It is an excellent story, well-written, well-acted, and even the things that people complain about now make sense in the context of the story and the period the story is set in.
I admit I love Talons. It's a great story. Talons and Robots Of Death are my favorite stories. If I only had 5 Who stories to watch I would choose Talons, Robots, 5 Doctors, Stones Of Blood and The Visitation.
Overall, good reviews. People need to relax on Talons though. This or any other media from way back needs to be judged by the reality of the time, not the lens of now. Who knows how future generations will view representations in today's media?
Probably “oh my god, is that all the people of the early 21st century could complain about when the world they were actually living in was so f*cked up??!”
I noticed several times you say the final episode of a story is a bit of a letdown. Fair enough, especially when you view the stories, as I presume you as a young classic Who viewer did, all at once. Don't forget they were not meant to be watched like that. It was one 25 minute episode once a week. As a child watching this at the time (I'm 55 now) I was never let down by the final episode cos I could barely remember the previous episode properly as a whole week of life and TV viewing had happened in the meantime. (this was before VHS recorders) All I was aware of at the time was that this was another episode of my favourite TV series and I loved it.
Yeah there's a couple of stories here I find this with (Pyramids, Hand and to a much lesser extent Deadly and Face), mostly because I find the rest of the episodes of those stories to be so good. I've rarely actually found watching the stories all in one go to harm them (although that is the only way I've ever done the classics, and the new series stuff after first broadcast for that matter), but I see your point that maybe these episode fours can suffer for me coming immediately after such good episodes one to three.
@@AlReviewsWho Chipping in here I do think that all those you've mentioned are vaild for episode four slump, but imo it's because our expectations of conclusions in film/tv are for pace and budget to always increase to a very high pitch, which they obviously can't in this case. Most of those impressive with their style and pace from moment one and that effect wears off by part four
The whole of the Tom Baker era condensed into 2 and a half hours? Damn, bravo sir. While I don’t agree with a lot of your opinions on certain stories, it’s certainly a joy to watch regardless.
Talons is a great story. Doctor Who was a product of its time. Most shows made poor choices in the 50’s 60’s 70’s and sometimes 80’s I still thing it’s one of the best.
They were not poor choices. They were likely the only choices available. Either that or not make any story involving other ethnicities and then we wouldn't have got Marco Polo (or what's left of it)
@@The_MongooseYou (deliberately, I suspect) misunderstand. the critique isn't *just* that it was a white person pretending to be Asian. It was the deliberate depiction of Asian people as villains and criminals in Talons of WC. Having a white person in the role *might* be understandable (and it isn't by the way), there is no excuse for the demonization of Asian people. It wasn't like people in the 70's didn't know that what they thought was a prejudicial and racist belief.
Loved this. Best era of Who, no doubt about it. Interesting how my opinions mostly match your own. My favourites in this era: Brain of Morbius, Robots of Death, City of Death, Warrior's Gate.
Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed. I'm rather looking forward to putting the Davison video together, already got a fair few pages of notes for it (gave me something to do while this one was uploading over and over again!)
@@AlReviewsWhoI’m glad I’m not the only one who loves The Android Invasion. I knew nothing about it going in, and I was incredibly surprised how eerie and unsettling the story is. It’s my favourite story of Season 13!
A fantastic look at this wonderful era of Who. Talons IMHO, is the best of the era - watched it with a Chinese friend of mine and he thought it was brilliant he didn't comment on yellow face and added when asked about lack of asian actors he replied 'well it's 1977 after all ' things were VERY different and it's folly to watch shows from this era with hyper sensitivities of 2023 - where now anything or anyone is offensive - I fear the subjective moral hysteria predominantly seems to be from white liberals rather than the ethnic demographic it self crusades for. The blend of Fu Manchu and Holmes is perfection. Talons is followed closely by Robots of Death and it was a shame D84 wasn't a companion. Although my favourites are ambassadors of death and Inferno and season 7 as a whole - perfect. Anyway I am looking forward to more, especially New Who, as it's when I stopped watching the show - after Tennant, really. It's also when the show became convoluted so you're capsule reviews will be enlightening. The only sad thing about the review is arguably compared to modern Who is how new who pales in comparison. Baker was the personification of the timelord - often imitated but never surpassed. TV Gold really. Oh and as you absolutely loved Android Invasion. 'These aren't real trees......and you're not the real Sarah...' Classic and underrated. Keep up the amazing work - I know how long it takes to put it all together and the dedication needed. Superb job. Best 🦀
@lcoyle1998 It depends, I assume on the portfolio of actors available at the time of true ethnicity. As there were fewer individuals on the casting agents books of different races and if they could get actors of the ethnicity represented. If not then make-up and phoney accents were used instead. The use of 1920's or Victorian literature, in this case I believe Fu Manchu, would have carried the traits over to this 1977 adventure. The baddie in this case just happened to be chinese. All races have evil people and no race doesn't have blood on their hands - it just so happens in this case it's oriental. The story was a celebration of the Victorian era and part of that nostalgia was, I believe, the opium wars and the threat of the 'yellow peril'. It is a product of it's time and should be seen as such and a premium example of how television has changed. Mind of Evil featured some chinese characters but as I recall, as it's been ages since I saw it, they were played by actors and actresses of correct ethnicity. I believe the chinese actress was married to the writer Don Houghton at the time. You also find, in the 1970's and 1980's the same actors and actresses of certain ethnicities cropping up in a variety of series again and again also highlighting a possible 'shortage' of demographics. Certain white people were also typecast as baddies or goodies as well as certain classes. It is and was a fascinating time for television but taking all of this into consideration and putting sensibilities aside - they were bloody good drama's and slices of adventure that fans still talk about now so this alone is testament to their strength .
A favorite is the Stones Of Blood, funny thing was as a child we did a school trip to Avebury just after the episode where the campers touched the stone and died . Non of us wanted to touch any of the stones!
Great era review 👍 the one thing which always struck me The Image of the Fendhal it always to me felt like a 3rd Doctor story - it's one of my faves of this era
I really enjoyed Revenge of the Cybermen serial it was one of first stories I watched (alongside Death to the Daleks) on VHS as a nine year old, one Christmas back in the day.
Talons is absolutely one of the best Who stories. I don’t see why historical stories have to have characters with modern sensibilities rather than accurate for the time attitudes. The fact that the Doctor calls them out seems like the right way to handle it. That’s what modern Who does (heavy handedly) and apparently it’s ok when they do it. As for white people playing Asian characters - do you really want all the bad guys to be Asian, rather than clearly not Asian people? People today are in many ways less aware rather than more. They can pattern match things identified as racist and go “That’s racist” but they can’t parse the real world to identify words and actions that matter. In other words, it’s all noise and posturing, it’s not actually helping anyone.
Talons is not 'racist'. Yes, it also addressed racism by showing how attitudes in the Victorian era were to towards the Chinese and Irish. My grandfather was Chinese and we used to love watching Fu-Manchu together. I do not understand white middle class kids today getting all offended on behalf of other people. Relax, Talons is a GREAT story, and perhaps if there were a wealth of Chinese actors available back then, it may have been different, but it is what it is. Regardless of making a mountain out of a mole hill, this has been an enjoyable review.
Seconded! Indeed, the cameo of Blofeld's cat during "Meglos" had me falling out of my chair 🤣. So many moments in the review were great. But nothing had me so caught off-guard. That will never get old.
I really love how Douglas Adams re-purposed much of his Shada script in "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency". Especially in the superbly cast radio drama, where Chronotis sounds and acts very like the 1st Doctor, Dirk Gently sounds like 3 and acts much like 4, and Dirk's secretary is (coincidentally) reminiscent of the early, shrill Donna Noble from "The Runaway Bride".
You can have good episodes or not-so-good episodes, but the one thing you can never be is boring. And with Tom Baker at the helm, Doctor Who was never boring I wish he had a more epic death than just falling from a great height though
I’ll admit, I laughed out loud when “Talons” came up and you said “Ohhh, F*CK.” 😂 I think you addressed the issue very well, though, and your video overall was very entertaining! Really loving these retrospectives!
