of money and the promise of power over the region. During this time his trickery has led Ettis to believe that the doctor is working against the miners and Ettis is killed by the sonic lance's self destruction. The doctor finds out that Eckersley has been manipulating the entire outcome of the war with Galaxy 5 using a matter projection device to use the oracle of Aggedor as a weapon. And once in the control room uses the device for the benefit of the miners and the Queen following Ortron's death. While the ensuing conflict  results in the near death of the doctor via Eckersley's brain destroying sonic alarm,Azaxyr is ultimately killed. The doctor and Sarah are graciously thanked by Queen Thalira and she asks the doctor to be her new chancellor  He departs with Sarah Jane suggested Gebek is the ideal man for the job.

                This story follows up The Curse Of Peledon and is not quite as popular as that story. Perhaps one reason is that there are so many twists and turns in the plot of the this six part serial, I even found it difficult to review it adequately. The key to this story is mistrust. Though on opposing sides Ortron,Ettis and Eckersley (who plays neutral in the early parts of this serial) are all suspicious of the doctors offers of help to their society. But as usual,he never gives up-as when in the end Aggedor himself is killed in the same struggle that leads to Eckersley's death. Queen Thalira is in the precise same position as her father. This represents part of the emotional roller coaster this story provides for Sarah Jane Smith. While at first with the doctors suggestion empowering the overwhelmed Queen of women's liberation, Sarah Jane is also lingered on while in tears when she believed Eckersley's sonic device had actually killed the doctor. Every character in this story,in particular the emotionally mercurial Alpha Centauri  ambassador ends up taking a similar ride in this story. It is a Doctor Who episode that is easier to watch than to discuss. But in terms of its treatise on fear and mistrust overcoming good judgement,its more than worth ones viewing.
              

Doctor Who-Invasion Of The Dinosaurs

                            The doctor returns Sarah Jane Smith back to Earth after their adventure in the middle ages to find London completely abandoned. After being set upon by what seem to be a Pterodactyl and a Tyrannosaurus Rex,the doctor and Sarah Jane find themselves arrested as suspects in a crime wave surrounding martial law being declared on the city. Of course they are rescued by UNIT and Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, who have set up a temporary HQ as the city's 8,000 inhabitants were evacuated when the dinosaurs the doctor and Sarah had encountered began randomly appearing and disappearing throughout the city-causing havoc and enforcement of martial law following the resulting looting. Charles Grover,an important leader in environmental science is called in to lead the investigation. The doctor uses a specialized device to stun the Tyrannosaurus,intending the herbivore Brontosaurus as his target, to study this unusual time phenomenon. Sarah is nearly killed when she convinces the skeptical Captain Finch,head of the operation to photograph this event. Her subsequent investigations lead to the possibility of scientist Professor Whitaker, condemned by his peers for his experiments in time travel, of perhaps being behind the events at hand. When Sarah leads Grover on an investigation of the Professors files,she discovers much to her surprise that  her suspicions were correct.
                      
                         The the Professor and his compatriots have installed their experiments below the ground in a sealed bunker powered by its own nuclear reactor. Sadly she comes to learn that Grover is part of the conspiracy with the Professor. After being put in an interrogation chamber, she wakes up to find herself on a spaceship populated by Utopian intellectuals believing they are journeying with chosen humans to repopulate a newly discovered Earth-like planet in an attempt not to make the mistakes of Earth's conflicted society. While imprisoned here for her assertion this concept is ill founded,Sarah finds out the airlock is actually doorway outside and they aren't on a spaceship at all. While investigating with the Brigadier at Trafalgar Square Station he discovers Whitaker's base and,eventually the entirety of the plan: Whitaker is heading up Operation Golden Age,using a time field to reverse time on Earth to a more primitive state where a select few humans can build a more egalitarian environment. And that Grover,Finch and even UNITS own Captain Yates are all coordinators of this affair. In the end Whitaker and Grover are sent back to their "golden age" by their own device as it is disconnected from the reactor by the doctor. Finch is court-martialled,Yates put on temporary sick leave and the doctor tempts Sarah Jane Smith to accompany him on another journey in the TARDIS.

