My favorite quote from this story is “You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views, which can be uncomfortable If you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.”
I love the bit where Tom's jelly babies feed in to the myths Leela has heard about the evil one - "Then it is true what they say - the evil one eats babies"
Writer Chris Boucher (who passed away last year) wrote this, The Robots Of Death, and Image of the Fendahl, three really solid stories with plenty to say and do for the whole cast. No surprise he was appointed Script Editor for Blakes 7 the following year.
There's also a little-known audio sequel to Robots of Death by Magic Bullet Productions, called Kaldor City which is quite good. Starring Paul Darrow with Boucher as creative consultant.
Season 14 in general is just such a strong season, which is why individual stories sometimes aren't talked about - they're all just so good that when watching them in order, it just becomes the new standard of quality! The Robots of Death is a particular favourite of mine, with it having my favourite scene in Classic Who in it.
Yeah - I just voted in someone's survey for "best 4th doctor show" and this season was the one where I plumped for "Hand of Fear", but also thought that I could have picked any one of these episodes except for "Mandragora Helix/ Masque of Mandragora" as my favourite of the season. And even that one is an intriguing idea, and looks great with location scenes at Port Merion.
@@marvelsomething1952 When the Doctor explains how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. Leela is perfect, the Doctor is perfect, and the whole premise is brilliantly silly.
Leela is my favorite classic companion without reservation. I expected not to care much for her, thinking people mostly just liked her for her (admittedly great) appearance, but what I got was a character so much better than I could have asked for. She massively elevates every story she's in.
Imagine being in the studio when they were running through that on the studio floor monitors, well that was me. lol I ended up having lunch with the cast. This was a great story imo. Happy days....
I like this story because it's one of the few examples in the main show when the doctor has to deal with the consequence of "saving the day" and then swanning off. Another key example is in new who series 1 when he thinks he's saved the day at satellite 5, but it turns out he made things worse. An interesting concept that should be explored more I think
The story that introduces Vicky (The Rescue) also is kinda like this in so far as the Doctor mentioned visiting Dido before with Susan...which ends up really feeding the pathos of the finale scenes with the Doctor facing down the villain.... Then there's Time Lash that centers around the Doctor returning to a planet he'd saved in the past.
What's even funnier is that Xoanon and the Evil One, the face in the mountain, all that stuff. ... that happened during "Robot." Tom Baker's first story. There's that scene, right near the start of the story IIRC, where the TARDIS leaves & reappears almost immediately after. That's when that happened
Although it might have also happened immediately after "Deadly Assassin" and then decades or more pass with the Doctor on his own (or with other unseen companions) before he returns to the planet.
Apparently, in "Horror Of Fang Rock", a scene in part three was crucial to the behind-the-scenes relationship between Louise Jameson and Tom Baker. In one scene, he consistently came in ahead of his cue, thereby upstaging her. On the grounds that this move was "not what they had rehearsed" she insisted on three successive retakes until he came in at the rehearsed time. This eventually won his respect. From that point forward, she claims their working relationship was much smoother.
The Face of Evil is so underrated! I bet many people can quote the "very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common..." line but don't even know what story it is from. Also yes Leela is great, in fact she is my favourite companion of all time, but unfortunately there are some of her later stories that do fall into the "primitive woman who is mocked for being slow/stupid" characterisation (mainly looking at you Invisible Enemy)
I haven't watched this one in a couple of years. I had sorta dismissed Leela as a companion but I read an article saying she deserves more than the "savage girl," reputation. Glad I went to see her episodes.
Like you, ive delved into classic who and i assumed leela was going to be awful from the pics. But actually shes really refreshing, a properly drawn warrior character, who questions everything but has great intuition. Shes pretty violent which is always fun.
My favorite moment is when he finishes putting all the pieces together (the Sevateem's religious gesture, the random equipment laying around everywhere, etc) and he's just standing there like "Oh... I really screwed up this time," the best moments are always the ones where the Doctor realizes that he's screwed up and he's gotta actually fix something instead of his usual "fix"
I always had a little idea in my head that if Leela and Ace ever met up together and traveled with the Dr, those two would be such a badass team together and get so much shit done, there would barely be any problems at all. Lol
EDIT: I forgot to say how much I enjoyed your take on the episode! One of the few fan theories about Doctor Who that I subscribe too, is the placement of the original story that triggered "The Face of Evil". In "Robot"" while Tom Baker's Doctor was still all scrambled from regeneration, it is said by fans that he sneaked off in the TARDIS, but came back. This would explain why it takes him so long to remember what he did to Xoanon. I imagine him running around in his hospital gown and robe while he used his still unstable brain to repair the ship's computer. Makes sense to me!