Okay! I made it one hour and thirty one minutes before I commented. I love your attitude man. You put a ton of work into this video and I appreciate the ride.
Tom baker is my dads doctor and now my dads favourite doctor is Jon Pertwee because during lockdown I watched loads of classic Dr who and new who with my dad and I watched alot of tom baker and I got introduced to the first doctor era and the second Doctor era and classic Dr who
If people want to tie themselves in self-righteous knots over Talons they should answer the question was it 'right' for some born in Yorkshire dress up in a Kilt and sporran and effect a cod Scots accent. The answer for those hard of thinking is - it's called acting. In neither case are they seeking to be derogatory or to denigrate.
Talons is my favourite, yes it has a English actor playing a Chinese man but this was common practice back in the day, Boris Karloff, Warner Oland , Christopher Lee, Peter Sellers and Nicolas Cage have all portrayed Fu Manchu a character that Li H’sen Chang is loosely based on (certainly his costume design and general look). The younger generation offended by everything, get over your self ( you do realise that the story is set in Victorian times and amazingly people did not speak how they do today, they used many different terms for people from different countries, it does not make it right but ‘shocker’ that’s how it was), times have changed but sadly not all for the better, we certainly are not living in enlightened times, far from it. Other favourites would be Genesis of the Daleks, The Seeds of Doom, Pyramids of Mars, Robots of Death, Horror of Fang Rock and City of Death. Tom Baker was my doctor, I turned 5 years old during the original broadcast of Robot, but I had watched Jon Pertwee’s last few stories as I clearly remember watching The Green Death, the giant maggots giving me nightmares as a small child.
I watched Fu Manchu with my Chinese grandfather. I just think white people who don't have any other cultural influence in their life just assume everyone gets offended as much as they do lol. They really don't.
The best part of Fang Rock: Max Headroom. Seriously, that infamous pirate broadcast should be included on the season box set. What, are the hacker pirates going to sue?
I think the reason arkin space gets a lot of love from fans is probably due to the fact that it was one of the first VHS releases so most are blinded by nostalgia Being the 19th release of 6 years
@@dddayesq5061 I love Dominators I wish we'd get a sequel already Honestly, there isn't much lore on them so theyd be perfect to bring back and make a finale villain same with a couple of other villains that didn't get much love before The trinity (daleks cybermen master) is old and tired, my idea, daleks get a 3 episode series every year so they can become a credible threat only to appear in the pilot series to be defeated, they need it, cybermen need time away for a decent story to be written and master needs a break as there has been too much reliance on the character The a class villains need a break as a third of the new stuff is practically them only Give the b class villains a chance, Dominators are perfect for this like I said, how about axos and the wirrn finally getting a new story (I know big finish did some) I get that ark in space is bad, but believe it or not supposedly there's a major missing scene, like the arrival scene in terror of the zygons we recently got to see
Dang. I loved your previous two videos for content and video editing/presentation, but this one tops them all with little nuances that all come across as highly professional! Yeah, 60s cybermen were best when all is said and done, but Capaldi's finale really hits the spot. Davison is my favorite Doctor... if not 🫣 Colin 😶🌫️. That said, Tom is invariably the definitive article. 😁 Android Invasion is a poor substitute of Zygon Invasion, and I always got the impression Courtney did not want to reprise the role, with Faraday being given his lines. Philip Madoc never ceases to compel, and he really added a lot to the Cushing movie. 42 stories. I wonder if Douglas Adams time- traveled to the future, did the final tally, then came up with "42 is life, the universe, and everything. " 😏
I had to skip around, but I promise to get to the other stories! Stones of Blood - who doesn't like sausage sandwiches? 😁 Leisure Hive is a classic. Never understood most complaints it got. It has a bold new style. Loaded with substance, unless concepts like genocide, radiation destroying the environment, sterilization, ritual suicide, racism, tachyons, fiber optics and other leading edge technology, etc, are all somehow "lightweight". The episode recaps are too long, and yet every rewatch, I discover something new in it. Scared me outright as a kid, but remained interesting enough to revisit and, for me, it only gets better each time. Apart from the long recaps. But, yeah, I can't deny it takes a lot of themes and doesn't do as much as it could. It still has that emphasis on style... forgot to add, "ARREST THE SCARF THEN! 😁" has got to be the best quip of all time.
1:06:02 "passing thought" Even in sci fi, they used the common real world assumption that the brain's physical reactions are thoughts. The electrochemical reaction is not the thought, itself. Thoughts are products of the mind, which is not physical.
This is an excellent series of reviews,, and certainly thoroughly researched, I thought I knew quite a bit about original Who but I've learnt a lot from each one so far
Of course, the most important question was not addressed: Mary Tamm Romana in that flimsy white gown or Lalla Ward Romana in a schoolgirl uniform? At the time, this was the most important Doctor Who question, and as far as I know the arguments continue.
I appreciate that they made a callback to Four's speech in Genesis of the Daleks by planting Twelve directly into that exact situation with a young Davros himself as the subject of the dilemma.
That argument would fly if there was an equal chance that an Asian actor could have played Jago or Lightfoot. But we don't live in a world of race-blind casting - we live in a world where BAME actors can usually only play roles specifically written for people of their ethnicity, while white actors are considered for any role.
@Talisguy And yet a casual perusal of, say, the RSC or the National Theatre, to say nothing of current year casting, would indicate little barrier to minority presence in roles that often explicitly call for whites.
Absolutely. This belief that a Caucasian actor cannot ACT the part of a character of another culture is idiotic. Which part of acting do they not understand?
I wouldn’t worry about The Talons of Weng-Chiang, it’s a product of its time. It is not done with malice or with the modern eyes of these days. It’s a timestamp of television history. This is the 70’s and much worse was done on the BBC in 2003 with Little Britain and Ting-Tong or Cathrine Tait as the world’s worst interpreter. So have a cuppa and enjoy it for what it is. On a personal note - Destiny of the Daleks was the first memory I have of the show. As a 5 year old watching a Dalek burst through a pulsating wall as a cliffhanger.
“Ark in Space” is one of my favorite DW stories of any era. Cross ethnic casting was the norm everywhere then so no need to beat up DW about it. Representational fundamentalism is a recent obsession.
Talons is easily my favorite story of the Tom Baker era. Jago and Lightfoot are also easily my favorite incidental characters from the entire series. Your apologist take on the entire story was disappointing to say the least. And sadly, no mention of Deep Roy.
I'm a New Who convert, so I got to know Sarah Jane that way and learned the history after the fact. She was so beautiful and I couldn't believe she had been on the show so many years ago! I fell in love with her instantly in the newer eps and I couldn't wait to see her earlier episodes. I was heartbroken when I learned Elisabeth Sladen had died. I felt like I had just "met" her. I can't imagine how sad it was for long time fans.
If you want some stories that deal with Nyssa, especially around Traken and her father, I recommend 'Primeval' from the Main Range and the Short Trip 'Garden of the Dead'. 'Primeval' has her and Five return to Traken in a time before it was destroyed and 'Garden of the Dead' shows a lot of her emotional state around the Tremas Master.
My take on the controversy of Talons: 1) It is a product of both the time it portrays...Victorian London and the time it was made, the mid 1970s Britain, so I dont really get why people get so out of joint about it. It really kills me that people who don't even have a dog in the fight get offended. I haven't actually heard any Asian or Irish person voice offense. It is accurate in the attitudes it displays of both Victorian and 1970s England. 2) There really wasn't many if any available Asian actors who could have played Li'Sin as brilliantly. I personally have tired of art being dismissed and cancelled when people get offended. I just wish people would get over themselves but maybe I see things differently being a Gen Xer born in 1969 and not a member of these overly easily offended more current generations.
also mate, don't get your knickers in a twist over Talons Of Weng Chiang. I used to have a Chinese girlfriend and she watched it and she thought it was hilarious having a caucasian actor playing Chinese with prosthetic make-up. I agree it's not acceptable to have an actor in yellowface but it's not the appalling heinous crime that so many young Who fans believe it is. It was a bad idea but you shouldn't let it ruin your enjoyment of an otherwise pretty good story. My girlfriend found the fluffy giant rat more offensive than the portrayal of the Chinese in this story.
