DOCTOR WHO MARATHON 14th MEET-UP - THE CHASE

Sunday 11th August 2014

And thus it was declared that the Four Whoresmen Of The Apologetic Nature & Jim (with added Shaun) should meet only a week after their last viewing.  For, it was written, that the rest of August was a bitch and people were busy all month!  So our intrepid gang marched over to Jason's house to watch the next story in their very long quest.  It was thusly called:
"THE CHASE"!

Photo 1: Michael, Mark (with the sign), Shaun (holding the DVD cover),
Jim & Leigh around Jason's house.

This time we had another complete story (i.e. no recons) and this time with added Daleks!  the story continued on from previously with the Doctor having taken a Time-Space Visualiser from the Space Museum.  This could show them various places in time or space.  Indeed they do by watching various bits from history including Queen Elizabeth I in court (the first of many appearances by this colourful monarch) and The Beatles performing ("Classical music" according to Vicki!).  This prompts some awful Dad-dancing from "with it" Ian - though it is very amusing!

Photo 2: Jason, Mark (with the sign), Shaun (holding the DVD cover),
Jim & Leigh around Jason's house.

So the TARDIS lands on a desert planet (which included location filming - which looked pretty impressive).  The Doctor and Barbara, for some bizarre reason, think that this is a GREAT time to sunbathe!  And so lay out in the sun whilst Ian and Vicki leave to explore the desert wilderness.

Photo 3: Leigh (excited to be let out of the house again)
around Jason's house.

Of course this all goes pants up and after a short while Ian and Vicki find an ancient trap door in the sand - and of course go in a get trapped!  Pretty much immediately they are set upon by hostile tentacle creatures called Mire Beasts.  Great big wobbly, dodgy looking things - which we've come to expect from this series.  We'd be disappointed otherwise

Photo 4: Michael, Mark (with the sign),Shaun (holding the DVD cover)
& Jim around Jason's house.

The Doctor and Barbara, for some bizarre reason, think that this is a GREAT time to sunbathe!  And so lay out in the sun whilst Ian and Vicki leave to explore the desert wilderness. After a short while they find an ancient trap door in the sand - and of course go in a get trapped!  Pretty much immediately they are set upon by hostile tentacle creatures called Mire Beasts.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Barbara interrupt their sunbathing to look at the 'Visualiser' and see a "broadcast" of the Daleks preparing to give a report.
The Daleks' plan to follow "the enemy time machine" (the TARDIS) to the Sagarro Desert on the planet Aridius (get it!?  'Cos it's an arid desert planet.  It's clever...!).  The Daleks plan to take the TARDIS, find the Doctor and his companions, and exterminate them.  The Doctor and Barbara watch these Daleks embark and de-materialise.  Of course the Doctor immediately realises that, as these events happened in the past, the Daleks may already be here! They must find Ian and Vicki and leave immediately!

Photo 5: Mark (asleep with the sign!) & Shaun holding the DVD cover)
around Mark's house.  Plus parts of Jason & Jim!

 
Anyhow lots of stuff happens from then on - threats from Daleks, sand storm burying the TARDIS etc etc.  Suffice to say they all get away in the TARDIS and then begins the ACTUAL chase through time and space!

We then have a lot of fun as they visit various places in history including the Marie Celeste, the Empire State building (where we see a hillbilly character played by Peter Purves - more of him later....!) and a haunted house!  Seeing "Dracula" facing a Dalek whilst the Dalek pronounces "I AM A DALEK" is equally glorious and stupid at the same time!

Photo 6: Michael, Mark (asleep with the sign!), Shaun holding the DVD cover),
Jim and Leigh around Mark's house.

The story settles into one place as the TARDIS crew lands on the jungle world of Mechanus, however they leave poor Vicki behind!  So she has to stow away on the Dalek time machine.  It's here that she spots the Daleks evil plan.  They create a robot replica of the Doctor - unconvincing double Doctor "indistinguishable from the real thing" according to the Daleks.  Well it certainly was when they used Hartnell himself for the close-ups, but the actor looked nothing like the Doctor.  They could have done this a LOT better by using Hartnell in all the scenes where there was only one "Doctor" needed.  The rest of the time (when both Doctors were needed) they could have gotten away with it by just having the double's back showing.