This is one of my all-time favorite Baker stories. Almost certainly one of my all-time favorite episodes period! It's so compelling and amazingly written. So glad you enojyed!
I wish we could get companions from elsewhere (Leela, Romana, Adric, Turlough and Nardole), the past (Katarina and Victoria) or future (Steven, Zoe and Jack) instead of modern day earth, but it unfortunately looks like we’re sticking to the latter… this is why I like Leela so much, ‘cause there’s a lot of potential you can do with past/future/alien companions. Modern day humans are boring (me, specifically) now. I know Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory, Clara, Bill, Ryan, Yaz, Graham, Dan and (the upcoming) Ruby are suppose to be the viewers eyes. But do the viewers really need to see the Doctor’s world through a modern day companions eyes?
Being older than dirt, I remember when I and my friends first saw Leela. Primitive woman in leather bikini with boots (I really wanted boots like hers) was why many guys in my friend group got over losing Sarah Jane.
The Face of Evil forms part of the 3-4 years in the mid-70's when the classic era was at its absolute best with so many strong stories. There are other good seasons but not a period this long and consistent year in year out. The stories and production values (by classic Who standards) were extremely high. Chris Boucher was the writer of this story and he also penned the next one, The Robots of Death, which is even better.
A am so grateful that I discovered the show during that span! It was on PBS in the late afternoon after I got home from elementary school. I used to get myself completely freaked out while my mom cooked dinner. Airing a part every weekday was also a nice pace between binging and waiting a week.
Yes, this is one of the stories that left a good impression from seeing it as a child when it first aired. I've re-watched it a couple of times since, and it stands up well, give or take the ray gun special effects! I definitely agree about Leela being one of the best companions. For me Sarah Jane, Leela, and Romana 1 are "peak companion" in classic who.
i like the bit in the first episode when he discovered the knot in his hanky to remind him to do something-perhaps relating to what happens in the final episode
There was a strong thread in this season of the Doctor teaching Leela and taking her around to see what her ancestors were like. The Horror of Fang Rock and The Talons of Weng Chiang in particular.
Yup, I've seen it. One of my favourite parts is when the Doctors gets ahold of some of the communications equipment and sends a message to Neeva pretenidng to be their god, Xoanon, and Neeva responds to the message and you think he's gotten away with it, but then when the Doctor says, "Go now and do my will." Neeva replies, "Yes....Doctor." and that was not what I was expecting at all. It's so well written.
This was the first full Doctor serial I saw. In the days before VHS and streaming a local station had a syndication package running from Robot to the 2nd episode of The Leisure Hive. I think I saw one of the episodes from Robot and shrugged it off. Then I saw Face of Evil from begginning to end and needed to see more. My first Doctor (thought he was the only one... remember pre-internet), first companion, first adventure. This one hooked me for life. But can you imagine, this syndication package ran half way through the Leisure Hive and then back to Robot. It quit in the middle of a story. Insanity. How many years went by until finally I finished that damn serial!
The quintessential Halloween time Fourth Doctor and Leela story is of course the Horror of Fang Rock, buuut you've already done that one so this is a good substitute! Glad that you enjoyed all the nuance in the characterisation of Leela's people, it was very cool! Also having learned about DID in the last year it was quite unexpected to recall that that is what happened to the computer in this story... And it's hilarious how you warped the face in the moutain on the cover! Very fun bit of interaction with an otherwise static piece of your videos!
Leela is such a wonderful companion. And Louise Jameson is a delight to see at conventions. I read this story before I saw it, but only just (got the novelization and read it a couple weeks before PBS aired it). I love it both ways. The jelly babies are used well in this one, too. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Vera!
I like this story and it's a great introduction to Leela. I know you started with the modern era but you can see why so many fans love Tom Baker and his Doctor.
This story is so under rated! I love the production design and the story is a really fun venture. I grow to like it more and more as time goes on. Needed this review today. Really enjoyed it and was so nice to see you enjoy the story :) Loved the review!