My head canon for the upcoming danger in the Key to Time serial was the approaching entropy in Logopolis. Since the Doctor never got it to the White Guardian, it wasn't able to be prevented. Which I guess would mean that the Doctor caused his own regeneration.
I'm glad some of my own preferred favourites got some nice love here. Especially Android Invasion. I also can easily relate to the love of the music in both Leisure Hive and Logopolis. Your apparent appreciation for the ONE part of the Warriors Gate which totally turns me off from bothering to watch it...ehhh, we can't be perfectly aligned, can we?
This area of the Doctor Who was always my favorite, Thomas Baker s Doctor who brought a unique perspective on the series. Hies speech in the Ark in Space was one of my favorite speeches in the doctor who series!
Thanks. It was about Elisabeth Sladen being particularly good in Seeds of Doom - but the clip I used when discussing it ("You're not complete unless you've got a gun in your hand" from Part Five) meant it had to go ☹️
Yeah for her first four stories she was made to wear brown contact lenses as the name Leela apparently means "dark eyed beauty". Jameson found them very uncomfortable and when Williams took over as producer she convinced him to let her ditch them, which was written in to Fang Rock
@@AlReviewsWho Oh, I didn't even think contacts existed at that time! Now I feel bad that she annoyed me for that reason. Uncomfortable contacts are awful to deal with. I'm sorry, Leela!
No wonder Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor is so iconic. His run of stories is full of bangers and even the weaker ones are not really outright bad. Tom Baker is my favorite and I always remember the E-Space arc as being especially interesting. Key to time too but in retrospect I agree it's not a terribly good/satisfying pay off for the ending. (Although a very Doctor move to just subvert the whole thing by breaking it back into pieces.)
Genesis I remember vaguely watching it on BBC Two in late 90s or early 2000. This was before i was a doctor who fan back in the day, I was 4 years old and the family just happened to have it on. I can’t fully remember if it scared me but I do remember the cliffhanger for part 4 and the giant clams. Also City of Death use to scare me as a kid, especially the cliffhanger for part 1.
6:21 for me The Arc In Space was a favorite due to the sheer body horror of parasitic space wasps transforming you while you're still alive, and there's nothing you can do...couldn't get enough of it!
Talons is and one of my favorite Tom Baker Leela his companion episodes. She is my favorite companion and K9 as well. I could care less about the racist theme. It's good acting. A white guy pulling off a Chinese person is brilliant. If memory serves me correctly didn't Peter Seller's portray a Chinese man in the Pink Panther movies as a disguise, yet it wasn't racist for him to do that, nobody will bring that up. I enjoy City of death it's my favorite of the 2 Romana stories and I like State of Decay. Even though I preffered how pretty Mary Tamm was over Lalla Ward, the chemistry of Tom and Lalla worked being they were romantically involved. As long as this review was, it went fast, because I enjoyed it. Good job.
The Assassin Master’s “craven-hearted” line has had its audio cleaned up. I distinctly remember that “The Watcher” column in DWM (late 90s I think) described the line as “honestly unprintable”. I watched my VHS and it really does sound like he calls him a “spineless CUNT”. It’s a shame that technology has deprived future generations of these unintended expletives. Still, Bill Hartnell’s classic irascible fluff “STOP BUGGERING ME” is here forever.
Great video! I agree with most everything you said, except that The Keeper of Traken is my favorite story 4 ever had. It is the perfect allegory for what happens when a political system becomes complacent, or inwardly corrupt. The master represents a rogue element (sort of like Donald Trump in 2016), and despite the warnings and everyone's protestations, he gains power nonetheless. That's what I love about this story is that almost every single side character on traken is fundamentally flawed or makes a mistake that allows the melkur to take the keepership. Also Adric and 4's dynamic is to die for. It is the episode I show to people who have never seen classic who before, and they always love it. I always love it when one of these videos come out.
BritBox has a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode of Talons, stating that it's a product of its time. Interestingly it's the only story in Classic Who they do that with.
@@AlReviewsWho definitely on its own. Fifth doctor and Nyssa visit traken. I quite like it. One I really like that goes deeper with her character is 'prisoner of fate' but you would have to listen to cobwebs and the emerald tiger first before that (both of those are also great)
That has to be one of the most controversial things ever said - "Terry Malloy is the definitive Davros". I mean, fair enough, each to their own but I think you're on your own with that one. Michael Wisher is by far the definitive Davros. Wisher gave Davros a far more sinister voice. Don't you hear that. When you watch Genesis don't you feel Davros is far more sinister than Resurrection which is all down to Michael Wisher. I thought Malloy was a joke compared to Wisher
35:55 "The first couple of times, I thought it was pretty good. The third time, I thought it was bloody brilliant! And the fourth time, I... didn't enjoy it very much at all." Jesus! That is some highly detailed recall you've got going on there. I've seen plenty of movies and TV episodes 5 times and more, but I couldn't tell ya how I felt about any of them the third time I saw them vs. the fourth time. I can't tell you how I felt about the movie Alien the 10th time I watched it vs. the 20th time. My guess is it was probably about the same though.
I always thought that Tom Baker's doctor called the cybermen "Total Machine Creatures" so as to make it easier on his companions and keep the body horror for them to a minimum. Tom Baker was MY doctor. And I thought Pyramid of Mars was the best of season 13. It actually scared the ever-living sh*t out of me as a kid. "Eldrad Must Live" The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a period piece and racism existed in the past. To say, "Oh, we can't talk about that" is to ignore that it happened and to invite it to happen again. In fact, I would postulate that the rabid "anti-racists" have gone so far as to become the very racists they claim to hate so much. But honestly, I don't see how it's all that bad. It portrays the Asians as having taken over the world at one point and invented time travel. Not very GOOD time travel, but still, it WORKED, didn't it? I don't count that as a slam against Asians. If anything, it highlighted the problems of the age, which is GOOD. if we ignore our past and pretend it didn't happen, then change it to fit "modern audiences", then all you are doing is stealing thunder from the current day.
In case your wondering,the temporary voice actor for K-9 being named David Bradley is a coincidence,while David Bradley’s career had begun at that point,we did not act in Doctor who until many years later,it’s not eh same David Bradley from An Adventure in Space and Time
Barry Letts era has more of a science focus than any Who after it.... :( It's not that the Doctor was less of a scientist after Pertwee, it was after Letts. Somewhere in the transfer they lost track of the fact that the Doctor is an explorer obsessed with scientific investigation, he began to become more of a travelling superhero instead. I love the Leela era, and her wide-eyed uneducated character resulted in things getting a little more 'sciency' for a while, as the Doctor explains everything as they go. But I really miss the little science lessons from early Who, geology, biology.... Pertwee rewiring a radio receiver into a transmitter... Total machine creatures... :) Machine + creature = Cyborg Daleks and Cybermen have brain alterations which remove 'problematic' emotions, making them machine creatures, creatures that think like machines.... 'Another' race of 'robots'... wasn't a great word combo, no... :D Hopefully things go full circle on Talons of Weng Chiang! The Victorian racism shown was realistic, educational and not at all promoting the behavior. We should bring back actors playing characters of other races, complete with accent and optional make-up. We should be able to have an Asian actor play Sherlock Holmes without wowsers claiming that the character has been 'made Asian' A black, Hispanic or white Ghengis Khan is fine as long as they're not playing the role with an anachronistic hip modern accent. It would progress things and help people get over feeling outraged on behalf of others, if we moved on and let actors be actors. It's an actor's job to portray people unlike themselves.... 21st century, time to get over it.... Invisible Enemy is a classic, the early Leela era is strong! I was obsessed with building my own K9 as a kid, even if his head does explode when his wheels touch water. I haven't seen the latest versions of Shada with animation! Something to track down.....
What I always find interesting is there are those who condemn Talons and drone on and on about it yet in the same breath cream all over Marco Polo or The Crusades which has plenty of blackface and woe be tied anyone who points that out - the hypocrisy of some fans is so laughable.
I think talons was awesome. Imagine a world where you are afraid to say that you enjoyed something because a group of people tell you it's racist. Like if someone said "I like the Klan" I could see that differently but an episode of a tv show that pokes fun at it?
