If I remember correctly, "The Silurians" and "The Sea Devils" weren't on the seemingly continuous repeat cycle of Doctor Who stories on Australian TV when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. I'd read Malcolm Hulke's Target novelisations and remember being intrigued, but not overwhelmingly so. I vaguely recall being amused by the Clangers without knowing what they were and going "ooh" when the Sea Devils emerge from the water. It is one of those iconic scenes like that scene ... er, those scenes ... from "Tomb of the Cybermen". Possibly the less said about "Warriors of the Deep" the better.
And I preferred Gary Russell's "Scales of Injustice" to Jim Mortimore's "Blood Heat".
"The Hungry Earth", which could be split neatly in two, I enjoyed but there was something missing. Not sure what, exactly. The build up was good, all the supporting characters made sense and were interesting. Samuel Davies as Elliot was particularly good, I thought, especially with his relationship with the Doctor. Marvellous stuff.
Meera Sayal was wonderful, but I think she's usually great.
Did they ever explain what they were drilling for in the Welsh countryside?
A few others have commented what a homage it is to 1970s Doctor Who. I appreciated the nods but I didn't feel it was slowed down for it. I adored the glowing green veins of infection. That's the Doctor Who I grew up with: the "green death" and the Cyber-plague on Nerva Beacon.
The "Silurians" we see here are mostly ladies. I agree it is about time we had female "baddies", but I'm not quite sure it worked. The gender division didn't quite ring true and I kept thinking of the new V series.
I think the cliffhanger to "the Hungry Earth" should have been the threat to Amy rather than the reveal. A minor irritant, really.
"Cold Blood" sped up the plot and excitement, I thought, and fair rollicked along. I liked the way Amy escaped and the pivotal events up top made sense. So did the overall resolution of the main story.
And then there was the end. Oh.
I watched "Cold Blood" with a bunch of mates before a Eurovision party. Perhaps that affected my viewing. We spent a few minutes chatting about the end and what it might mean, but really we were prepping the vino for the camp Euro-pop or power ballad assault. Opa! Opa! OPA!!
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GW via Facebook, 2 June 2010
ReplyDeleteMy favourite story of the season so far. They realised the Silurians very well except the eyes should have been more reptilian.
I'd love to see the Silurians back but this time have it in the future where peace has been agreed to and they are trying to integrate into human society. Lot of potential for stories there like that TV show, what's it's name? "Alien Nation" I think.
"The Silurians" is one of my favourite Pertwee stories. If I recall, it wasn't shown here for many years since it was one of those stories rated not suitable for a general audience and couldn't be shown in the timeslot. Australian kids were so much more sensitive then. :-)
DT via Facebook, 2 June 2010
ReplyDeleteI have always had a geeky desire to see the Earth invaded by one of the usual alien types, with humanity on the verge of defeat, only for our fellow reptilian Earthlings to appear on our side for once, realising that this planet belongs to us all - a common foe could make the world of difference!
PM via Facebook, 2 June 2010
ReplyDeleteI felt a little let down by ep 2. So much build up and it turned into a Pertwee story! Still, I guess that was inevitable. And the Silurians really needed reptilian eyes - for the life of me, I can't work out why they didn't just whack in some lenses. Overall a good story though, if a little flawed.