tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1284961058548237555.post4579463123135479574..comments2023-08-24T07:29:44.519-07:00Comments on Tea with Morbius: The Curse Of FenricMatthew Celestinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02874430461346560520noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1284961058548237555.post-74346887401223811502011-08-25T14:09:33.847-07:002011-08-25T14:09:33.847-07:00I see Doctor Who as a pit, with Season 1 and Seaso...I see Doctor Who as a pit, with Season 1 and Season 26 at the top and Season 11 at the very bottom.Matthew Celestinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02874430461346560520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1284961058548237555.post-5342571716496792922011-08-25T14:03:46.430-07:002011-08-25T14:03:46.430-07:00I suppose that's the good thing about Doctor W...I suppose that's the good thing about Doctor Who - it has something for everyone! Different eras and even different stories can be so divisive. There are very few Doctor Who stories I truly hate - all have faults and all have merits (in varying quantities!) To me, the Who-ograph is pyramid-shape (no pun intended) with the season 13 being the pinnacle and gradually dropping either side (the excepts being the Graham Williams era is worst that the Davison years and McCoy's last season is probably the best season since the Davison era).<br /><br />I too love mythology being draw into the show, but only if it's explained. Any form of sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic, so there's a lot of scope. Silly really, the science is usually made up by the writers of course, but knowledge of science is what separates the Doctor from us. He doesn't have a magic wand, so he uses his brain. If he started using magic, the very essence of the character would be gone.darkwebonlinehttp://www.darkwebonline.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1284961058548237555.post-8377648601881896132011-08-25T13:22:54.656-07:002011-08-25T13:22:54.656-07:00I won't say much more about Pyramids of Mars; ...I won't say much more about Pyramids of Mars; I have yet to write a proper review of it.<br /><br />I hate Pyramids of Mars, I dislike most of the Hinchcliffe era and most of the Pertwee era. <br /><br />Maybe at the end of the day I'm not actually a real Doctor Who fan. I don't like what Doctor Who became in the late Sixties and Seventies; that is a science fiction show. I think I'm much more comfortable with the Doctor as some sort of mysterious angel or trickster god fighting demons than I am of rubber monsters invading the home counties or spaceships being besieged by giant insects.Matthew Celestinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02874430461346560520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1284961058548237555.post-17260659760254873942011-08-25T13:13:18.314-07:002011-08-25T13:13:18.314-07:00Deliberately mysterious? Or badly written/edited? ...Deliberately mysterious? Or badly written/edited? I have my doubts...<br /><br />I think to defend the story by saying that it's more fantasy than sci-fi and therefore doesn't need to make sense then begs the question - is this suitable for Doctor Who, a science fiction series which has always debunked the supernatural? Where things are put down to (fictional) science, not the acts of gods & angels and demons & devils? Battlefield in the same season just about got away with it, but 'Curse' struggles in my opinion.<br /><br />You say there are plot holes in Pyramids, but no major ones spring to mind...certainly not ones that left me scratching my head like Curse does. <br /><br />I also thing the characters are more interesting in Pyramid, without the need to say 'this guy's lost his faith in humanity' or 'this girl's screwed up because her mum was unpleasant'. etc. Also Holmes' script takes the time to explain the origins of the Osirians, why they are on Earth, and why Sutekh wants to destroy all life. <br /><br />I'm never keen on the idea of 'letting the audience decide' because the written hasn't actually thought everything through. It's this kind of mentality that allows an artist to display half a sheep in a gallery and call it art. Fair enough if half the plot has been thrown out like we know is the case in many a story in Doctor Who history, but that's more an argument about who's to blame - the end produce is still lacking.<br /><br />I know I sound like I hate Curse here - I really don't - but I think it's massively over-rated. And I wish to correct myself from the earlier post actually - I think Remembrance is the pinnacle of the McCoy era.darkwebonlinehttp://www.darkwebonline.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1284961058548237555.post-30653786540483248792011-08-24T23:49:07.109-07:002011-08-24T23:49:07.109-07:00Thanks for your comment.
A lot has been left deli...Thanks for your comment.<br /><br />A lot has been left deliberately mysterious in this story. I don't think we need answers to all of the questions you ask.<br /><br />Curse of Fenric is a story heavy in metaphors. It works on a symbolic level. I think that justifies it getting away with plot problems that would be very damaging in a more straightforward science fiction story.<br /><br />Yeah, I think Pyramids of Mars is overrated. I hate that story. I'll review it one day.<br /><br />Curse of Fenric and Pyramids of Mars both suffer from problems in their plot, but I think Curse of Fenric can get away with it better because of it's faster pace and stronger emotional climate. Pyramids of Mars is a very ponderous story which leaves us plenty of time to scream at the paper-thin plot.Matthew Celestinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02874430461346560520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1284961058548237555.post-62847052558470181602011-08-24T20:51:32.714-07:002011-08-24T20:51:32.714-07:00Excellent review. i'd never really thought abo...Excellent review. i'd never really thought about the similarities between Chtulhu and the Ancient One - good observation!<br /><br />However, after just watching Curse for the first time in 10 years, I was hoping to find some answers to some the unexplained question that plagued my mind after turning off the DVD!<br /><br />As you pointed out, the Doctor never explains his intentions at the beginning of the story. Surely he didn't know he was heading to showdown with Fenric? If not, why does he bluff his way into a top secret facility? To look at what to him must be an antiquated computer?<br /><br />Why does Fenric even need the Ancient One? He seems to be doing fine on his own. In the end, he does more damage than good. An excuse to bring monsters into the story I wonder?<br /><br />Why does Fenric move the Ancient One from the future in to the ancient past when he needed him in the 20th Century? And other than the fact that Fenric admits that the Ancient One is just another pawn, it's not really even clear why he kills Fenric when he does. And why kill himself? <br /><br />And the attempts to link it to past stories are are so clearly written after the event, they barely make sense. Why move Ace to Iceworld? It's not like the Doctor is a stranger to 20th Century Earth! And a chess set in Lady Penforth's study? That's a tenuous link to Fenric's return at best. Cartmel's Masterplan indeed. Even a brief rain storm is passed off as Fenric's work! Reminds me of the freak snow storm in 'Claws of Axos'!<br /><br />And why is Fenric so please that Ace has saved her hated mother? Since the other option was for Ace to never have been born, I'm sure she made the right choice anyway!<br /><br />I feel that this story is trying to be far smarter than it is, and while I appreciate it as perhaps the highlight of the McCoy area(and that's faint praise to be fair), I think it attempts to draw in more elements than it can handle in 88 mins. I also feel it's a shame that all the horror scenes take place in the day - they would have been far more effective at night.<br /><br />I haven't watched the new movies version yet though, I understand much of the exposition was cut, so maybe that will answer some questions!<br /><br />And surely you really don't think Pyramids of Mars is over-rated!<br /><br />Oh, and a small observation - Curse is scripted by Ian Briggs, not Nicholas.<br /><br />Keep up the good work!Darkwebonlinehttp://www.darkwebonline.comnoreply@blogger.com