Maybe the part about endangering humanity didn't need to be said, but it's fairly clear by now that the Doctor (particularly the Fourth Doctor) has no filter. The part where the Doctor turns 360 degrees was reportedly improvised by Tom Baker.
The Seeds Of Doom is one of the best Dr Who stories of all time and is a permanent feature of my Top 5 episodes, I never get tired of watching this one. Excellent cast, creative monster, great villains, delightfully dark, gorgeously made and a six-part runtime that never lets up. The Doctor and Sarah's witty repartee has never been better. Flawless!
I was a huge fan of The Seeds Of Doom when I was a kid. It really made a statement on how brave the classic Doctor Who could be with monster stories for children in the audience. For grownups too for that matter.
Just to say the actor playing Scorby is a comedy legend John Challis he was Boyice in a British comedy Only Fools and Horses for years John tells a story years after when ever Tom Baker would see him he'd say hello Scorby unfortunately John passed away recently.
Seeds of Doom is one of the greatest stories in an era of great stories. It has a human menace to it. Especially in the main villain Harrison Chase, who in the first two stories establishes himself as a cold psycho. This story seems to be inspired by the 1951 film The Thing but parts of it seem to inspire the 1982 remake "Amputate the arm" I honestly didn't think the series would mention it. And I genuinely thought they were going to do it.
Fun Fact: The following characters are on Earth at the time of this episode: • The Master (in The Doctor’s custody) • The Master (on the run) • The “Metaltron” Dalek (passed along through private collections) • The Grand Serpent (working for UNIT) • The Twelfth Doctor (university professor, teaching nothing) • Ashildr (whereabouts unknown) • Jack Harkness (working for Torchwood) • Jack Harkness (frozen in Torchwood’s cryo-chamber) • The Great Intelligence (whereabouts unknown) • The Reconnaissance Dalek (buried in Anuta Island, Siberia, and Sheffield)
Action packed, scary, intense, thrilling, horrific, there are many ways you could describe The Seeds of Doom. Perhaps what best sums it up is that this is Doctor Who at its absolute best. Taking something mundane like plants and making it so terrifying is the essence of DW. I also love how this story is basically separated into a two part story and then a four part story. It's a very clever way to structure a six parter because it makes the story seem more epic and dynamic. The story gains a whole new surge of momentum after the way the part 2 ends. In amongst this, Tom Baker is giving one of his most riveting turns as the Doctor, he's spellbinding, you just can't take your eyes off him. After a whole season of otherworldly horrors, Tony Beckley as Harrison Chase is a refreshing change of pace, but he's perhaps even more sinister than any of them. There's something so skin crawlingly creepy in the way Beckley delivers his lines. He's stoic and matter of fact about everything, he seems almost as inhuman as some of the other monstrous villains we've encountered in this series previously. Al in all, The Seeds of Doom is just about the perfect way to round of a landmark season. Aside from one story, this entire season is a delight to watch and this story gives it the conclusion it deserves.
Meet the plant lover Harrison Chase, one of the best villains in 70s Who and one of the most fun baddie performances ever. This story is just so packed with the best of 70s Who.
I couldn’t agree more. He’s so well written and it’s brilliant performance. Right up there with best villains, backed up by Scorby as one of the best henchmen as well.
One thing I like about this story is that by this point they've realised that 6-parters can sometimes drag on rather, and took a different approach to avoid that. The first 2 episodes are kind of an introduction, largely separate to the rest of the story. (since there's a comment from 2 weeks ago, I think it's safe to assume Jess has finished this story).
Tony Beckley is great value as Harrison Chase. He was also good as the villain in 'When a Stranger Calls', the film that spawned a twist that even people who've never heard of that movie usually know about.
To be fair, the ad Keeler answered when he first went to work for Chase did say, "Botanist wanted for position at large private country estate. Botanical studies, horticulture experiments, opportunity for travel, may be required to aid and abet the occasional murder."
