With the Doctor finally taking the situation seriously, the serial seems to be moving from “exploring a weird environment” to actually telling a story where the planet’s features (acid pools, thin atmosphere, strange creatures) that were mildly threatening last week start to be actively menacing.
Continue readingThe episode opens with a recap of Hartnell’s very fluffed lines at the end of Inferno. ‘Dragged down to what,’ asks Ian. We then cut to a sci-fi planetscape with moons and constellations in the sky, which looks like it’s come straight from the cover of a Doctor Who Annual. The TARDIS materialises, and the roaming camera rather neatly switches to a view on the scanner screen. The interior of the Ship is much bigger this week as well (with a new science station bit in one corner, and a little medical bay), and everyone has changed costumes and hairstyles.
Continue readingDir. George Melford, USA, 1931
Often praised as being a superior version of the English-language Dracula, Melford’s movie certainly plays less stagebound than Browning’s. While largely following the same beats (by virtue of having to use the same sets) as the English version, there’s enough here to make the film worthwhile in its own right.
Dir. Tod Browning, USA, 1931
The horror film genre didn’t exist before Universal’s Dracula and Frankenstein. There were occasional horror movies – particularly Nosferatu, which casts a long shadow over this first official adaptation of Dracula – but it was Universal in 1931 that kick-started the first cycle of horror films; the re-release of Dracula and Frankenstein in 1938 that initiated the second, and re-makes by Hammer that launched the third. And the two characters have been popularly linked ever since. Andy Warhol and Dan Curtis tackled them both in the 1970s, and there were big-screen adaptations in the 1990s.
The episode starts with a rather dramatic assassination attempt on the Emperor, who brilliantly uses Barbara as a human shield while seeming to quite enjoy the resulting carnage. As Nero, Derek Francis has been amazing value for money through these episodes: capricious, with a murderous insanity demonstrated in the opening scene when he stabs a soldier to death for not fighting hard enough. His playful but brutal personality feels like it captures this story in microcosm.
Continue readingIan continues to be menaced by stock footage – this week, of very docile-looking lions. Meanwhile, the Doctor bluffs his way through Tavius’s conspiracy. This leads to a hilarious moment where the Doctor declares he must get to the bottom of it and Vicki says, ‘see you later’ and wanders off to do her own thing – which involves an encounter with the poisoner Locusta. It emphasises how different from Susan she is – it’s hard to imagine Susan showing such independence from her grandfather.
Continue readingAt the top of the episode, a slightly fluffy Hartnell is delighted by the chance to get involved in some of the action traditionally reserved for Ian – ‘I tend to forget the delight and satisfaction of the gentle art of fisticuffs!’ He and O’Brien continue to be a brilliant pairing. While the Doctor has it all worked out and just wants a good night’s sleep, Vicki is full of questions (that helpfully explain the plot) – it’s exposition, but very cleverly and humorously done.
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Hilly Fields is a small park in Lewisham, about 500m from Ladywell Station. As the name suggests, it’s an open space covering the hill next to Adelaide Avenue. From the top of the hill there are great views of London, plus a small and very pleasant café; tennis courts, and a bowling green. Many of the paths in the park look like they have recently been resurfaced – although only about half of the run is on these. The rest is on grass and dirt tracks round the edge of the park.
Brockwell Park is a large and pretty open space (with a miniature railway, various sports courts and a BMX track) running up the side of Herne Hill, about a five-minute walk from Herne Hill Station and 15 minutes from Brixton TFL. It’s a two-lap course that typically seems to attract 250-300 runners.
I ran the first ever two Beckenham Place Parkruns in November 2016 and ran again in December 2017. It attracts around 150 runners each week. While Beckenham Place Park is very large – running from Sydenham down towards Bromley, and including a golf course, a wooded area, and some wide open parkland – the run itself takes place in a very flat area on the east side of the railway line that connects Sevenoaks with Blackfriars (and has the benefit of being less than 5 minutes’ walk from Ravensbourne Station). While this has the benefit of making the park relatively quiet, it also means the run is well away from the facilities – so you need to allow plenty of time (at least 20 minutes) to walk from the Mansion, which has toilet facilities and a café, to the run start.
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