Always enjoyed this story. Great idea turning a computer into Norman Bates. Felt like the writer was influenced by Psycho and 2001: A Space Odyssey. He took Hal and turned him into Norman Bates, and then turned the Doctor into Mother, the one responsible for driving Norman crazy in the first place. Great Doctor Who story. Most of the stories with Leela were usually good to great.
I think the reason this is one of those forgotten about stories is it’s sandwiched between two much more better regarded stories, deadly assassin and robots of death. But it is a good one! I love that the jungle set scenes were recorded on film rather than studio cameras! 7/10
This is where Leela gets the line she uses in 'Fang Rock', I think. Where she says she's not a 'Teshnician' and the Doctor stops to reply 'Teshnician?'
To me it has always been clear that these people are the descendants of the technicians (tesh) and survey team (sever team). The survey team have regressed to a non-literate society and enough time has passed for vowels and consonants to change. This is one of my favorite episodes because of the story and the introduction of Leela. She is up there with Liz, Sarah Jane and Donna as strong female characters that don't take much disrespect from the Doctor.
Chris Boucher also writes Robots of Death and Image of the Fendahl, the later of which is interesting but suffers somewhat in the plot. He also was script editor for all of Blake's 7. If it wasn't for B7, he might well have been script editor on Who.
Chris Boucher’s writing is amazing - his 3 stories are among the best writing for Doctor who in terms of plot, characterization, dialogue and sci fi ideas
This is my dad's favorite Doctor Who story, so it was prominently shown to me as a kid, and I just love it. Neeva in particular is one of my favorite side characters, when the Doctor is trying to pretend to be Xoanon to get through to Neeva and he ends the conversation calling him Doctor, and then for him to become, well, kind of the opposite of a martyr, sacrificing himself in an attempt to resolve a crisis of faith by killing what turned out to be a false god - yeah, it's much more than a simple religious leader taking power. He was a believer, his faith was shattered. The rest of the story is great, too, but Neeva always stuck with me.
This one tends to get a lot more love these days, but yeah when I was first properly getting in to classic who, this one didn't come up too much. Maybe being right next to Deadly Assassin did that?
Deadly Assassin does tend to overshadow a lot of other episodes from the 4th's era. It often gets mentioned in a best list, where Face Of Evil doesn't.
Which is funny to me because I don't like Deadly Assassin all that much and think it largely skates by on the importance of the Master coming back post-Delgado.
What could also play a part is Robots of Death, which came after this and is well known. And then you had The Talons of Weng Chian. Which is also known but not always for the quality of the ep. So several big ep and this one could get a bit lost. I like it a lot. The techs suits are a bit off. I have read that the working title was, The day God went mad. Which is more eye catching.
@@BreakRoomofGeeks Whilst I don't think the story itself is depending on just the Master's return- stuff like that and Gallifrey are likely factors for why fandom itself gives it a lot of attention
Superficially, the story suffers from not having a clear-cut villain (and no alien race to add to the show's lore). That's kind of what makes the story so special - there is a crisis being resolved that isn't primarily about defeating anybody.
This is my favourite of Season 14. Yes it's a computer gone mad story, but Boucher added the twist of it being caused by The Doctor's prior meddling that raises this above scifi cliche. Boucher also wrote a nuanced and balanced look at belief in general; it's not just god v science.
Leela charging into the TARDIS was the moment I fell in love with her. Incidentally, if you haven't already, as a Leela enjoyer you should do yourself a favor and listen to BF's Gallifrey series. I believe you've seen enough of a cross-section of Classic Who to get what's going on. It's superb and is probably the audio spinoff that most deserves to be recognized among the television ones.
She definitely does not. I enjoy very much when in later episodes she confronts men with expectations about ladies 😑😑and says glibly "Oh, I am no lady!" She's great!
@@Donnagata1409 That was in "Horror of Fang Rock" She shocks the youngest lighthouse keeper (Forgot his name) by starting to undress right in front of him! I loved how annoyed Leela got every time the secretary screamed.
Yeah, pretty amazing. Classic Who could be this good when firing on all cylinders. Real characters and themes, imaginative ideas. I wish that Chris Boucher stayed on to write more Who after this season! It's amazing also how much better it looks production-wise than the threadbare sets of the mid 80s. Maybe not "convincing" but effort and craft put into it. This was one of my (then) young kid's first Tom Baker stories, and it blew his mind. That was easily one of my best viewing experiences.
