![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I'm enjoying this way more than I should be. This is the Third Doctor's last adventure; this is the story when one of my absolute favourite Doctors turns into my least favourite. I shouldn't be enjoying this as much as I am. But it's good. It has its weak points, certainly. There are bits of humour that are misfiring for me, and the Doctor's Houdini gag is pointless and overlong. Plus he seems to have misheard Houdini's instructions for that escape ploy. You tense up whilst being tied up, then relax afterwards. Trust me on this, it's detailed in a billion Hardy Boys books. :) And yes, it does work. Not convinced by the Doctor's method, though.
Anyway, that's mostly irrelevant. Although if the Doctor truly was a friend of Houdini's, and did get tips on escapology from him, the least he could do is pass on a few to Mike Yates. If anybody needs tips on how to break free from bondage games at the hands of a variety of bad guys, it's Mike. Speaking of which, one of the bad guys must have read yesterday's entry, because at some point between then and now, they've gone back to gag him properly.
Where was I? Ah yes. Episode five. The Doctor has joined Sarah Jane in the larder (and yes, the spiders are good enough to supply him with a little pillow, too. Can't have the snacks getting stiff necks. It's nice that the spiders have rules and regulations about the treatment of food animals. Anyways, some spider-minions come to take Sarah to a meeting with the spider queen, who wants help in recovering the Metebelis Crystal from Earth. This is because Lupton and his spider are playing power games, but that stuff's pretty uninteresting. Needless to say, it involves lots of waggling of spider limbs, and incensed voice acting. Nothing wrong with the spider props or the acting, exactly, I'm just pretty unmoved by the intricacies of spider politics. Meanwhile the Doctor escapes (thanks to Houdini), and winds up meeting with The Great One, a completely bonkers as hell spider, who also wants the Metebelis Crystal. Well, somebody's going to be disappointed. Whilst all this goes on, Gareth Hunt and his friends attack the spider city wearing headbands containing stones that the Doctor has found for them, which absorb the electrical whatnots fired by the spider-minions. This makes them look even more like hippies than usual, but clearly they have no hang ups about fighting - just about allowing women to fight. Sheesh they're a nasty sexist bunch. You need all the help you can get, matey. Don't go discarding half your army just because they don't have comedy facial hair.
Back on Earth, Mike chats with Barnes, one of Lupton's little gang. And blimey, he doesn't half flinch when Barnes takes his gag off! I can't decide if that's acting, or if Richard Franklin is really suspicious of sudden moves near his head. And I wonder if Christopher Burgess, who plays Barnes, is any relation of Christian Burgess, who used to be in Saracen a million years ago? I liked Saracen. I wish somebody would repeat it, or put it out on DVD or something. And yes, I am digressing again. Mike asks to take Lupton's place in the chanting, so that Lupton's crew can get Lupton back, and Mike can get Sarah back. So they chant and they chant and they chant, but instead of humans they get a spider invasion force. Cho-je runs in to try to stop things, but gets zapped for his pains, and Mike likewise when he tries to intervene. They collapse in a neat little pile, just as the Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive back in the TARDIS. Tommy turns up just in time to suggest that they scarper sharpish, and offers to take them to K'anpo. They leave, whilst noting that Mike and Cho-je are still alive. Not sure how or why they're still alive, since the Doctor himself was nearly killed by the zappy weapons, but never mind. The Doctor thinks it's safe to leave them barricaded in a room with some spiders and the newly spidered Barnes and co, anyway, despite the fact that the spiders have just bemoaned the fact that they left Mike and Cho-je alive. The Doctor has a strange idea of what constitutes "safe", doesn't he. Anyways, off he goes with Sarah to talk to K'anpo. There's no indication as to why he thinks this is a good idea. I mean, I know K'anpo is a Time Lord, but the Doctor thinks he's going to talk to a Tibetan monk. How does he think this is going to help?! Whatever. Barnes and co break out of the cellar with the help of their spider cohorts, anyway, and all of them shoot at Tommy. The episode ends there, so presumably Tommy's peril is the cliffhanger. Sadly this requires me to be far more concerned for Tommy's welfare than I am. I'm sure he's a very nice chap, but sorry - not bothered. Still, it could have been worse. They could have been asking me to care about Cho-je.
The Doctor and Sarah Jane in the spiders' larder.
Gareth Hunt and his headband set out to battle the spiders.
Whilst the womenfolk go off to do some cooking and sewing or something.
Mike chats to Barnes. Possibly about bondage games, possibly about the hideous wallpaper.
And then says that he's really worried about Sarah Jane, and that he wants her back.
Why, Mike?! Why?!
Lupton tries to throw his weight around in the spider council.
The Doctor has an audience with the seriously cracked (and currently invisible) Great One.