The Android Invasion is highly underrated and is one of Terry nation's most unique storys. It is abit too similar to Terror of the Zygons like with the copying of people, the invasion plot and a evil copy of Harry. Even a hidden camera in the dart board is the same as the camera in the Deer head but its still a great story.
Just your opening statements impressed me with just how accurate and articulate they were. You got it spot on when you talk about the different tones of periods under Tom Baker's era. In fact, I always have argued there are at least three different Tom Baker incarnations. Baker of season 18 has barely a resemblance to his first three seasons. I think when people romantically think of Tom as the classic Doctor they are not thinking of his last three years or so. In fact the ratings were dropping markedly in his final season to be recovered in Davisons first era. Tom was brilliant for most of his tenure but he also got some of the best stories of the entire shows history under Hinchcliffe and co. He also got the best companions arguably with Sarah Jane , Leela, both Romanas - how could you beat that. Poor Davison got the adopted three of the shoes most boring, whingey and tedious of companions with of course Adric being intolerable. If JNT ever got anything right it was killing of Adric - the character went from being loathed to loved. Amazing what death does to the human psyche.
I forgot to do my ranking for the tom baker era. So here is my list from worst to best. Season to season. Season 12: 5. Revenge of the cybermen 4. The sonataran experiment 3. The ark in space 2. Robot 1. Gensis of the daleks Season 13: 6. Planet of evil 5. Terror of the zygons 4. The brain of morbius 3. The android invasion 2. The seeds of doom 1. Pyramids of Mars Season 14: 6. The mask of mandragora 5. The face of evil 4. Robots of death 3. The talons of weing chiang 2. The deadly assassin 1. The hand of fear Season 15: 6. Underworld 5. The invasion of time 4. Image of the fendal 3. The invisble enemy 2. The sunmakers 1. Horror of fang rock Season 16: 6. The power of kroll 5. The armageddon factor 4. The ribos operation 3. The stones of blood 2. The androids of tara 1. The pirate planet Season 17: 6. The horns of nimon 5. Destiny of the daleks 4. Nightmare in Edem 3. The creature from the pit 2. Shada 1. City of death Season 18: 7. State of decay 6. The leisure hive 5. Full circle 4. Warrior's gate 3. The keeper of traken 2. Meglos 1. Legpolsis My favourite season from this era is Season 12 and the worst is tie between season 16/18. But this is all my opinion.
Will watch soon. I recently finished Four's era and have watched a few eps with Five. Not sure what to think about him just yet. It's always a hard transition!
Aww this is glorious , just stumbled across it, so many things to say , but actually, yes, I’ve never been as Ark in Space as so many other people are I think I’ve grown to love it more ep 1 , I’m a huge s17 and Destiny fan , I don’t know why it never thought about that slip up with them being robots, but I think I also have always taken it that it’s the Dalek battle computers that are in the stalemate Nott that the Daleks are just robots, absolutely loving your reviews and I will watch all the other ones too
Here's is my raking for series 17 of classic Dr who number one Destiny of the daleks number two the city of death number three sharda number four the nightmare of edan number five the creature from the pit number six the hornes of nimon
Talons is a much maligned episode. The "racist" elements are really not. A white actor playing a non-white character was hardly anything new at the time and there weren't a huge number of Asian actors in Britain then. Plus they were portraying attitudes as they were in Victorian England. (Unlike Peter Capaldi punching someone for making derogatory comments about "Bill"... in 1812!
You'd seriously take Power of Kroll OVER Ribos Operation?? Ribos was a wonderful start to the season marred only by a character I personally find more annoying and unrealistic than the blonde in Horror of Fang Rock...the bloody Seeker!
22:10 Ooh, ooh, you want to know about other things letting down Terror of the Zygons, my least favorite show from the otherwise interesting season 13? Can you explain how Sarah Jane Smith walked from a house to a spaceship without realizing it? Why have the Zygons do the same sort of whisper talking like the Ice Warriors? Why Harry Sullivan... OK, that's more a holdover from the first season but I simply didn't care what happened since a Zygon becoming an "evil" version of the guy only means Harry was less of a jerk. I forget how the Doctor fits into this serial... it feels like the only thing he contributed was he left without giving Harry a ride. When you get right down to it, killing Harry off would have been better.
1. The spaceship is at the end of a long corridor that leads from the house. And she does realise it - in fact as soon as she returns she tells the Doctor about the ship. 2. Why not? They're not the show's only whispering aliens after all 3. Less of a jerk?! The Zygon Harry tried to kill Sarah with a pitchfork! 4. The Doctor is the one to work out there's a creature destroying the rigs, what the signalling device does (and uses it to prevent the Skarasen from destroying part of London). He also frees the Zygons' prisoners and destroys their ship (with all but one Zygon still inside) after risking his life to send a signal to UNIT revealing the ship's location. So, not bad eh?!
Oh no! A Caucasian actor played the part of someone from China! God forbid that the actor was ACTING! You know, acting was his profession. I really hate this focus on skin color with today’s generation.
Here's is my raking for series sixthteen of classic Dr who number one the addord of trara number two the pirate planet number three the Ribos operation number four the Armageddon factor number five the stone of blood number sixth the power of kroll
Don’t care what anyone says. Talons Of Weng Chiang is Doctor Who at its best. Been my all time favourite story since I first seen it many years ago.
It is an excellent story, well-written, well-acted, and even the things that people complain about now make sense in the context of the story and the period the story is set in.
@@ColossusProductions Horror is another great one. I would probably have it just below but it is very close.
@@markbrooks8623 Indeed.
Definitely one of my favs too!!!
Agreed. This story has it all. The cherry on top is Jago and Lightfoot. Hinchcliff went out on top.
Regarding Talons, the BBC were still making The Black & White Minstrel Show at the time, so there is that.
I admit I love Talons. It's a great story. Talons and Robots Of Death are my favorite stories. If I only had 5 Who stories to watch I would choose Talons, Robots, 5 Doctors, Stones Of Blood and The Visitation.
I would choose robots pyramids stones city of death nightmare of eden*
@@davidbailis8415 Very good choices also.
@@Seeker22000 Thank You
I was with you until The Visitation. It's so bad that I'd almost consider giving up DW over watching it again.
@@davidbailis8415 city of death . My favourite of that season.
Douglas Adams.
Overall, good reviews. People need to relax on Talons though. This or any other media from way back needs to be judged by the reality of the time, not the lens of now. Who knows how future generations will view representations in today's media?
I agree 👍
Probably “oh my god, is that all the people of the early 21st century could complain about when the world they were actually living in was so f*cked up??!”
Saddened to learn of the death of Chris Boucher. He crafted some amazing moments of television and will be fondly remembered by all Who fans.
Great run through. Has inspired me to go back and re watch some of these episodes. Thank you
I noticed several times you say the final episode of a story is a bit of a letdown. Fair enough, especially when you view the stories, as I presume you as a young classic Who viewer did, all at once. Don't forget they were not meant to be watched like that. It was one 25 minute episode once a week. As a child watching this at the time (I'm 55 now) I was never let down by the final episode cos I could barely remember the previous episode properly as a whole week of life and TV viewing had happened in the meantime. (this was before VHS recorders) All I was aware of at the time was that this was another episode of my favourite TV series and I loved it.
Yeah there's a couple of stories here I find this with (Pyramids, Hand and to a much lesser extent Deadly and Face), mostly because I find the rest of the episodes of those stories to be so good. I've rarely actually found watching the stories all in one go to harm them (although that is the only way I've ever done the classics, and the new series stuff after first broadcast for that matter), but I see your point that maybe these episode fours can suffer for me coming immediately after such good episodes one to three.
@@AlReviewsWho Chipping in here I do think that all those you've mentioned are vaild for episode four slump, but imo it's because our expectations of conclusions in film/tv are for pace and budget to always increase to a very high pitch, which they obviously can't in this case. Most of those impressive with their style and pace from moment one and that effect wears off by part four
The whole of the Tom Baker era condensed into 2 and a half hours? Damn, bravo sir. While I don’t agree with a lot of your opinions on certain stories, it’s certainly a joy to watch regardless.