Great review. Just a little nitpick, you said how much you loved the story but never mentioned the writer, who was Christopher Boucher. He's written some great stories (Robots of Death) and not just for Doctor Who. He died last December.
In terms of actual mental powers Leela is right up there in terms of human companions. She's clearly from a society that isn't scientifically or technologically advanced and she isn't educated in the general sense but I'd say in terms of mental sharpness she might actually be the most intelligent human companion the Doctor has ever had. Technically Leela is from the future, her society is the remnants of an Earth deep space colony
It helps that this moves past that basic conceit pretty fast to go more interesting places. And the message never feels like “religion bad” or “belief foolish” as so many of these kinds of story go for.
I really feel like Leela goes unappreciated (expecially considering how the show seems to idolise Sarah Jane). The way fans from the time seem to remember her is "the one in the skimpy outfits", but she's honestly one of the most fleshed out companions in the whole series (no pun intended). She's ignorant but clever and has her own set of values that don't always mesh with the Doctor's, like her willingness to resort to violence, kind of like a mix of the best parts of Jamie, the Brig and Sarah Jane.
Face of Evil is brilliant, only a few minor hiccups when dealing with the Tesh later on. Leela is so good, that how they treated her in 'Invisible Enemy' made a poor story so much worse. Leela is a fantastic companion!
Apparently the costume designer was deliberately pushing the men's outfits to as close to non-existent as he could get away with to antagonise Mary Whitehouse.
Destroy and be free! Destroy! Free!! I loved this story too, been a long time, but it was an amazing story, and yes, slightly under appreciated. I see someone else has already noted my favorite quote about the very powerful and the very stupid. Wasn't that just a prediction of the entire direction of the right wing 😅
Mostly been listening to you so I can understand my friends who love Doctor Who... ... But if Douglas Addams was show-runner for an era then I NEED to see that era. Douglas Addams is Douglas Addams.
Well don’t get it twisted. He wasn’t the showrunner, he was the script editor. So he wasn’t moving the direction of the whole thing but his touches end up all over the place in small ways (aside from the stories he fully wrote which are just VERY him).
Yeah, it's probably one of the underappreciated stories of the show's overall run. I really liked it, but didn't enjoy it as much as you seem to have done (but... Yeah, even not liking it as much as you seem to have done I can acknowledge that it's underappreciated)
You just be hanging out in the wrong circles, this one is definitely bigger up. Maybe it's just overshadowed by the two episodes either side of it. But I like this one more than both of those
This is possibly the weakest story of its season (it's either this or The Masque of Mandragora), but that's down to intensely stiff competition moreso than anything else. This story's great all the same.
My favorite quote from this story is “You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common.
They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views, which can be uncomfortable If you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering.”
Words to live by.
That is unfortunately true.
Remember when Doctor Who wasn't so political? Me either.
I love the bit where Tom's jelly babies feed in to the myths Leela has heard about the evil one - "Then it is true what they say - the evil one eats babies"
Leela is definitely a savage, just not in the way the episode wants you to think. Definitely one of the best companions.
Writer Chris Boucher (who passed away last year) wrote this, The Robots Of Death, and Image of the Fendahl, three really solid stories with plenty to say and do for the whole cast. No surprise he was appointed Script Editor for Blakes 7 the following year.
There's also a little-known audio sequel to Robots of Death by Magic Bullet Productions, called Kaldor City which is quite good. Starring Paul Darrow with Boucher as creative consultant.
Season 14 in general is just such a strong season, which is why individual stories sometimes aren't talked about - they're all just so good that when watching them in order, it just becomes the new standard of quality! The Robots of Death is a particular favourite of mine, with it having my favourite scene in Classic Who in it.
Yeah - I just voted in someone's survey for "best 4th doctor show" and this season was the one where I plumped for "Hand of Fear", but also thought that I could have picked any one of these episodes except for "Mandragora Helix/ Masque of Mandragora" as my favourite of the season. And even that one is an intriguing idea, and looks great with location scenes at Port Merion.
which scene?
@@marvelsomething1952 When the Doctor explains how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. Leela is perfect, the Doctor is perfect, and the whole premise is brilliantly silly.
@@BulbasaurRepresent oh yeah that scene was awesome!
Leela is my favorite classic companion without reservation. I expected not to care much for her, thinking people mostly just liked her for her (admittedly great) appearance, but what I got was a character so much better than I could have asked for. She massively elevates every story she's in.