I’m so glad you watch classic Who. I haven’t seen the episodes in years, so I’m enjoying seeing them again and find out how much I remember. Glad you like them
Seeds of Doom is Doctor Who firing on all 8 cylinders with a turbo charger to boot. You just don't get any better than this. Excellent performances from Baker and Sladen. A terrifying almost unstoppable monster. Harrison Chase the cold hearted plant lover. This story is very gritty and dark in places with Baker going between fierce and comedic with Sir Colin and Amelia Ducat thrown in as real characters integral to the resolution of this story. Even the model work stands up rather well. This one is a must watch for any fan interested in the classic series.
This story feels more like an Avengers story than a Doctor Who story, in my opinion. The writer of this story, Robert Banks Stewart, also wrote for Danger Man & The Avengers.
Glad you mentioned "The Thing" in the post-episode thoughts. :) I actually seen these first two parts before and that's the vibe I got too. Like a condensed version of "The Thing".
Chase is an actor called John chalis he is famous for playing boycie in only fools and horses which is a popular sitcom here. He sadly died recently he is a legend. Yeah he plays the role straight, which a lot of actors found hard
Someone once described this story as a misdirected Avengers script (the John Steed/Emma Peel Avengers, not the Marvel comics). This is probably the most physical the Doctor gets since the Pertwee era. Still, an interesting mix of The Thing, The Day of the Triffids and The Quatermass Experiment.
Just before transmission, the master tape for part one disappeared and they were considering reediting part two to fill in the details but fortunately the missing tape was found before that was necessary.
Brits can enjoy this on a number of levels. Apart from delightful Tony Beckley in another camp performance (he is literally 'Camp Freddie' in classic 1969 Brit crime caper 'The Italian Job'), we have the relatively unknown John Challis as Scorby - years away from becoming one of the most recognizable men in the UK for his part in the sitcom 'Only Fools & Horses'. And Douglas Camfield really knows how to make polystyrene snow the least of your worries in these two episodes.
Doctor Who does the story 'Who Goes There?' by Joseph W Campbell, also filmed as 'The Thing From Another World' in 1948? and 'The Thing' in 1982. The later parts and the villain are derived from a later black and white episode of the 1960s 'Avengers' (John Steed and Mrs. Peel Avengers) story where a plant from space lays siege to a house and begins to influence minds.
Seeds of doom has finally arrived this is in my top 3 stories of all of classic who the atmosphere and the krynoids(who need to return in new who btw) has a classic horror feel ie the thing one I could rewatch over and over again
After watching so much Dr Who on videotape as a child, this was the first Dr Who story I actually had in my collection, as a gift. Watched a lot, and I realise all these years later how just about every aspect of production works nearly as well as they're meant to. One of the all time Dr Who greats.
Remoreslessly violent, The Seeds of Doom is one of the series' most accomplished stories and a classic in its own right. Tony Beckley is chilling as Chase and Scorby, despite being a thuggish sidekick, undergoes some interesting character development.
This is a story that I grew to appreciate, and now really enjoy. Bet you didn't recognie the plant monster - It was the same costume worn back in the Claws of Axos by the monster there, just painted green.
26:00...That's exactly it, Scorby's a psychopath and Keeler isn't. He's there just to identify the pod nothing more and if he objects to Scorby's side of the operation then (as Scorby said) the grave dug in the snow will just be a little bit bigger 😉
“An obvious question. I wish I knew the answer.” It’s not often that the Doctor admits he doesn’t know something. But, then, Sarah Jane is his best friend, so he’ll admit it to her.
An all time classic story to round up a classic season of Who. Script, casting, direction and the stunning soundtrack by Geoffrey Burgon all come together to create magic.
Of the time that Sarah Jane and the Fourth Doctor traveled together, this is just about my favorite story with them together. For all the reasons listed here in the comments and more, this serial is just about perfect and I will add that these 2 characters operating together in working to defeat this meance just highlights the actors' perfect chemistry. If there is a fault in this story, I am hard pressed to find it. I am looking forward to watching the rest of Jess' reaction soon.
Another brilliant story to end a near flawless season off. Love how its almost like two separate stories, the first two episodes being set in the antarctic like ‘the thing’ Geoffrey burgen returns to give another unique chilling music score as he did with terror of the zygons
This is my all time favourite Doctor Who story. It scared the hell out of me as a kid. The Krynoid is a creature i would love to see make a return in the new Who world.