Mike and the gang do their chanting.
Spider teleport!
K'anpo. Time Lord, hermit, former teacher of the Doctor, and now part time Tibetan monk.
More to follow. Probably tomorrow night, unless I decide that watching Three regenerate into Four is just too damned traumatic... ;)
Anyway, that's mostly irrelevant. Although if the Doctor truly was a friend of Houdini's, and did get tips on escapology from him, the least he could do is pass on a few to Mike Yates. If anybody needs tips on how to break free from bondage games at the hands of a variety of bad guys, it's Mike. Speaking of which, one of the bad guys must have read yesterday's entry, because at some point between then and now, they've gone back to gag him properly.
Where was I? Ah yes. Episode five. The Doctor has joined Sarah Jane in the larder (and yes, the spiders are good enough to supply him with a little pillow, too. Can't have the snacks getting stiff necks. It's nice that the spiders have rules and regulations about the treatment of food animals. Anyways, some spider-minions come to take Sarah to a meeting with the spider queen, who wants help in recovering the Metebelis Crystal from Earth. This is because Lupton and his spider are playing power games, but that stuff's pretty uninteresting. Needless to say, it involves lots of waggling of spider limbs, and incensed voice acting. Nothing wrong with the spider props or the acting, exactly, I'm just pretty unmoved by the intricacies of spider politics. Meanwhile the Doctor escapes (thanks to Houdini), and winds up meeting with The Great One, a completely bonkers as hell spider, who also wants the Metebelis Crystal. Well, somebody's going to be disappointed. Whilst all this goes on, Gareth Hunt and his friends attack the spider city wearing headbands containing stones that the Doctor has found for them, which absorb the electrical whatnots fired by the spider-minions. This makes them look even more like hippies than usual, but clearly they have no hang ups about fighting - just about allowing women to fight. Sheesh they're a nasty sexist bunch. You need all the help you can get, matey. Don't go discarding half your army just because they don't have comedy facial hair.
Back on Earth, Mike chats with Barnes, one of Lupton's little gang. And blimey, he doesn't half flinch when Barnes takes his gag off! I can't decide if that's acting, or if Richard Franklin is really suspicious of sudden moves near his head. And I wonder if Christopher Burgess, who plays Barnes, is any relation of Christian Burgess, who used to be in Saracen a million years ago? I liked Saracen. I wish somebody would repeat it, or put it out on DVD or something. And yes, I am digressing again. Mike asks to take Lupton's place in the chanting, so that Lupton's crew can get Lupton back, and Mike can get Sarah back. So they chant and they chant and they chant, but instead of humans they get a spider invasion force. Cho-je runs in to try to stop things, but gets zapped for his pains, and Mike likewise when he tries to intervene. They collapse in a neat little pile, just as the Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive back in the TARDIS. Tommy turns up just in time to suggest that they scarper sharpish, and offers to take them to K'anpo. They leave, whilst noting that Mike and Cho-je are still alive. Not sure how or why they're still alive, since the Doctor himself was nearly killed by the zappy weapons, but never mind. The Doctor thinks it's safe to leave them barricaded in a room with some spiders and the newly spidered Barnes and co, anyway, despite the fact that the spiders have just bemoaned the fact that they left Mike and Cho-je alive. The Doctor has a strange idea of what constitutes "safe", doesn't he. Anyways, off he goes with Sarah to talk to K'anpo. There's no indication as to why he thinks this is a good idea. I mean, I know K'anpo is a Time Lord, but the Doctor thinks he's going to talk to a Tibetan monk. How does he think this is going to help?! Whatever. Barnes and co break out of the cellar with the help of their spider cohorts, anyway, and all of them shoot at Tommy. The episode ends there, so presumably Tommy's peril is the cliffhanger. Sadly this requires me to be far more concerned for Tommy's welfare than I am. I'm sure he's a very nice chap, but sorry - not bothered. Still, it could have been worse. They could have been asking me to care about Cho-je.
The Doctor and Sarah Jane in the spiders' larder.
Gareth Hunt and his headband set out to battle the spiders.
Whilst the womenfolk go off to do some cooking and sewing or something.
Mike chats to Barnes. Possibly about bondage games, possibly about the hideous wallpaper.
And then says that he's really worried about Sarah Jane, and that he wants her back.
Why, Mike?! Why?!
Lupton tries to throw his weight around in the spider council.
The Doctor has an audience with the seriously cracked (and currently invisible) Great One.
Mike and the gang do their chanting.
Spider teleport!
K'anpo. Time Lord, hermit, former teacher of the Doctor, and now part time Tibetan monk.
More to follow. Probably tomorrow night, unless I decide that watching Three regenerate into Four is just too damned traumatic... ;)
Tags: