Doctor Who: The Big Review (Season 11)

 Doctor Who: The Big Review
Season 11 (1973 - 1974)

And we're back with Pertwee's final season in the role! I'm excited for this one, I know we have some more insightful people to meet, like the lovely Sarah-Jane Smith. I get to meet the likes of the Sontarans too! There's a lot to look forward to, and with how much I enjoyed Season 10, I'm really excited to see where this one goes.

As always, I will grade each story on an A+ to F scale, judging it fairly, and with respect to the era it aired. Judging an episode from the 1960's with the same expectation of a modern episode would not be fair, purely because the quality and tone is so different. Below is a summary of my grading criteria:

For each serial, I will provide a list of the main cast (omitting a few who don't appear often), and a list of some key facts of the episodes, such as the writer and director. I will then offer a little synopsis and my overall verdict. 

Below is a table which offers some short, concise figures and a more in-depth description follows just below.

1. THE TIME WARRIOR (four episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Kevin Lindsay (Commander Linx), David Daker (Irongron), Donald Pelmear (Professor Rubeish), 

Broadcast: 15 December 1973 - 5 January 1974

Writer: Robert Holmes

Director: Alan Bromly

Synopsis: Sontaran, Commander Linx crash-lands in Medieval England. He agrees to give futuristic weaponry to the warrior Irongron and his men, in exchange for Linx being given shelter to perform repairs on the damaged spaceship.

Verdict: I already love Sarah-Jane - she's feisty, and full of character, something that feels really promising moving forward! Overall, I think this was a pretty successful story. There was perhaps a lack of gravitas, but it was thoroughly entertaining, and had some really fun moments. Irongron is an infuriating character, but brilliantly brought to life by Daker. I'd say this is a pretty strong start.

GRADE: A

2. INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS (six episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Noel Johnson (Sir Charles Grover), Peter Miles (Professor Whitaker), John Bennett (General Finch). 

Broadcast: 12 January 1974 - 16 February 1974

Writer: Malcolm Hulke

Director: Paddy Russell

Synopsis: The Doctor and Sarah-Jane return to a seemingly abandoned London, learning that it's overrun with dinosaurs and there's a grand scheme at hand to take the World back to the age before Humankind. 

Verdict: We started with a terrifically atmospheric opening episode that was truly brilliant from the get-go, even the dinosaur scenes were tolerable at this stage. I also think some of the comedic elements were really quite lovely, and added a nice tonal change throughout. The dinosaur cliff-hangers were something... The T-Rex was pretty abysmal beyond its opening scene, but the imaging of other kinds didn't offend too much... sometimes. The set design for the dinosaurs wound up quite impressive. Overall, this serial does stutter somewhat, and the padding of the story does grow a tad tiresome, but it's a solid enough story to keep you enticed. 

GRADE: B

3. DEATH TO THE DALEKS (four episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith), Ducan Lamont (Dan Galloway), John Abineri (Richard Railton), Joy Harrison (Jill Tarrant).

Broadcast: 23 February 1974 - 16 March 1974

Writer: Terry Nation

Director: Michael E. Briant

Synopsis: The Daleks and a human expedition both arrive on the planet Exxilon to seek a mineral found in abundance there, after they all suffer an energy drain.

Verdict: This could've been much more, and the tension in some moments had real potential if it weren't for that really quite comedic score. The Daleks arrive to what sounded like a funfair theme - a wasteful opportunity. Where there should be music, there's none, and where there should be tense music, it's so out of touch. Regardless, this wasn't the worst story, and I did enjoy it somewhat, even if I think the Daleks were somewhat unnecessary to the story. 

GRADE: C+

4. THE MONSTER OF PELADON (six episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith), Nina Thomas (Queen Thalira), Frank Gatliff (Chancellor Ortron), Ysanne Churchman/Stuart Fell (Alpha Centauri Voice/Body), Rex Robinson (Gebek).

Broadcast: 23 March 1974 - 27 April 1974

Writer: Brian Hayles

Director: Lennie Mayne

Synopsis: Fifty years after The Doctor's last visit, he returns to find out that engineer, Eckersley, and rogue Ice Warrior, Azaxyr are conspiring to take over the planet in order to sell its minerals to Peladon's enemies in Galaxy Five. 

Verdict: I enjoyed the last Peladon story, so I had high hopes for this one. First of all, my love for Alpha Centauri is immense; one of the best creatures ever! I enjoyed the quite heavy political undertones, and the frustration that came along with it. The episodes do seem to take a while to get to the main villain involvement, and it is a lot of waiting, but it's still an enjoyable addition to the Peladon saga. 

GRADE: B

5. PLANET OF THE SPIDERS (six episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Tom Baker (The Fourth Doctor), John Dearth (Lupton), Kevin Lindsay (Cho-je), John Kane (Tommy), George Cormack (K'anpo), Ysanne Churchman (Spider Voices).

Broadcast: 4 May 1974 - 8 June 1974

Writer: Robert Sloman & Barry Letts (uncredited)

Director: Barry Letts

Synopsis: Set between Metebelis Three and England, fired salesman, Lupton, has allied with a race of psychic spiders known as the eight-legs in a bid for power. 

Verdict: For a final story this one shapes up very nicely. Also, another episode where we are given a plethora of different vehicles, but this one felt a lot more exciting! The only downside, for me, is that there was some rather stale acting from the supporting cast at times - whether this was because of direction or delivery, I can't quite tell, but it does lessen the tension somewhat in the later parts. For a regeneration story, however, this worked very nicely. Pertwee felt particularly enigmatic in his final go at it, and I think gave one of his best performances all round. A nice send-off!

GRADE: B+

Below is the grade of every serial in the Pertwee era! Some good episodes, and some not so good, as is the case every time! Enjoyable!

This is the final time I'll make one of these posts I believe. It has been over a year since the last, and I don't want to keep you all waiting for the next. However, once I have finished watching all of Classic Who (whenever that may be) I will be more than happy to release the full document of my thoughts and feelings. I will also be keeping the above charts going and the averages of each series, so there will be some fun data to look forward to at the end.