This is one of my favourite classic who stories! The stakes are really high, the villain is actually creepy and intimidating and the soundtrack is some of the best in the entire classic series... Can't wait to see your thoughts on the remaining parts
For some reason, whenever I watch this story in particular, I get "Dark Shadows" vibes. I don't know if it's the contemporary setting, or being shot on video, or some of Geoffrey Burgon's music cues reminding me of Robert Cobert's, or the interiors of Harrison Chase's mansion, or the fact that when I first encountered this story in the seventies, it aired on my local ABC affiliate weekdays at 4:30 in the afternoon. (Yeah, in my market, Doctor Who aired, however briefly, on commercial TV. My old hometown PBS station outright refused to carry Classic Who despite years of lobbying from the local sci-fi community until after the modern series became popular during the Tenant years.)
I do get where you get the "Dark Shadows" vibe (one of the most influential shows ever)! It just needed Harrison Chase with a wolf'shead walking stick!
I think The Doctor had every right to be mad with Stevenson and i agree with The Doctor that Stevenson wasn't suppose to experiment on that pod until he arrived and he doesn't know what he was dealing with he did out of selfish curiosity he should had waited until The Doctor arrived then Charles wouldn't had got infected in the first place so basically even though he didn't realise how bad it would get he is at fault for what's happening The Doctor has been around the block and he clearly knows what he's talking about he's grumpy because he's frustrated with us dumb humans that won't be told or warned about anything also you have to rememeber The Doctor is not human he doesn't take into consideration of human feelings sometimes he does but when it comes to danger it's the least of his worries and he had to be honest with Stevenson and Charles was no longer human or the man he was he's now an alien planet. Anyway again another great classic story Tom Baker never fails. Chase is considered to be like a Bond type kind of villain like Ernest Stavro Blofeld from the Bond movies if you will.
Scorbie, the evil henchman. is for many classic fans the Best Henchman Ever! I prefer Nidor from Genesis of the Daleks, but they are both excellent at what they do. This is kind of two stories in one, first 'The Thing" homage, and next the more standard four part story. Sounds easy, but is Not! The ONLY (slight) problem with this story is the title, because it always gets confused with the 2nd Doctor's "Seeds of Death".
Listening to your comments on the Doctor's harshness in this story, I'm reflecting on the fact that TomDoc was my main role model, growing up... No wonder all the other kids avoided me! =:o1
10:46...I think the only reason the Doctor objects to Sarah and the others calling Winlett by his name is that he's worried they still might perceive him as human in some way and hesitate if something drastic has to be done...with dire consequences (just ask poor old Moberley).
Yeah. The fact that it’s a 6-parter is something you’re not gonna see much of. It’s reserved for one story per season in the Fourth Doctor era, and the reason for that is that the production crew were feeling that longer stories were becoming bothersome for the show, and so they sought to reduce it. You’ll see the last 6-parter in the penultimate season of the Fourth Doctor era.
And even with this story they play about with the structure a bit more than we have seen previously - with the Antarctic story ending and action switching locations completely for the later parts and each location having a different feel - this could have worked as 2 connected stories separated by another adventure or two in between to sell a "6 months later" type time jump. This approach certainly helps reduce the need for repeated capture - escape cycles that the Pertwee era sometimes overused to hit the episode count.
On the other hand I think you're overlooking that the Fourth Doctor era also used ongoing narratives to connect adventures together throughout a season - the first season with Harry & Sarah Jane where they only really took one trip in the actual Tardis - the Key to Time season - getting trapped in E-Space followed by the episodes leading up to (and going past) the regeneration - they experimented quite a bit in this era with storytelling, both in terms of shorter adventures, narratives connecting different stories, and different ways to break up longer adventures as discussed in my above post.