The part where Xoanon says “Who am I, who am I “ to this day it still gives me goosebumps.
Imagine being in the studio when they were running through that on the studio floor monitors, well that was me. lol I ended up having lunch with the cast. This was a great story imo. Happy days....
One of the most surreal cliffhangers in Doctor Who, for sure.
I like this story because it's one of the few examples in the main show when the doctor has to deal with the consequence of "saving the day" and then swanning off. Another key example is in new who series 1 when he thinks he's saved the day at satellite 5, but it turns out he made things worse. An interesting concept that should be explored more I think
The story that introduces Vicky (The Rescue) also is kinda like this in so far as the Doctor mentioned visiting Dido before with Susan...which ends up really feeding the pathos of the finale scenes with the Doctor facing down the villain.... Then there's Time Lash that centers around the Doctor returning to a planet he'd saved in the past.
It's what I hope to see in the RTD2 era, some follow-up on previous stories and how the Dr doesn't always make things better.
What's even funnier is that Xoanon and the Evil One, the face in the mountain, all that stuff. ... that happened during "Robot." Tom Baker's first story.
There's that scene, right near the start of the story IIRC, where the TARDIS leaves & reappears almost immediately after. That's when that happened
YES!!!
Ooooooooohhhhhh oh yeah!
Although it might have also happened immediately after "Deadly Assassin" and then decades or more pass with the Doctor on his own (or with other unseen companions) before he returns to the planet.
Apparently, in "Horror Of Fang Rock", a scene in part three was crucial to the behind-the-scenes relationship between Louise Jameson and Tom Baker. In one scene, he consistently came in ahead of his cue, thereby upstaging her. On the grounds that this move was "not what they had rehearsed" she insisted on three successive retakes until he came in at the rehearsed time. This eventually won his respect. From that point forward, she claims their working relationship was much smoother.
The Face of Evil is so underrated! I bet many people can quote the "very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common..." line but don't even know what story it is from. Also yes Leela is great, in fact she is my favourite companion of all time, but unfortunately there are some of her later stories that do fall into the "primitive woman who is mocked for being slow/stupid" characterisation (mainly looking at you Invisible Enemy)
I haven't watched this one in a couple of years. I had sorta dismissed Leela as a companion but I read an article saying she deserves more than the "savage girl," reputation. Glad I went to see her episodes.
Like you, ive delved into classic who and i assumed leela was going to be awful from the pics. But actually shes really refreshing, a properly drawn warrior character, who questions everything but has great intuition. Shes pretty violent which is always fun.
My favorite moment is when he finishes putting all the pieces together (the Sevateem's religious gesture, the random equipment laying around everywhere, etc) and he's just standing there like "Oh... I really screwed up this time," the best moments are always the ones where the Doctor realizes that he's screwed up and he's gotta actually fix something instead of his usual "fix"
I always had a little idea in my head that if Leela and Ace ever met up together and traveled with the Dr, those two would be such a badass team together and get so much shit done, there would barely be any problems at all. Lol
Imagine Leela with Ace's bat. That's something I'd like to see.
@@Elwaves2925 Not even the Vashta Nerada would stand a chance.
Leela and Ace together? That would be great! (Shrill ecstatic scream)
@@Elwaves2925 Nitro-9 tipped crossbow bolts! The Doctor would have a long talk with both of them after that!
@@cindydott452 Yeah, but I'd love to hear that talk. Big Finish need to make this happen while Tom is still with us.
EDIT:
I forgot to say how much I enjoyed your take on the episode!
One of the few fan theories about Doctor Who that I subscribe too, is the placement of the original story that triggered "The Face of Evil". In "Robot"" while Tom Baker's Doctor was still all scrambled from regeneration, it is said by fans that he sneaked off in the TARDIS, but came back. This would explain why it takes him so long to remember what he did to Xoanon. I imagine him running around in his hospital gown and robe while he used his still unstable brain to repair the ship's computer.
Makes sense to me!
It's what Terrance Dicks uses in the novelisation of this one.
@@kierenevans2521 I'll have to track it down!
It might have also happened after "Deadly Assassin" with decades or even centuries of time passing between that and his return.
I always overlooked this episode, so thanks for talking about it!