Talons is a great story. Doctor Who was a product of its time. Most shows made poor choices in the 50’s 60’s 70’s and sometimes 80’s I still thing it’s one of the best.
They were not poor choices. They were likely the only choices available. Either that or not make any story involving other ethnicities and then we wouldn't have got Marco Polo (or what's left of it)
@@The_MongooseYou (deliberately, I suspect) misunderstand. the critique isn't *just* that it was a white person pretending to be Asian. It was the deliberate depiction of Asian people as villains and criminals in Talons of WC. Having a white person in the role *might* be understandable (and it isn't by the way), there is no excuse for the demonization of Asian people. It wasn't like people in the 70's didn't know that what they thought was a prejudicial and racist belief.
Cool to see new uploads about classic who on RUclips still
Loved this. Best era of Who, no doubt about it. Interesting how my opinions mostly match your own.
My favourites in this era: Brain of Morbius, Robots of Death, City of Death, Warrior's Gate.
You've managed to do the impossible and surpassed the Pertwee era review video and it only makes me excited for Davidson
Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed. I'm rather looking forward to putting the Davison video together, already got a fair few pages of notes for it (gave me something to do while this one was uploading over and over again!)
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this :) Fantastic video as always.
Hope you enjoy - it's been a nightmare getting it up!
@@AlReviewsWhoI’m glad I’m not the only one who loves The Android Invasion. I knew nothing about it going in, and I was incredibly surprised how eerie and unsettling the story is. It’s my favourite story of Season 13!
Talons of WC is my favourite.
A fantastic look at this wonderful era of Who. Talons IMHO, is the best of the era - watched it with a Chinese friend of mine and he thought it was brilliant he didn't comment on yellow face and added when asked about lack of asian actors he replied 'well it's 1977 after all ' things were VERY different and it's folly to watch shows from this era with hyper sensitivities of 2023 - where now anything or anyone is offensive - I fear the subjective moral hysteria predominantly seems to be from white liberals rather than the ethnic demographic it self crusades for. The blend of Fu Manchu and Holmes is perfection. Talons is followed closely by Robots of Death and it was a shame D84 wasn't a companion. Although my favourites are ambassadors of death and Inferno and season 7 as a whole - perfect. Anyway I am looking forward to more, especially New Who, as it's when I stopped watching the show - after Tennant, really. It's also when the show became convoluted so you're capsule reviews will be enlightening. The only sad thing about the review is arguably compared to modern Who is how new who pales in comparison. Baker was the personification of the timelord - often imitated but never surpassed. TV Gold really. Oh and as you absolutely loved Android Invasion. 'These aren't real trees......and you're not the real Sarah...' Classic and underrated. Keep up the amazing work - I know how long it takes to put it all together and the dedication needed. Superb job. Best 🦀
@lcoyle1998 It depends, I assume on the portfolio of actors available at the time of true ethnicity. As there were fewer individuals on the casting agents books of different races and if they could get actors of the ethnicity represented. If not then make-up and phoney accents were used instead. The use of 1920's or Victorian literature, in this case I believe Fu Manchu, would have carried the traits over to this 1977 adventure. The baddie in this case just happened to be chinese. All races have evil people and no race doesn't have blood on their hands - it just so happens in this case it's oriental. The story was a celebration of the Victorian era and part of that nostalgia was, I believe, the opium wars and the threat of the 'yellow peril'. It is a product of it's time and should be seen as such and a premium example of how television has changed. Mind of Evil featured some chinese characters but as I recall, as it's been ages since I saw it, they were played by actors and actresses of correct ethnicity. I believe the chinese actress was married to the writer Don Houghton at the time. You also find, in the 1970's and 1980's the same actors and actresses of certain ethnicities cropping up in a variety of series again and again also highlighting a possible 'shortage' of demographics. Certain white people were also typecast as baddies or goodies as well as certain classes. It is and was a fascinating time for television but taking all of this into consideration and putting sensibilities aside - they were bloody good drama's and slices of adventure that fans still talk about now so this alone is testament to their strength .
Wrong on every single level and you know it. Cope harder.
A favorite is the Stones Of Blood, funny thing was as a child we did a school trip to Avebury just after the episode where the campers touched the stone and died . Non of us wanted to touch any of the stones!
Thank you for your video, this is my first watch and will continue to watch the rest, good job 😃
That opening is so weird and funny XD
Tom Baker: *LOOK INTO MY MOUTH*
Great era review 👍 the one thing which always struck me The Image of the Fendhal it always to me felt like a 3rd Doctor story - it's one of my faves of this era
I really enjoyed Revenge of the Cybermen serial it was one of first stories I watched (alongside Death to the Daleks) on VHS as a nine year old, one Christmas back in the day.
Didn't even notice the cat dancing to the Meglos music until it was filling half the screen and it genuinely shit me up for a second
Can only apologise 🤣 Always loved that music since I first saw the clip!
Excellent, what a treat for the weekend! I just need time to watch - but looking forward to doing so hugely.
Talons is absolutely one of the best Who stories. I don’t see why historical stories have to have characters with modern sensibilities rather than accurate for the time attitudes. The fact that the Doctor calls them out seems like the right way to handle it. That’s what modern Who does (heavy handedly) and apparently it’s ok when they do it. As for white people playing Asian characters - do you really want all the bad guys to be Asian, rather than clearly not Asian people? People today are in many ways less aware rather than more. They can pattern match things identified as racist and go “That’s racist” but they can’t parse the real world to identify words and actions that matter. In other words, it’s all noise and posturing, it’s not actually helping anyone.
Talons is not 'racist'. Yes, it also addressed racism by showing how attitudes in the Victorian era were to towards the Chinese and Irish. My grandfather was Chinese and we used to love watching Fu-Manchu together. I do not understand white middle class kids today getting all offended on behalf of other people. Relax, Talons is a GREAT story, and perhaps if there were a wealth of Chinese actors available back then, it may have been different, but it is what it is. Regardless of making a mountain out of a mole hill, this has been an enjoyable review.
@@dddayesq5061well you make a point because yeah that's a problem too
@@Thegenderfluiddinosaur Neither are problematic, just too many hypersensitive bedwetters virtue-signalling over nothing.
@@MrBannystar
Great work - thank you ❤
Seconded!
Indeed, the cameo of Blofeld's cat during "Meglos" had me falling out of my chair 🤣. So many moments in the review were great. But nothing had me so caught off-guard. That will never get old.
I really love how Douglas Adams re-purposed much of his Shada script in "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency". Especially in the superbly cast radio drama, where Chronotis sounds and acts very like the 1st Doctor, Dirk Gently sounds like 3 and acts much like 4, and Dirk's secretary is (coincidentally) reminiscent of the early, shrill Donna Noble from "The Runaway Bride".
You can have good episodes or not-so-good episodes, but the one thing you can never be is boring.
And with Tom Baker at the helm, Doctor Who was never boring
I wish he had a more epic death than just falling from a great height though
I’ll admit, I laughed out loud when “Talons” came up and you said “Ohhh, F*CK.” 😂
I think you addressed the issue very well, though, and your video overall was very entertaining! Really loving these retrospectives!
It's been a while but I'm sure this will be worth the wait.
Hope you enjoy. Sorry, I know I'm a bit slow with these 😂
Okay! I made it one hour and thirty one minutes before I commented. I love your attitude man. You put a ton of work into this video and I appreciate the ride.
Tom baker is my dads doctor and now my dads favourite doctor is Jon Pertwee because during lockdown I watched loads of classic Dr who and new who with my dad and I watched alot of tom baker and I got introduced to the first doctor era and the second Doctor era and classic Dr who
Watching Troughton and Pertwee will have that sort of effect 😁
Oh dear, looks like Talons Of Weng Chiang has been cancelled!
And now in 2024 Davros has fallen the same way 😂.
Another great video Al. Thank you. 🙂
If people want to tie themselves in self-righteous knots over Talons they should answer the question was it 'right' for some born in Yorkshire dress up in a Kilt and sporran and effect a cod Scots accent.
The answer for those hard of thinking is - it's called acting. In neither case are they seeking to be derogatory or to denigrate.
Wrong on every single level and you know it. Cope harder.