Are you planning to do reaction videos for The Last of Us which comes out next month? They just released a really good trailer for the new HBO Max series that’s based on the PlayStation 3 game that came out in 2013. I played the game twice (PS3 and PS4 versions), but I don’t think it matters if you played the game or not to enjoy the TV series.
hello sesska, i notice you haven't watched or reacted to the missing episodes, i know only stills and bits of footage exists but those were the best episodes
I love Tony Beckley, like a lot of gay actors so good at playing sleazy characters but always a vulnerability behind the eyes, perhaps best known for his final film role in 'When A Stranger Calls', a genuinely disturbing horror film from 1979. In 'The Fiend', a wonderfully camp & bizarre horror film from 1972 he plays a serial killing religious fanatic. He died aged 52. Love your description of him as a 'plant based villain' 😀 As silly as the story might be, there's something strangely moving about his fanatical love of plants over human beings. One thing I find a little distracting about these first two episodes are the stick on beards & comb overs. It also occurs to me that Doctor Who spent too much time on rubber monsters, they detract from what is often a very well written show ( for a 'children's' show at least ).
Extremely irritating how frequently in the last few stories, Tom's Doctor's character includes casually claiming this ridiculous 700 age. Which is far more than 3 and a bit full lifetimes, let alone after 2 of them were cut short. This is exactly why I always took the talk of ridiculous ages as a joke, originally, and my biggest disappointment about DW was to learn that they are actually seriously meant, and Tom said in an interview he was actually acting 700 by his alien lofty manner. It's utterly unrelatable to be a human companion with a being which such a difference of lifespan. Emotionally incompatible. Luckily, the Doctor's ages are a howlingly inconsistent mess, and for it they can only be a joke, logically. Sourced from "TARDIS fandom", p+ge found under "age" and "Second Doctor". It valuably itemises all the TV references to his age, showing they are a howling scale nonsensical mess. According to which - as Second he was only half as old as the time since he left Gallifrey, as Third, claiming an age of several thousand, he was much older than he was ever again until Thirteenth, he was 750 as Fifth but 900 as Sixth and still 903 as Tenth, he stayed c900 for over 400 years, he was younger as Tenth than as Seventh.
The producers over the years had more pressing problems than to worry about the age discontinuity.. ...Jon obviously was referring to all his previous regeneration cycles
Maybe the part about endangering humanity didn't need to be said, but it's fairly clear by now that the Doctor (particularly the Fourth Doctor) has no filter.
The part where the Doctor turns 360 degrees was reportedly improvised by Tom Baker.
The Seeds Of Doom is one of the best Dr Who stories of all time and is a permanent feature of my Top 5 episodes, I never get tired of watching this one. Excellent cast, creative monster, great villains, delightfully dark, gorgeously made and a six-part runtime that never lets up. The Doctor and Sarah's witty repartee has never been better. Flawless!
I was a huge fan of The Seeds Of Doom when I was a kid. It really made a statement on how brave the classic Doctor Who could be with monster stories for children in the audience. For grownups too for that matter.
Just to say the actor playing Scorby is a comedy legend John Challis he was Boyice in a British comedy Only Fools and Horses for years John tells a story years after when ever Tom Baker would see him he'd say hello Scorby unfortunately John passed away recently.
John Challis as Scorby, especially in the final two episodes of The Seeds Of Doom, is remarkably unforgettable.
Seeds of Doom is one of the greatest stories in an era of great stories. It has a human menace to it. Especially in the main villain Harrison Chase, who in the first two stories establishes himself as a cold psycho.
This story seems to be inspired by the 1951 film The Thing but parts of it seem to inspire the 1982 remake
"Amputate the arm" I honestly didn't think the series would mention it. And I genuinely thought they were going to do it.
Fun Fact: The following characters are on Earth at the time of this episode:
• The Master (in The Doctor’s custody)
• The Master (on the run)
• The “Metaltron” Dalek (passed along through private collections)
• The Grand Serpent (working for UNIT)
• The Twelfth Doctor (university professor, teaching nothing)
• Ashildr (whereabouts unknown)
• Jack Harkness (working for Torchwood)
• Jack Harkness (frozen in Torchwood’s cryo-chamber)
• The Great Intelligence (whereabouts unknown)
• The Reconnaissance Dalek (buried in Anuta Island, Siberia, and Sheffield)
If you notice, the Krynoid suit is a repainted Axon suit from the claws of Axos.