This is one of my all-time favorite Baker stories. Almost certainly one of my all-time favorite episodes period! It's so compelling and amazingly written. So glad you enojyed!
I wish we could get companions from elsewhere (Leela, Romana, Adric, Turlough and Nardole), the past (Katarina and Victoria) or future (Steven, Zoe and Jack) instead of modern day earth, but it unfortunately looks like we’re sticking to the latter… this is why I like Leela so much, ‘cause there’s a lot of potential you can do with past/future/alien companions. Modern day humans are boring (me, specifically) now. I know Rose, Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory, Clara, Bill, Ryan, Yaz, Graham, Dan and (the upcoming) Ruby are suppose to be the viewers eyes. But do the viewers really need to see the Doctor’s world through a modern day companions eyes?
You forgot Jamie as a companion from the past.
Being older than dirt, I remember when I and my friends first saw Leela. Primitive woman in leather bikini with boots (I really wanted boots like hers) was why many guys in my friend group got over losing Sarah Jane.
I first saw this one on my local PBS channel's fundraiser. I was home sick and caught it all at once. Leela is one of my favorite companions.
The Face of Evil forms part of the 3-4 years in the mid-70's when the classic era was at its absolute best with so many strong stories. There are other good seasons but not a period this long and consistent year in year out. The stories and production values (by classic Who standards) were extremely high. Chris Boucher was the writer of this story and he also penned the next one, The Robots of Death, which is even better.
A am so grateful that I discovered the show during that span! It was on PBS in the late afternoon after I got home from elementary school. I used to get myself completely freaked out while my mom cooked dinner. Airing a part every weekday was also a nice pace between binging and waiting a week.
This story's greatest strength is that its anything but generic. Leela is my favorite classic Who companion and this is a very strong introduction.
Tom Baker is the Doctor I grew up with on my local PBS station. I liked Leela because she poked at our common assumptions.
Yes, this is one of the stories that left a good impression from seeing it as a child when it first aired. I've re-watched it a couple of times since, and it stands up well, give or take the ray gun special effects! I definitely agree about Leela being one of the best companions. For me Sarah Jane, Leela, and Romana 1 are "peak companion" in classic who.
i like the bit in the first episode when he discovered the knot in his hanky to remind him to do something-perhaps relating to what happens in the final episode
There was a strong thread in this season of the Doctor teaching Leela and taking her around to see what her ancestors were like. The Horror of Fang Rock and The Talons of Weng Chiang in particular.
Yup, I've seen it. One of my favourite parts is when the Doctors gets ahold of some of the communications equipment and sends a message to Neeva pretenidng to be their god, Xoanon, and Neeva responds to the message and you think he's gotten away with it, but then when the Doctor says, "Go now and do my will." Neeva replies, "Yes....Doctor." and that was not what I was expecting at all. It's so well written.
This one is really underrated and one I get friends to watch early on…glad you enjoyed it!
This was the first full Doctor serial I saw. In the days before VHS and streaming a local station had a syndication package running from Robot to the 2nd episode of The Leisure Hive. I think I saw one of the episodes from Robot and shrugged it off. Then I saw Face of Evil from begginning to end and needed to see more. My first Doctor (thought he was the only one... remember pre-internet), first companion, first adventure. This one hooked me for life.
But can you imagine, this syndication package ran half way through the Leisure Hive and then back to Robot. It quit in the middle of a story. Insanity. How many years went by until finally I finished that damn serial!
The quintessential Halloween time Fourth Doctor and Leela story is of course the Horror of Fang Rock, buuut you've already done that one so this is a good substitute! Glad that you enjoyed all the nuance in the characterisation of Leela's people, it was very cool!
Also having learned about DID in the last year it was quite unexpected to recall that that is what happened to the computer in this story...
And it's hilarious how you warped the face in the moutain on the cover! Very fun bit of interaction with an otherwise static piece of your videos!
Leela is such a wonderful companion. And Louise Jameson is a delight to see at conventions. I read this story before I saw it, but only just (got the novelization and read it a couple weeks before PBS aired it). I love it both ways. The jelly babies are used well in this one, too. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Vera!
An underrated story,in the shadow of its 2 immediate neighbours 🎩
I like this story and it's a great introduction to Leela.
I know you started with the modern era but you can see why so many fans love Tom Baker and his Doctor.
This story is so under rated! I love the production design and the story is a really fun venture. I grow to like it more and more as time goes on.