              Intended obviously as a showcase for the presence of dinosaurs, the result is the one story of the classic Doctor Who era where the special effects completely fall apart-in particular overuse of an extremely poorly realized Tyrannosaurs. Even so the dinosaurs themselves are only a mild catalyst for the true action of this story. Aside from the critical FX gaffe, this is one of the most consistently strong and enjoyable stories of the third doctor era. The story of eugenics desperate enough to prevent the birth of billions of human beings due to ecological and sociopolitical strife is very much the flip side of the story presented in The Green Death,where humanist environmentalists are depicted as heroic-where higher profile ones are portrayed as villainous egoists here. While the plight and betrayal of the misguided Yates was heartbreaking for Whovians I'm sure,this presents enormous growth for the Brigadier. In this story he is presented as the doctors loyal and capable companion-in an atypically and fully agreeable manner willing to listen to all sides before making his moves,military or otherwise.  Shows the characters growth from very doubting to an expansion of mindset. Again Sarah Jane Smith is given almost more to do then they doctor. She doesn't need him to rescue her. In fact she actually helps him save all of human kind from a fate worse than death: never having even existed.
  

              

           

Jon Pertwee-A Portrait Of An Actor As A Timelord

                                 They say a timelord is immortal-not dying but regenerating,living forever barring accident. Such a thing is not true however of human beings. If he had lived to today,this would've been the 94th birthday of Jon Pertwee. Born in 1919 and passing in 1996,just as Doctor Who made a noble if aborted comeback probably no other actor made more significant contributions to the character of the doctor than Pertwee. His era in the program bought Doctor Who into the world of color television. We also learned the name of his home world,and a good deal about the personal life of the doctor as well. He became less of a mystery yet more of an enigma. This doctor was a "act first,worry later" type of secret agent  figure-with a love for gadgets rivaling only that of 007 himself. He was also a good listener,compassionate,arrogant,dashing and very wise. Pertwee made the doctor into an extremely complex individual. In this case,much related from the actor to the character.

                     Coming from a venerable acting family,Pertwee had youth very ingratiating to someone who would one day play this extra terrestrial time lord who,fundamentally was an anti bullying figure. While at boarding school he himself was a victim of bullying-both from headmasters and other students. Even during drama he was thrown out of many productions. During his time in the Royal Navy he developed his love for gadgets of all sorts that stayed with him the rest of his life. After a long period of acting primarily in children's comic roles he was offered two very significant roles in his native UK-Dad's Army and of course Doctor Who. He chose the latter. And as it turned out this was one of the best decisions of his life. He became very deeply involved in the show-having a great deal of say in the production and casting choices-especially when it came to his leading ladies. He was particularly keen in literally giving the okay to actress Elizabeth Sladen for the role of Sarah Jane Smith in 1973.

                    There are many things I could say about Jon Pertwee. But in my only year and half exposure to Doctor Who he is one of the actors portraying this character whom I have much admiration for. He was primarily a good man who made no qualms about his advocacy of the same types of values the doctor stood for. He probably bought more of himself to the role than either of his two predecessors had-paving the way for actors heavily personalizing their portrayals of the doctor. In many ways he was a non conformist who worked within the rather rigid establishment of early 70's BBC. During his time in the program Doctor Who directly tackled many real life social issues-especially that of nuclear arms race, ecology and feminism.  This was helped by having the doctor largely marooned on Earth during Pertwee's first two series' of the program-surrounded by the well meaning but military based UNIT family. So to the family of this compelling man,in particular his actor son Sean,I hope every Whovian the world (and worlds) over is celebrating the anniversary of this compelling individuals birthday. 

-The following is a video I made in tribute to the late Mr.Pertwee and the incarnation of the doctor he portrayed.