Action packed, scary, intense, thrilling, horrific, there are many ways you could describe The Seeds of Doom. Perhaps what best sums it up is that this is Doctor Who at its absolute best. Taking something mundane like plants and making it so terrifying is the essence of DW. I also love how this story is basically separated into a two part story and then a four part story. It's a very clever way to structure a six parter because it makes the story seem more epic and dynamic. The story gains a whole new surge of momentum after the way the part 2 ends. In amongst this, Tom Baker is giving one of his most riveting turns as the Doctor, he's spellbinding, you just can't take your eyes off him.
After a whole season of otherworldly horrors, Tony Beckley as Harrison Chase is a refreshing change of pace, but he's perhaps even more sinister than any of them. There's something so skin crawlingly creepy in the way Beckley delivers his lines. He's stoic and matter of fact about everything, he seems almost as inhuman as some of the other monstrous villains we've encountered in this series previously. Al in all, The Seeds of Doom is just about the perfect way to round of a landmark season. Aside from one story, this entire season is a delight to watch and this story gives it the conclusion it deserves.
Meet the plant lover Harrison Chase, one of the best villains in 70s Who and one of the most fun baddie performances ever. This story is just so packed with the best of 70s Who.
I couldn’t agree more. He’s so well written and it’s brilliant performance. Right up there with best villains, backed up by Scorby as one of the best henchmen as well.
And you've caught up with my life - I was born during this story's original broadcast run ^_~
I love this story. 4's quite aggressive in this story, too. Unusually so.
Agreed. I think that Tom Baker’s era has been the most dimensional in retrospect.
One thing I like about this story is that by this point they've realised that 6-parters can sometimes drag on rather, and took a different approach to avoid that. The first 2 episodes are kind of an introduction, largely separate to the rest of the story.
(since there's a comment from 2 weeks ago, I think it's safe to assume Jess has finished this story).
Tony Beckley is great value as Harrison Chase. He was also good as the villain in 'When a Stranger Calls', the film that spawned a twist that even people who've never heard of that movie usually know about.
Arguably my favorite Who story of them all. Brings be back as a kid watching this on PBS.
PBS and TVO were great stations for classic Doctor Who when I was a kid.
To be fair, the ad Keeler answered when he first went to work for Chase did say, "Botanist wanted for position at large private country estate. Botanical studies, horticulture experiments, opportunity for travel, may be required to aid and abet the occasional murder."
I’m so glad you watch classic Who. I haven’t seen the episodes in years, so I’m enjoying seeing them again and find out how much I remember. Glad you like them
Seeds of Doom is Doctor Who firing on all 8 cylinders with a turbo charger to boot. You just don't get any better than this. Excellent performances from Baker and Sladen. A terrifying almost unstoppable monster. Harrison Chase the cold hearted plant lover. This story is very gritty and dark in places with Baker going between fierce and comedic with Sir Colin and Amelia Ducat thrown in as real characters integral to the resolution of this story. Even the model work stands up rather well. This one is a must watch for any fan interested in the classic series.
This story feels more like an Avengers story than a Doctor Who story, in my opinion. The writer of this story, Robert Banks Stewart, also wrote for Danger Man & The Avengers.
Seeds of Doom is one of my all time faves.
Glad you mentioned "The Thing" in the post-episode thoughts. :) I actually seen these first two parts before and that's the vibe I got too. Like a condensed version of "The Thing".
One of the best of this era.
One of my very favorites... I love how serious the situation is and how it makes the pleasantries go out the window
Boycie from only fools and horses is brilliant in this story
Chase is an actor called John chalis he is famous for playing boycie in only fools and horses which is a popular sitcom here. He sadly died recently he is a legend. Yeah he plays the role straight, which a lot of actors found hard
Sorry that’s not chase that’s the other guy
Someone once described this story as a misdirected Avengers script (the John Steed/Emma Peel Avengers, not the Marvel comics). This is probably the most physical the Doctor gets since the Pertwee era. Still, an interesting mix of The Thing, The Day of the Triffids and The Quatermass Experiment.
The actor who plays Chase, Tony Beckley was also in The Italian Job and Get Carter with Michael Caine, two films that are well worth a watch. X
I thought he looked familiar. The Italian Job (1969) is one of my favourite films.
Camp Freddie!
I just saw him in The Lost Continent the other week! Very good actor given how distinct his characters are from each other. :D
Also, Michael Caine's an extra in The Wrong Arm of the Law starring Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbens as rival gang bosses.