Anyhow the soon sort it out and meet up with NEW robots called the Mechanoids - the most cumbersome robots ever!  (the production company thought that maybe THESE would take off like the Daleks did....!)  And they meet up crashed astronaut (and soon-to-be new companion) Steven Taylor and his toy Panda.
Anyhow Daleks defeated, city set on fire, companions escaping down a long cable etc etc.
And Lord knows where Steven and his Panda went...

The main thing that makes this episode stand out is the leaving of companions Ian and Barbara - who take The Daleks time machine to get back to England.  It's sad to see them go as they have been there with us from the beginning and seemed to be very popular with all of us.  It adds a bit of poignancy to an otherwise exciting set of episodes.

Well we have a wait now as everyone's busy the rest of the month, so September will see our first adventure without Ian and Barbara.

Until then I shall return, yes, I shall return....


MJ 11-08-14

DOCTOR WHO MARATHON 13th MEET-UP - THE SPACE MUSEUM

Sunday 3rd August 2014

Another Sunday and we were now seeing the end of season 2 waving at us!  So on another lovely sunny day we all gathered around Mark's house to watch the four-part story "The Space Museum"!  This time, as well as new member Shaun (who had been playing catch-up with some previous stories in between) we were also joined by part-time member Gavin, which was all very lovely!

Photo 1: Gavin, Mark (with the sign), Jason, Michael, Leigh (holding the DVD cover) and Jim around Mark's house.

This time we were graced by a full story and, as it was only four parts, nothing too taxing!

Photo 2: Gavin, Mark (with the sign), Jason, Michael, Leigh (holding the DVD cover) and Jim around Mark's house.

The TARDIS lands near a vast Space Museum on the planet Xeros, but it has jumped a time-track.  Basically it meant that they had arrived at the planet before they were meant to (if you can follow that!) and so ended up a bit like ghosts - noone could see or interact with them.  During this time they saw their future - which was to end up as exhibits (contained in glass/perspex tubes) in this Space Museum!

Photo 3: Mark, Jason (with the sign) and Leigh (with the DVD cover)
around Mark's house.

After this first episode we get into a more usual story - the Moroks had a some point invaded the planet Xeros and were ruling over the Xerons.  However the Moroks now seem quite bored with the whole affair - indeed the Administrator of the Museum moans about how all the empires glories were in the past!  So when they bump into the TARDIS crew they seem extra keen to interrogate them and see them as great enemies!

Photo 4: Gavin, Mark, Jason (with the sign), Leigh (holding the DVD cover),Jim and Shaun around Mark's house.

So the crew gets split up - with the Doctor hiding inside a Dalek shell (and doing quite an amusing impression of one!  Well, it makes him chuckle!).  However the Doctor is the first to be caught and interrogated but seems very amused by the whole thing and chooses to not answer any questions - and so is ripe for being frozen to be used as a museum exhibit.
So the freezing process is started upon the Doctor!

Photo 5: Jason (asleep with the sign!) and Leigh holding the DVD cover)
around Mark's house.

 
In the meantime Vicki has made contact with the planet's original inhabitants and is rousing them into a rebellion (something they had already started planning before the TARDIS crew arrived).  And so it all ends well and lovely with the good guys winning and the bad guys looking a bit glum about the whole affair (well, the ones that live anyway!)


Anyhow the story ends well and leads nicely into the next story which has the return of the Daleks - promising to chase the Doctor through all of time and space!!
Which will lead nicely into our next story "The Chase"!

So overall it was a good story - with some good Bored-acting from the actors playing the Moroks.  Also I thought the sets looked really good.  Certainly not the best story we've seen, but not the worst.

Until then I shall return, yes, I shall return....


MJ 05-08-14