@@DrWhoFanJ Hitchens Razor and have sense of perspective.
Excellent review of the great Tom Baker era, the only downside to it, was the over-the-top review of the excellent Talons! Don’t be so PC!!!
Wrong on every single level and you know it. Cope harder.
I’ve been waiting for this!! Can’t wait to watch!!
Talons is my favourite, yes it has a English actor playing a Chinese man but this was common practice back in the day, Boris Karloff, Warner Oland , Christopher Lee, Peter Sellers and Nicolas Cage have all portrayed Fu Manchu a character that Li H’sen Chang is loosely based on (certainly his costume design and general look). The younger generation offended by everything, get over your self ( you do realise that the story is set in Victorian times and amazingly people did not speak how they do today, they used many different terms for people from different countries, it does not make it right but ‘shocker’ that’s how it was), times have changed but sadly not all for the better, we certainly are not living in enlightened times, far from it. Other favourites would be Genesis of the Daleks, The Seeds of Doom, Pyramids of Mars, Robots of Death, Horror of Fang Rock and City of Death. Tom Baker was my doctor, I turned 5 years old during the original broadcast of Robot, but I had watched Jon Pertwee’s last few stories as I clearly remember watching The Green Death, the giant maggots giving me nightmares as a small child.
I watched Fu Manchu with my Chinese grandfather. I just think white people who don't have any other cultural influence in their life just assume everyone gets offended as much as they do lol. They really don't.
I totally agree with today’s generation getting offended over Caucasian ACTORS playing characters of other cultures.
They really need to get over it.
@@blockmasterscott Wrong on every single level and you know it. Cope harder.
The best part of Fang Rock: Max Headroom. Seriously, that infamous pirate broadcast should be included on the season box set. What, are the hacker pirates going to sue?
Fantastic review! Hope your channel grows as it deserves.
good stufffffff,,, looks like i've watched the 1st 2 of this series but i think i'll watch it all again from hartnell
I think the reason arkin space gets a lot of love from fans is probably due to the fact that it was one of the first VHS releases so most are blinded by nostalgia
Being the 19th release of 6 years
@@dddayesq5061 I love Dominators
I wish we'd get a sequel already
Honestly, there isn't much lore on them so theyd be perfect to bring back and make a finale villain same with a couple of other villains that didn't get much love before
The trinity (daleks cybermen master) is old and tired, my idea, daleks get a 3 episode series every year so they can become a credible threat only to appear in the pilot series to be defeated, they need it, cybermen need time away for a decent story to be written and master needs a break as there has been too much reliance on the character
The a class villains need a break as a third of the new stuff is practically them only
Give the b class villains a chance, Dominators are perfect for this like I said, how about axos and the wirrn finally getting a new story (I know big finish did some)
I get that ark in space is bad, but believe it or not supposedly there's a major missing scene, like the arrival scene in terror of the zygons we recently got to see
Dang. I loved your previous two videos for content and video editing/presentation, but this one tops them all with little nuances that all come across as highly professional!
Yeah, 60s cybermen were best when all is said and done, but Capaldi's finale really hits the spot.
Davison is my favorite Doctor... if not 🫣 Colin 😶🌫️. That said, Tom is invariably the definitive article. 😁
Android Invasion is a poor substitute of Zygon Invasion, and I always got the impression Courtney did not want to reprise the role, with Faraday being given his lines.
Philip Madoc never ceases to compel, and he really added a lot to the Cushing movie.
42 stories. I wonder if Douglas Adams time- traveled to the future, did the final tally, then came up with "42 is life, the universe, and everything. " 😏
I had to skip around, but I promise to get to the other stories!
Stones of Blood - who doesn't like sausage sandwiches? 😁
Leisure Hive is a classic. Never understood most complaints it got. It has a bold new style. Loaded with substance, unless concepts like genocide, radiation destroying the environment, sterilization, ritual suicide, racism, tachyons, fiber optics and other leading edge technology, etc, are all somehow "lightweight". The episode recaps are too long, and yet every rewatch, I discover something new in it. Scared me outright as a kid, but remained interesting enough to revisit and, for me, it only gets better each time. Apart from the long recaps. But, yeah, I can't deny it takes a lot of themes and doesn't do as much as it could. It still has that emphasis on style... forgot to add, "ARREST THE SCARF THEN! 😁" has got to be the best quip of all time.
Oh, 2:06:35 🧐🤯😅🤣😂🤣😅🏆 That RULED! 👍 😅😍😸😻
2:18:19 you did it again 👏 🤗😅
1:06:02 "passing thought"
Even in sci fi, they used the common real world assumption that the brain's physical reactions are thoughts. The electrochemical reaction is not the thought, itself. Thoughts are products of the mind, which is not physical.
1:59:47 How wonderful to see Tom back in costume as a older man. Very reminiscent of 1st doctor.
This is an excellent series of reviews,, and certainly thoroughly researched, I thought I knew quite a bit about original Who but I've learnt a lot from each one so far
Yes it’s finally here great job
Of course, the most important question was not addressed: Mary Tamm Romana in that flimsy white gown or Lalla Ward Romana in a schoolgirl uniform? At the time, this was the most important Doctor Who question, and as far as I know the arguments continue.
Mary Tamm!
Love these reviews!!
I appreciate that they made a callback to Four's speech in Genesis of the Daleks by planting Twelve directly into that exact situation with a young Davros himself as the subject of the dilemma.
There's absolutely no reason why an actor can't take on another ethnicity. In fact acting is their job.
That argument would fly if there was an equal chance that an Asian actor could have played Jago or Lightfoot. But we don't live in a world of race-blind casting - we live in a world where BAME actors can usually only play roles specifically written for people of their ethnicity, while white actors are considered for any role.
@Talisguy And yet a casual perusal of, say, the RSC or the National Theatre, to say nothing of current year casting, would indicate little barrier to minority presence in roles that often explicitly call for whites.
Absolutely. This belief that a Caucasian actor cannot ACT the part of a character of another culture is idiotic. Which part of acting do they not understand?
I wouldn’t worry about The Talons of Weng-Chiang, it’s a product of its time. It is not done with malice or with the modern eyes of these days. It’s a timestamp of television history. This is the 70’s and much worse was done on the BBC in 2003 with Little Britain and Ting-Tong or Cathrine Tait as the world’s worst interpreter. So have a cuppa and enjoy it for what it is.
On a personal note - Destiny of the Daleks was the first memory I have of the show. As a 5 year old watching a Dalek burst through a pulsating wall as a cliffhanger.
“Ark in Space” is one of my favorite DW stories of any era. Cross ethnic casting was the norm everywhere then so no need to beat up DW about it. Representational fundamentalism is a recent obsession.
Talons is easily my favorite story of the Tom Baker era. Jago and Lightfoot are also easily my favorite incidental characters from the entire series. Your apologist take on the entire story was disappointing to say the least. And sadly, no mention of Deep Roy.
Fantastic editing mate
Great review
I'm a New Who convert, so I got to know Sarah Jane that way and learned the history after the fact. She was so beautiful and I couldn't believe she had been on the show so many years ago! I fell in love with her instantly in the newer eps and I couldn't wait to see her earlier episodes. I was heartbroken when I learned Elisabeth Sladen had died. I felt like I had just "met" her. I can't imagine how sad it was for long time fans.
She was stunning with Pertwee
If you want some stories that deal with Nyssa, especially around Traken and her father, I recommend 'Primeval' from the Main Range and the Short Trip 'Garden of the Dead'. 'Primeval' has her and Five return to Traken in a time before it was destroyed and 'Garden of the Dead' shows a lot of her emotional state around the Tremas Master.
My take on the controversy of Talons: 1) It is a product of both the time it portrays...Victorian London and the time it was made, the mid 1970s Britain, so I dont really get why people get so out of joint about it. It really kills me that people who don't even have a dog in the fight get offended. I haven't actually heard any Asian or Irish person voice offense. It is accurate in the attitudes it displays of both Victorian and 1970s England. 2) There really wasn't many if any available Asian actors who could have played Li'Sin as brilliantly. I personally have tired of art being dismissed and cancelled when people get offended. I just wish people would get over themselves but maybe I see things differently being a Gen Xer born in 1969 and not a member of these overly easily offended more current generations.