Michael also has a blink and you'll miss him cameo in The Day The Earth Caught Fire, an excellent British Sci-Fi flick.
Just before transmission, the master tape for part one disappeared and they were considering reediting part two to fill in the details but fortunately the missing tape was found before that was necessary.
Brits can enjoy this on a number of levels. Apart from delightful Tony Beckley in another camp performance (he is literally 'Camp Freddie' in classic 1969 Brit crime caper 'The Italian Job'), we have the relatively unknown John Challis as Scorby - years away from becoming one of the most recognizable men in the UK for his part in the sitcom 'Only Fools & Horses'. And Douglas Camfield really knows how to make polystyrene snow the least of your worries in these two episodes.
Doctor Who does the story 'Who Goes There?' by Joseph W Campbell, also filmed as 'The Thing From Another World' in 1948? and 'The Thing' in 1982.
The later parts and the villain are derived from a later black and white episode of the 1960s 'Avengers' (John Steed and Mrs. Peel Avengers) story where a plant from space lays siege to a house and begins to influence minds.
1951 it was. A bit of The Quatermass Xperiment there too I reckon
Yet another of WHo’s greatest moments. And yea, very much based on The Thing.
So much genius at work here…. And you’re right, this season is awesome
Seeds of doom has finally arrived this is in my top 3 stories of all of classic who the atmosphere and the krynoids(who need to return in new who btw) has a classic horror feel ie the thing one I could rewatch over and over again
This reminds me - 'The Thing from another world' is still on iPlayer in the UK...
Congratulations on 90K Jess 🎈 You deserve ten times more but to be honest I don't know how much you'd love ten times more chaos in the comments!
My very favorite Doctor Who story. It is easy to re-watch. The music is some of the best ever. Great characters and story. Masterpiece!!!
After watching so much Dr Who on videotape as a child, this was the first Dr Who story I actually had in my collection, as a gift. Watched a lot, and I realise all these years later how just about every aspect of production works nearly as well as they're meant to. One of the all time Dr Who greats.
Another brilliant story. Dr Who does The Thing/Day of the Triffids on a millionth of the budget of a big screen movie and its still wonderful 🥰🥰🥰
Remoreslessly violent, The Seeds of Doom is one of the series' most accomplished stories and a classic in its own right. Tony Beckley is chilling as Chase and Scorby, despite being a thuggish sidekick, undergoes some interesting character development.
This is a story that I grew to appreciate, and now really enjoy.
Bet you didn't recognie the plant monster - It was the same costume worn back in the Claws of Axos by the monster there, just painted green.
@sesskasays looks like you got one of these scammers going
talk about low budget..
One of the greatest stories of all time. One of the best in all of doctor who media. Certainly my favourite fourth doctor story.
26:00...That's exactly it, Scorby's a psychopath and Keeler isn't. He's there just to identify the pod nothing more and if he objects to Scorby's side of the operation then (as Scorby said) the grave dug in the snow will just be a little bit bigger 😉
“An obvious question. I wish I knew the answer.”
It’s not often that the Doctor admits he doesn’t know something. But, then, Sarah Jane is his best friend, so he’ll admit it to her.
I heard recently that when The Doctor calls Sarah-Jane his best friend, it was ad libbed by Baker! It shows you how good these two are together!
@@Skeezer66 It was, yes.
The Thing 1976😄
My favorite this season, loving the reaction ❤️
An all time classic story to round up a classic season of Who. Script, casting, direction and the stunning soundtrack by Geoffrey Burgon all come together to create magic.
Of the time that Sarah Jane and the Fourth Doctor traveled together, this is just about my favorite story with them together. For all the reasons listed here in the comments and more, this serial is just about perfect and I will add that these 2 characters operating together in working to defeat this meance just highlights the actors' perfect chemistry. If there is a fault in this story, I am hard pressed to find it. I am looking forward to watching the rest of Jess' reaction soon.
Another brilliant story to end a near flawless season off. Love how its almost like two separate stories, the first two episodes being set in the antarctic like ‘the thing’
Geoffrey burgen returns to give another unique chilling music score as he did with terror of the zygons
This is my all time favourite Doctor Who story. It scared the hell out of me as a kid. The Krynoid is a creature i would love to see make a return in the new Who world.
