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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2021 10:54:35 GMT
Two stories that are regularly considered the best of the Colin Baker era. Shame one of them is a bit crap, though. I went for Revelation mainly because of the black humour and Natasha and Grigory. I also like Limb's score quite a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2021 11:01:19 GMT
Revelation. One of only 2 CB stories that's really worth bothering with.
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Post by RobFilth on Mar 31, 2021 11:03:15 GMT
Varos is good, but the direction is lousy.
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Post by Bernard Marx on Mar 31, 2021 11:08:16 GMT
Definitely Revelation. Varos is very pertinent in its satire but Revelation is infinitely more atmospheric and aided by sharper direction, as well as retaining the hard-hitting Holmesian black comedy adopted by Saward between this season and the previous one. And as stated above, Limb’s score is outstanding. The sequence where Stengos’ head is discovered within the Dalek casing in episode one outclasses any sequence in Varos, and the dialogue too is far sharper.
Varos has far more substance and bite to it than specific other stories during the period, mind you (Mark of the Rani, Timelash), despite its budgetary limitations. It’s a prescient evocation of a commodified society predicated by spectacle, consumerist vacuity and political ignorance. One, despite its visibly aged nature, is very much like our own.
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Post by UncleDeadly on Mar 31, 2021 11:31:05 GMT
Two stories that are regularly considered the best of the Colin Baker era. Shame one of them is a bit crap, though. I went for Revelation mainly because of the black humour and Natasha and Grigory. I also like Limb's score quite a bit. "A bit crap"...? Is that honestly all you have to say for Varos, Maxil? Don't you think you're giving it short shrift? Ok, Revelation has a great script and outstanding production, whereas Varos only has one of those things, but are we, as Doctor Who fans, going to get hung up on production values? Is it "Next stop the Series 3 marathon"? As i outlined previously on ArcHive, directors like Ron Jones, Pennant Roberts and Peter Moffat were the industry standard in the multi-camera Televison Centre setup, whereas the likes of Graham Harper, Paul Joyce and Lovett Bickford, who were driven to attempt a more cinematic vision for Who, were considered loose cannons and every time JNT worked with them, he was dragged up to the 6th floor to be raked over the coals for going over-schedule and over-budget.
Revelation has great atmosphere and a cinematic sheen, whereas Varos is a more typical studio-bound '80s Who story. However, Revelation's superior production was achieved by incurring significant logistical difficulties, as the multi-camera system was never designed to be used in the way Harper was using it. He was, essentially, subverting his tools to achieve a superior effect. Back then, the technical differences between television and cinema were far more marked than they are now and the clunky camera setup and film/video mix necessitated that, in effect, "filmed plays" were the order of the day.
Revelation is, therefore, the exception rather than the rule. Are you really going to overlook Varos' marvellous script, worthy of a high-quality science fiction anthology series (part of the the dystopian tradition of 1984, Brave New World, Year of the Sex Olympics, although it takes it further by portraying a society ruled by a sham democracy in the pocket of big business, and kept mollified by televised torture. Sound familiar?) merely because it falls short of being technically exceptional, due to the restraints of the time in which it was made?
Seems a shame if so, as it has so much to offer you...
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Post by UncleDeadly on Mar 31, 2021 11:32:58 GMT
Revelation. One of only 2 CB stories that's really worth bothering with. Can't agree there, i'm afraid... |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2021 11:40:25 GMT
Revelation. One of only 2 CB stories that's really worth bothering with. Can't agree there, i'm afraid... I should've added, 'For Me'. But yeah, a couple of the others are OK, but in a meh/ok kinda way. Revelation and Attack are the only ones I don't have to work at. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2021 11:42:42 GMT
Two stories that are regularly considered the best of the Colin Baker era. Shame one of them is a bit crap, though. I went for Revelation mainly because of the black humour and Natasha and Grigory. I also like Limb's score quite a bit. "A bit crap"...? Is that honestly all you have to say for Varos, Maxil? Sorry. You're right. I meant to say it's REALLY crap. Annoying monologues, rubbish acting, drab sets, poor direction and a script that lags in the second half. The pacing is poor too. Yes, the story is interesting and there are some decent, fleshed out characters, but honestly I just find most of it to be tedious. Timelash urinates all over it from a great height. |
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Post by UncleDeadly on Mar 31, 2021 11:49:14 GMT
"A bit crap"...? Is that honestly all you have to say for Varos, Maxil? Timelash urinates all over it from a great height. In what way, precisely...? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2021 11:53:27 GMT
Timelash urinates all over it from a great height. In what way, precisely...? A more engaging story with lots of nice little touches such as the appearance of H.G. Wells and the performance by Paul Darrow. It has more charm, a better villain, characters that I actually care about (Kat, Mecros) and a very experimental score by Elizabeth Parker. It has a lot of padding and the sets aren't the best, but there's a sense of fun about the whole thing which is why it wins. This is just my opinion of course. If you prefer Varos, that's fine. |
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Post by UncleDeadly on Mar 31, 2021 12:22:54 GMT
In what way, precisely...? A more engaging story with lots of nice little touches such as the appearance of H.G. Wells and the performance by Paul Darrow. It has more charm, a better villain, characters that I actually care about (Kat, Mecros) and a very experimental score by Elizabeth Parker. It has a lot of padding and the sets aren't the best, but there's a sense of fun about the whole thing which is why it wins. This is just my opinion of course. If you prefer Varos, that's fine. Fair enough. FWIW, i do consider Timelash underrated and it's one i've often enjoyed watching. Yeah, it's just a straightforward Flash Gordonesque B movie/sci-fi romp in its way and it's the season cheapie, but i still kinda like it. I consider Varos to be a fascinating piece of television, however, and was genuinely intrigued as to why you would prefer Timelash. |
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