Wrong on every single level and you know it. Cope harder.
(And you can’t even spell his name correctly.)
also mate, don't get your knickers in a twist over Talons Of Weng Chiang. I used to have a Chinese girlfriend and she watched it and she thought it was hilarious having a caucasian actor playing Chinese with prosthetic make-up. I agree it's not acceptable to have an actor in yellowface but it's not the appalling heinous crime that so many young Who fans believe it is. It was a bad idea but you shouldn't let it ruin your enjoyment of an otherwise pretty good story. My girlfriend found the fluffy giant rat more offensive than the portrayal of the Chinese in this story.
"I knew someone who didn't mind the racism so therefore no one else really minds"
@@thatbloodypanda6989 so all the villains have got to be english?
@@seedhillbruisermusic7939 I have no idea how that was what you got from my statement.
@@seedhillbruisermusic7939 exactly, every movie an English person gets the stereo type cast as a villain.
@@madmanmark8387 i wonder why 🤔
My head canon for the upcoming danger in the Key to Time serial was the approaching entropy in Logopolis. Since the Doctor never got it to the White Guardian, it wasn't able to be prevented. Which I guess would mean that the Doctor caused his own regeneration.
I'm glad some of my own preferred favourites got some nice love here. Especially Android Invasion. I also can easily relate to the love of the music in both Leisure Hive and Logopolis.
Your apparent appreciation for the ONE part of the Warriors Gate which totally turns me off from bothering to watch it...ehhh, we can't be perfectly aligned, can we?
This area of the Doctor Who was always my favorite, Thomas Baker s Doctor who brought a unique perspective on the series. Hies speech in the Ark in Space was one of my favorite speeches in the doctor who series!
Amazing video. Watched all 4 of these and had tons of fun going through the stories with you.
What 34 seconds ended up on the cutting room floor?
Thanks. It was about Elisabeth Sladen being particularly good in Seeds of Doom - but the clip I used when discussing it ("You're not complete unless you've got a gun in your hand" from Part Five) meant it had to go ☹️
Wait, was that thing about contact lenses true? Is that why Leela was always blinking? Annoyed me so much!
Yeah for her first four stories she was made to wear brown contact lenses as the name Leela apparently means "dark eyed beauty". Jameson found them very uncomfortable and when Williams took over as producer she convinced him to let her ditch them, which was written in to Fang Rock
@@AlReviewsWho Oh, I didn't even think contacts existed at that time! Now I feel bad that she annoyed me for that reason. Uncomfortable contacts are awful to deal with. I'm sorry, Leela!
No wonder Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor is so iconic. His run of stories is full of bangers and even the weaker ones are not really outright bad.
Tom Baker is my favorite and I always remember the E-Space arc as being especially interesting. Key to time too but in retrospect I agree it's not a terribly good/satisfying pay off for the ending. (Although a very Doctor move to just subvert the whole thing by breaking it back into pieces.)
Genesis I remember vaguely watching it on BBC Two in late 90s or early 2000. This was before i was a doctor who fan back in the day, I was 4 years old and the family just happened to have it on. I can’t fully remember if it scared me but I do remember the cliffhanger for part 4 and the giant clams. Also City of Death use to scare me as a kid, especially the cliffhanger for part 1.
6:21 for me The Arc In Space was a favorite due to the sheer body horror of parasitic space wasps transforming you while you're still alive, and there's nothing you can do...couldn't get enough of it!
Talons is and one of my favorite Tom Baker Leela his companion episodes. She is my favorite companion and K9 as well. I could care less about the racist theme. It's good acting. A white guy pulling off a Chinese person is brilliant. If memory serves me correctly didn't Peter Seller's portray a Chinese man in the Pink Panther movies as a disguise, yet it wasn't racist for him to do that, nobody will bring that up.
I enjoy City of death it's my favorite of the 2 Romana stories and I like State of Decay. Even though I preffered how pretty Mary Tamm was over Lalla Ward, the chemistry of Tom and Lalla worked being they were romantically involved. As long as this review was, it went fast, because I enjoyed it. Good job.
I have no idea what anyone's talking about "racist" this and that! It never entered my mind. Good grief!
@@Yesica1993 exactly. Too many people are critical about this episode. Nobody looks at it as people acting.
The Assassin Master’s “craven-hearted” line has had its audio cleaned up. I distinctly remember that “The Watcher” column in DWM (late 90s I think) described the line as “honestly unprintable”. I watched my VHS and it really does sound like he calls him a “spineless CUNT”. It’s a shame that technology has deprived future generations of these unintended expletives. Still, Bill Hartnell’s classic irascible fluff “STOP BUGGERING ME” is here forever.
Great video! I agree with most everything you said, except that The Keeper of Traken is my favorite story 4 ever had. It is the perfect allegory for what happens when a political system becomes complacent, or inwardly corrupt. The master represents a rogue element (sort of like Donald Trump in 2016), and despite the warnings and everyone's protestations, he gains power nonetheless. That's what I love about this story is that almost every single side character on traken is fundamentally flawed or makes a mistake that allows the melkur to take the keepership. Also Adric and 4's dynamic is to die for. It is the episode I show to people who have never seen classic who before, and they always love it. I always love it when one of these videos come out.
I agree. Keeper of Traken has always been my favorite episode. The Melkur in the shadows radiating pure evil and gathering power...
BritBox has a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode of Talons, stating that it's a product of its time. Interestingly it's the only story in Classic Who they do that with.
Big finish primeval monthly range is the only probably the only story that explores Nyssa's backround
Is it standalone or does it need other BF stories for context? I'll definitely add it to my "to listen" list (it's on Spotify which is great!)
@@AlReviewsWho definitely on its own. Fifth doctor and Nyssa visit traken. I quite like it. One I really like that goes deeper with her character is 'prisoner of fate' but you would have to listen to cobwebs and the emerald tiger first before that (both of those are also great)
Listened to it today and enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for the recommendation!
@@AlReviewsWho cheers, glad u enjoyed it
That has to be one of the most controversial things ever said - "Terry Malloy is the definitive Davros". I mean, fair enough, each to their own but I think you're on your own with that one. Michael Wisher is by far the definitive Davros. Wisher gave Davros a far more sinister voice. Don't you hear that. When you watch Genesis don't you feel Davros is far more sinister than Resurrection which is all down to Michael Wisher. I thought Malloy was a joke compared to Wisher
35:55 "The first couple of times, I thought it was pretty good. The third time, I thought it was bloody brilliant! And the fourth time, I... didn't enjoy it very much at all."
Jesus! That is some highly detailed recall you've got going on there. I've seen plenty of movies and TV episodes 5 times and more, but I couldn't tell ya how I felt about any of them the third time I saw them vs. the fourth time. I can't tell you how I felt about the movie Alien the 10th time I watched it vs. the 20th time. My guess is it was probably about the same though.
Pirate Planet is God tier Doctor Who.
Talons of Weng Chiang is a fave of mine.
No I don't care about thin skinned jokebags hehe
I always thought that Tom Baker's doctor called the cybermen "Total Machine Creatures" so as to make it easier on his companions and keep the body horror for them to a minimum. Tom Baker was MY doctor. And I thought Pyramid of Mars was the best of season 13. It actually scared the ever-living sh*t out of me as a kid.
"Eldrad Must Live"
The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a period piece and racism existed in the past. To say, "Oh, we can't talk about that" is to ignore that it happened and to invite it to happen again. In fact, I would postulate that the rabid "anti-racists" have gone so far as to become the very racists they claim to hate so much. But honestly, I don't see how it's all that bad. It portrays the Asians as having taken over the world at one point and invented time travel. Not very GOOD time travel, but still, it WORKED, didn't it? I don't count that as a slam against Asians. If anything, it highlighted the problems of the age, which is GOOD. if we ignore our past and pretend it didn't happen, then change it to fit "modern audiences", then all you are doing is stealing thunder from the current day.
In case your wondering,the temporary voice actor for K-9 being named David Bradley is a coincidence,while David Bradley’s career had begun at that point,we did not act in Doctor who until many years later,it’s not eh same David Bradley from An Adventure in Space and Time
Talons is one of the best, I make sure I watch it every few months and sod those who got an issue with it.