This is one of my favourite classic who stories! The stakes are really high, the villain is actually creepy and intimidating and the soundtrack is some of the best in the entire classic series... Can't wait to see your thoughts on the remaining parts
Doctor Who does "The Thing" is a match made in heaven and the perfect opening chapter to an exceptional story
to be fair it all comes from Lovecraft The Mountain Of Madness, but yeah, this is one of my favourite variations
This story scared the shit out of me when I first saw it. I was 22.
3:00 Some of the effects team on this serial, ten years later, did actually do work on Little Shop of Horrors!
The season has been pretty solid so far? What an understatement for the best season in the show's history.
For some reason, whenever I watch this story in particular, I get "Dark Shadows" vibes. I don't know if it's the contemporary setting, or being shot on video, or some of Geoffrey Burgon's music cues reminding me of Robert Cobert's, or the interiors of Harrison Chase's mansion, or the fact that when I first encountered this story in the seventies, it aired on my local ABC affiliate weekdays at 4:30 in the afternoon. (Yeah, in my market, Doctor Who aired, however briefly, on commercial TV. My old hometown PBS station outright refused to carry Classic Who despite years of lobbying from the local sci-fi community until after the modern series became popular during the Tenant years.)
I do get where you get the "Dark Shadows" vibe (one of the most influential shows ever)! It just needed Harrison Chase with a wolf'shead walking stick!
The great finale of the best season in Doctor Who history.
I think The Doctor had every right to be mad with Stevenson and i agree with The Doctor that Stevenson wasn't suppose to experiment on that pod until he arrived and he doesn't know what he was dealing with he did out of selfish curiosity he should had waited until The Doctor arrived then Charles wouldn't had got infected in the first place so basically even though he didn't realise how bad it would get he is at fault for what's happening The Doctor has been around the block and he clearly knows what he's talking about he's grumpy because he's frustrated with us dumb humans that won't be told or warned about anything also you have to rememeber The Doctor is not human he doesn't take into consideration of human feelings sometimes he does but when it comes to danger it's the least of his worries and he had to be honest with Stevenson and Charles was no longer human or the man he was he's now an alien planet.
Anyway again another great classic story Tom Baker never fails.
Chase is considered to be like a Bond type kind of villain like Ernest Stavro Blofeld from the Bond movies if you will.
Hiya.
"Not sure he can hear anything."
Not heard of a 'Cauliflower Ear' then? 😁
Stay safe. All the best to you.
This is one of the best Fourth Doctor stories
When you said plant based monster, my first thought went to “vegan alternative creature” lol
Scorbie, the evil henchman. is for many classic fans the Best Henchman Ever! I prefer Nidor from Genesis of the Daleks, but they are both excellent at what they do. This is kind of two stories in one, first 'The Thing" homage, and next the more standard four part story. Sounds easy, but is Not! The ONLY (slight) problem with this story is the title, because it always gets confused with the 2nd Doctor's "Seeds of Death".
You're becoming a true Whovian. And I'm very proud... 😊🤗
Of course you have.
Can these fing bots not leave ANYone alone???....... 😔
Merry Christmas anyway.....
🫡
Listening to your comments on the Doctor's harshness in this story, I'm reflecting on the fact that TomDoc was my main role model, growing up... No wonder all the other kids avoided me! =:o1
10:46...I think the only reason the Doctor objects to Sarah and the others calling Winlett by his name is that he's worried they still might perceive him as human in some way and hesitate if something drastic has to be done...with dire consequences (just ask poor old Moberley).
Harrison Chase was one of best earth bound human villains.
Actually the first two episodes of this story was based on the 1950s movie THE THING
Gotta miss that iconic red hair sesska had dawned from 2019 to 2022.
Yeah. The fact that it’s a 6-parter is something you’re not gonna see much of. It’s reserved for one story per season in the Fourth Doctor era, and the reason for that is that the production crew were feeling that longer stories were becoming bothersome for the show, and so they sought to reduce it. You’ll see the last 6-parter in the penultimate season of the Fourth Doctor era.