Needed this review today. Really enjoyed it and was so nice to see you enjoy the story :)
Loved the review!
Always enjoyed this story. Great idea turning a computer into Norman Bates. Felt like the writer was influenced by Psycho and 2001: A Space Odyssey. He took Hal and turned him into Norman Bates, and then turned the Doctor into Mother, the one responsible for driving Norman crazy in the first place. Great Doctor Who story. Most of the stories with Leela were usually good to great.
I think the reason this is one of those forgotten about stories is it’s sandwiched between two much more better regarded stories, deadly assassin and robots of death. But it is a good one! I love that the jungle set scenes were recorded on film rather than studio cameras! 7/10
This is where Leela gets the line she uses in 'Fang Rock', I think. Where she says she's not a 'Teshnician' and the Doctor stops to reply 'Teshnician?'
To me it has always been clear that these people are the descendants of the technicians (tesh) and survey team (sever team). The survey team have regressed to a non-literate society and enough time has passed for vowels and consonants to change. This is one of my favorite episodes because of the story and the introduction of Leela. She is up there with Liz, Sarah Jane and Donna as strong female characters that don't take much disrespect from the Doctor.
Chris Boucher also writes Robots of Death and Image of the Fendahl, the later of which is interesting but suffers somewhat in the plot.
He also was script editor for all of Blake's 7. If it wasn't for B7, he might well have been script editor on Who.
Chris Boucher’s writing is amazing - his 3 stories are among the best writing for Doctor who in terms of plot, characterization, dialogue and sci fi ideas
Looks like another episode/story to put on my list of prioritised ones to watch when Classic Who comes to iPlayer tomorrow...
Revenge of the Cybermen and Scratchman are still my only 4th Doctor stories. So it's good to get some recommendations like this.
My whats were exactly the same. It really surprised me that the classic who community never talks about this gem!
This is my dad's favorite Doctor Who story, so it was prominently shown to me as a kid, and I just love it. Neeva in particular is one of my favorite side characters, when the Doctor is trying to pretend to be Xoanon to get through to Neeva and he ends the conversation calling him Doctor, and then for him to become, well, kind of the opposite of a martyr, sacrificing himself in an attempt to resolve a crisis of faith by killing what turned out to be a false god - yeah, it's much more than a simple religious leader taking power. He was a believer, his faith was shattered. The rest of the story is great, too, but Neeva always stuck with me.
Great review and great video and I agree this story is really underrated
This one tends to get a lot more love these days, but yeah when I was first properly getting in to classic who, this one didn't come up too much. Maybe being right next to Deadly Assassin did that?
Deadly Assassin does tend to overshadow a lot of other episodes from the 4th's era. It often gets mentioned in a best list, where Face Of Evil doesn't.
Which is funny to me because I don't like Deadly Assassin all that much and think it largely skates by on the importance of the Master coming back post-Delgado.
What could also play a part is Robots of Death, which came after this and is well known. And then you had The Talons of Weng Chian. Which is also known but not always for the quality of the ep. So several big ep and this one could get a bit lost. I like it a lot. The techs suits are a bit off. I have read that the working title was, The day God went mad. Which is more eye catching.
@@BreakRoomofGeeks Whilst I don't think the story itself is depending on just the Master's return- stuff like that and Gallifrey are likely factors for why fandom itself gives it a lot of attention
Superficially, the story suffers from not having a clear-cut villain (and no alien race to add to the show's lore). That's kind of what makes the story so special - there is a crisis being resolved that isn't primarily about defeating anybody.
This is my favourite of Season 14. Yes it's a computer gone mad story, but Boucher added the twist of it being caused by The Doctor's prior meddling that raises this above scifi cliche. Boucher also wrote a nuanced and balanced look at belief in general; it's not just god v science.
Leela charging into the TARDIS was the moment I fell in love with her.
Incidentally, if you haven't already, as a Leela enjoyer you should do yourself a favor and listen to BF's Gallifrey series. I believe you've seen enough of a cross-section of Classic Who to get what's going on. It's superb and is probably the audio spinoff that most deserves to be recognized among the television ones.
I still prefer it by its original title "The Day God Went Mad."
This was the first episode of Doctor Who I ever saw and fell in love instantly
Read the target book fantastic cover there was a prologe there before robot in a regeneration haze it's a good story good review.