Barry Letts era has more of a science focus than any Who after it.... :(
It's not that the Doctor was less of a scientist after Pertwee, it was after Letts.
Somewhere in the transfer they lost track of the fact that the Doctor is an explorer obsessed with scientific investigation, he began to become more of a travelling superhero instead.
I love the Leela era, and her wide-eyed uneducated character resulted in things getting a little more 'sciency' for a while, as the Doctor explains everything as they go.
But I really miss the little science lessons from early Who, geology, biology.... Pertwee rewiring a radio receiver into a transmitter...
Total machine creatures... :)
Machine + creature = Cyborg
Daleks and Cybermen have brain alterations which remove 'problematic' emotions, making them machine creatures, creatures that think like machines....
'Another' race of 'robots'... wasn't a great word combo, no... :D
Hopefully things go full circle on Talons of Weng Chiang!
The Victorian racism shown was realistic, educational and not at all promoting the behavior.
We should bring back actors playing characters of other races, complete with accent and optional make-up.
We should be able to have an Asian actor play Sherlock Holmes without wowsers claiming that the character has been 'made Asian'
A black, Hispanic or white Ghengis Khan is fine as long as they're not playing the role with an anachronistic hip modern accent.
It would progress things and help people get over feeling outraged on behalf of others, if we moved on and let actors be actors.
It's an actor's job to portray people unlike themselves....
21st century, time to get over it....
Invisible Enemy is a classic, the early Leela era is strong!
I was obsessed with building my own K9 as a kid, even if his head does explode when his wheels touch water.
I haven't seen the latest versions of Shada with animation!
Something to track down.....
Talons is awesome and I find the negative complaints irrelevant. Had it been made recently yeah sure.
What I always find interesting is there are those who condemn Talons and drone on and on about it yet in the same breath cream all over Marco Polo or The Crusades which has plenty of blackface and woe be tied anyone who points that out - the hypocrisy of some fans is so laughable.
My mom loves Tom baker as the fourth doctor
Your mom is cool
@@kennyt4849 indeed
I think talons was awesome. Imagine a world where you are afraid to say that you enjoyed something because a group of people tell you it's racist. Like if someone said "I like the Klan" I could see that differently but an episode of a tv show that pokes fun at it?
Such a shame about your woke outburst over Talons but this is an amazing video.
Said no-one with a brain ever.
The Android Invasion is highly underrated and is one of Terry nation's most unique storys. It is abit too similar to Terror of the Zygons like with the copying of people, the invasion plot and a evil copy of Harry. Even a hidden camera in the dart board is the same as the camera in the Deer head but its still a great story.
Just your opening statements impressed me with just how accurate and articulate they were. You got it spot on when you talk about the different tones of periods under Tom Baker's era. In fact, I always have argued there are at least three different Tom Baker incarnations. Baker of season 18 has barely a resemblance to his first three seasons.
I think when people romantically think of Tom as the classic Doctor they are not thinking of his last three years or so. In fact the ratings were dropping markedly in his final season to be recovered in Davisons first era. Tom was brilliant for most of his tenure but he also got some of the best stories of the entire shows history under Hinchcliffe and co. He also got the best companions arguably with Sarah Jane , Leela, both Romanas - how could you beat that. Poor Davison got the adopted three of the shoes most boring, whingey and tedious of companions with of course Adric being intolerable. If JNT ever got anything right it was killing of Adric - the character went from being loathed to loved. Amazing what death does to the human psyche.
I forgot to do my ranking for the tom baker era. So here is my list from worst to best. Season to season.
Season 12:
5. Revenge of the cybermen
4. The sonataran experiment
3. The ark in space
2. Robot
1. Gensis of the daleks
Season 13:
6. Planet of evil
5. Terror of the zygons
4. The brain of morbius
3. The android invasion
2. The seeds of doom
1. Pyramids of Mars
Season 14:
6. The mask of mandragora
5. The face of evil
4. Robots of death
3. The talons of weing chiang
2. The deadly assassin
1. The hand of fear
Season 15:
6. Underworld
5. The invasion of time
4. Image of the fendal
3. The invisble enemy
2. The sunmakers
1. Horror of fang rock
Season 16:
6. The power of kroll
5. The armageddon factor
4. The ribos operation
3. The stones of blood
2. The androids of tara
1. The pirate planet
Season 17:
6. The horns of nimon
5. Destiny of the daleks
4. Nightmare in Edem
3. The creature from the pit
2. Shada
1. City of death
Season 18:
7. State of decay
6. The leisure hive
5. Full circle
4. Warrior's gate
3. The keeper of traken
2. Meglos
1. Legpolsis
My favourite season from this era is Season 12 and the worst is tie between season 16/18. But this is all my opinion.
Will watch soon. I recently finished Four's era and have watched a few eps with Five. Not sure what to think about him just yet. It's always a hard transition!
Aww this is glorious , just stumbled across it, so many things to say , but actually, yes, I’ve never been as Ark in Space as so many other people are I think I’ve grown to love it more ep 1 , I’m a huge s17 and Destiny fan , I don’t know why it never thought about that slip up with them being robots, but I think I also have always taken it that it’s the Dalek battle computers that are in the stalemate Nott that the Daleks are just robots, absolutely loving your reviews and I will watch all the other ones too
“You finally did you son of a gun” reference to a movie also I made it less rude
Here's is my raking for series 17 of classic Dr who number one Destiny of the daleks number two the city of death number three sharda number four the nightmare of edan number five the creature from the pit number six the hornes of nimon
The seventeenth series of Classic _Doctor Who_ is _The Time Meddler._
Talons is a much maligned episode. The "racist" elements are really not. A white actor playing a non-white character was hardly anything new at the time and there weren't a huge number of Asian actors in Britain then. Plus they were portraying attitudes as they were in Victorian England. (Unlike Peter Capaldi punching someone for making derogatory comments about "Bill"... in 1812!
story*.
(Really not sure why Bill’s name is in quotes, either.)
You'd seriously take Power of Kroll OVER Ribos Operation?? Ribos was a wonderful start to the season marred only by a character I personally find more annoying and unrealistic than the blonde in Horror of Fang Rock...the bloody Seeker!
Exactly my take!! The Seeker was the only bad part.
22:10 Ooh, ooh, you want to know about other things letting down Terror of the Zygons, my least favorite show from the otherwise interesting season 13?
Can you explain how Sarah Jane Smith walked from a house to a spaceship without realizing it? Why have the Zygons do the same sort of whisper talking like the Ice Warriors? Why Harry Sullivan... OK, that's more a holdover from the first season but I simply didn't care what happened since a Zygon becoming an "evil" version of the guy only means Harry was less of a jerk.
I forget how the Doctor fits into this serial... it feels like the only thing he contributed was he left without giving Harry a ride. When you get right down to it, killing Harry off would have been better.
1. The spaceship is at the end of a long corridor that leads from the house. And she does realise it - in fact as soon as she returns she tells the Doctor about the ship.
2. Why not? They're not the show's only whispering aliens after all
3. Less of a jerk?! The Zygon Harry tried to kill Sarah with a pitchfork!
4. The Doctor is the one to work out there's a creature destroying the rigs, what the signalling device does (and uses it to prevent the Skarasen from destroying part of London). He also frees the Zygons' prisoners and destroys their ship (with all but one Zygon still inside) after risking his life to send a signal to UNIT revealing the ship's location. So, not bad eh?!
The Keeper of Traken is my favorite Tom Baker episode.
story*
Oh no! A Caucasian actor played the part of someone from China!
God forbid that the actor was ACTING! You know, acting was his profession.
I really hate this focus on skin color with today’s generation.
Here's is my raking for series sixthteen of classic Dr who number one the addord of trara number two the pirate planet number three the Ribos operation number four the Armageddon factor number five the stone of blood number sixth the power of kroll
The sixteenth series of Classic _Doctor Who_ is _The Chase._
Really, REALLY good video. 👍👍
ive been a "normal people" until the last weeks. If you asked me Dr. Who looked like Tenant with a long scarf.