And even with this story they play about with the structure a bit more than we have seen previously - with the Antarctic story ending and action switching locations completely for the later parts and each location having a different feel - this could have worked as 2 connected stories separated by another adventure or two in between to sell a "6 months later" type time jump. This approach certainly helps reduce the need for repeated capture - escape cycles that the Pertwee era sometimes overused to hit the episode count.
On the other hand I think you're overlooking that the Fourth Doctor era also used ongoing narratives to connect adventures together throughout a season - the first season with Harry & Sarah Jane where they only really took one trip in the actual Tardis - the Key to Time season - getting trapped in E-Space followed by the episodes leading up to (and going past) the regeneration - they experimented quite a bit in this era with storytelling, both in terms of shorter adventures, narratives connecting different stories, and different ways to break up longer adventures as discussed in my above post.
Maybe, but it was also still because they wanted to reduce the episode count because they felt stories were too long.
This is another creepy body horror episode like the "Ark in Space" with heavy inspiration from "The Thing/Who Goes There".
TOM BAKER rules
So keen for the next season!
This is my fave story in the Tom Baker era. Just hits me right…
Are you planning to do reaction videos for The Last of Us which comes out next month? They just released a really good trailer for the new HBO Max series that’s based on the PlayStation 3 game that came out in 2013. I played the game twice (PS3 and PS4 versions), but I don’t think it matters if you played the game or not to enjoy the TV series.
As always Sarah Janes hair game is top tier. Well done madam 👍
i`ll say it again i love classic who
That episode is nearly 50 year's old
hello sesska, i notice you haven't watched or reacted to the missing episodes, i know only stills and bits of footage exists but those were the best episodes
The beginning is kinda silly but the rest of this story is great!
episodes 1 & 2 base under seige and then lets go up a couple of gears
I like your haircut ❤
I love Tony Beckley, like a lot of gay actors so good at playing sleazy characters but always a vulnerability behind the eyes, perhaps best known for his final film role in 'When A Stranger Calls', a genuinely disturbing horror film from 1979. In 'The Fiend', a wonderfully camp & bizarre horror film from 1972 he plays a serial killing religious fanatic. He died aged 52. Love your description of him as a 'plant based villain' 😀
As silly as the story might be, there's something strangely moving about his fanatical love of plants over human beings. One thing I find a little distracting about these first two episodes are the stick on beards & comb overs. It also occurs to me that Doctor Who spent too much time on rubber monsters, they detract from what is often a very well written show ( for a 'children's' show at least ).
Yeah, Dr Who's monsters suffered due to the lack of money for special effects...
The low budget for special effects forced cutbacks in several areas. Rubber monsters were a result...
Can you react to Looking for Alaska?
Yay new story
Who is the Doctor ?
Affirmative.
@@zoppie Thank you Zoppie you are the kindest person in the whole known universe Merry Christmas & Happy New year may you get many gifts 🎁 thank you
@@zoppie 🎁
Extremely irritating how frequently in the last few stories, Tom's Doctor's character includes casually claiming this ridiculous 700 age. Which is far more than 3 and a bit full lifetimes, let alone after 2 of them were cut short.
This is exactly why I always took the talk of ridiculous ages as a joke, originally, and my biggest disappointment about DW was to learn that they are actually seriously meant, and Tom said in an interview he was actually acting 700 by his alien lofty manner.
It's utterly unrelatable to be a human companion with a being which such a difference of lifespan. Emotionally incompatible.
Luckily, the Doctor's ages are a howlingly inconsistent mess, and for it they can only be a joke, logically. Sourced from "TARDIS fandom", p+ge found under "age" and "Second Doctor". It valuably itemises all the TV references to his age, showing they are a howling scale nonsensical mess. According to which -
as Second he was only half as old as the time since he left Gallifrey,
as Third, claiming an age of several thousand, he was much older than he was ever again until Thirteenth,
he was 750 as Fifth but 900 as Sixth and still 903 as Tenth,
he stayed c900 for over 400 years,
he was younger as Tenth than as Seventh.
The producers over the years had more pressing problems than to worry about the age discontinuity.. ...Jon obviously was referring to all his previous regeneration cycles