I might have been too young/green to properly appreciate the subtleties when I saw this story. I shall try to fit in a rewatch 👍
Leela does not suffer fools gladly.
She definitely does not. I enjoy very much when in later episodes she confronts men with expectations about ladies 😑😑and says glibly "Oh, I am no lady!" She's great!
@@Donnagata1409 That was in "Horror of Fang Rock" She shocks the youngest lighthouse keeper (Forgot his name) by starting to undress right in front of him! I loved how annoyed Leela got every time the secretary screamed.
@@cindydott452The slap and then the eye roll when the lady fainted.
@@cindydott452 Vince (I rewatched Fang Rock at the weekend)
@@kierenevans2521 Thanks!
Wasn't the working title "the day god went mad" before the current one was chosen
Yeah, pretty amazing. Classic Who could be this good when firing on all cylinders. Real characters and themes, imaginative ideas. I wish that Chris Boucher stayed on to write more Who after this season! It's amazing also how much better it looks production-wise than the threadbare sets of the mid 80s. Maybe not "convincing" but effort and craft put into it. This was one of my (then) young kid's first Tom Baker stories, and it blew his mind. That was easily one of my best viewing experiences.
Great review. Just a little nitpick, you said how much you loved the story but never mentioned the writer, who was Christopher Boucher.
He's written some great stories (Robots of Death) and not just for Doctor Who. He died last December.
In terms of actual mental powers Leela is right up there in terms of human companions. She's clearly from a society that isn't scientifically or technologically advanced and she isn't educated in the general sense but I'd say in terms of mental sharpness she might actually be the most intelligent human companion the Doctor has ever had. Technically Leela is from the future, her society is the remnants of an Earth deep space colony
Haven't watched the video yet, but I do specifically remember thinking it would be a bad idea to show you this serial.
Update...OK, you liked it a lot more than I was expecting, given how you've reacted to religion-based-on-misunderstood-technology type stories before.
It helps that this moves past that basic conceit pretty fast to go more interesting places. And the message never feels like “religion bad” or “belief foolish” as so many of these kinds of story go for.
I really feel like Leela goes unappreciated (expecially considering how the show seems to idolise Sarah Jane). The way fans from the time seem to remember her is "the one in the skimpy outfits", but she's honestly one of the most fleshed out companions in the whole series (no pun intended). She's ignorant but clever and has her own set of values that don't always mesh with the Doctor's, like her willingness to resort to violence, kind of like a mix of the best parts of Jamie, the Brig and Sarah Jane.
Face for the face god! Evil for the evil throne!
Face of Evil is brilliant, only a few minor hiccups when dealing with the Tesh later on. Leela is so good, that how they treated her in 'Invisible Enemy' made a poor story so much worse. Leela is a fantastic companion!
I've heard Leela has some Great moments in her Big Finish appearances.
Apparently the costume designer was deliberately pushing the men's outfits to as close to non-existent as he could get away with to antagonise Mary Whitehouse.
great story
Destroy and be free! Destroy! Free!!
I loved this story too, been a long time, but it was an amazing story, and yes, slightly under appreciated.
I see someone else has already noted my favorite quote about the very powerful and the very stupid. Wasn't that just a prediction of the entire direction of the right wing 😅
Mostly been listening to you so I can understand my friends who love Doctor Who...
... But if Douglas Addams was show-runner for an era then I NEED to see that era. Douglas Addams is Douglas Addams.
Well don’t get it twisted. He wasn’t the showrunner, he was the script editor. So he wasn’t moving the direction of the whole thing but his touches end up all over the place in small ways (aside from the stories he fully wrote which are just VERY him).
@@BreakRoomofGeeks Thanks for clarification - will definitely need to add those episodes (and any relevant context) then
🎉I have it and I love it 🎉
Yeah, it's probably one of the underappreciated stories of the show's overall run. I really liked it, but didn't enjoy it as much as you seem to have done (but... Yeah, even not liking it as much as you seem to have done I can acknowledge that it's underappreciated)
You just be hanging out in the wrong circles, this one is definitely bigger up. Maybe it's just overshadowed by the two episodes either side of it. But I like this one more than both of those
I've into'd people to classic with this one.
This is possibly the weakest story of its season (it's either this or The Masque of Mandragora), but that's down to intensely stiff competition moreso than anything else. This story's great all the same.
With the first and second Doctor, he would just look like a guy for no reason.