Geocaching May 2024

The month started avenging a DNF (did not find) in Columbia. Thanks to the Kindness of a Neighbor memorializes the person who built this bridge out in the middle of the woods so people hiking the trail don't have to get wet.

Hidden on the bridge

Following the water theme, I found L'eau near the Mall in Columbia. Just On the Border is along the line between a cemetery and a business park. The nearby tree is eating up the fence between the two places! 

Nature taking it back

Not too far away is the actual cache for the mystery Re-Sigh-Cling?. New to the Neighborhood is in another nearby business park that is still under construction and only has a few businesses. 

I finally finished out the TYGR series with TYGR402: Go Fly a Kite. Somehow I didn't find this last time I tried (in the Fall) but it was super-obvious this time. The sculptures are still amazing. Nearby is Rt. 1 Express just off of Route 1 (go figure). The cache's bottom is missing (!) so I was unable to sign the log.

Kite cache

Empty cache

On a rainy day, I braved the elements to get another traditional cache day filled on the calendar. Apache Strong is by a ball field with some interesting architecture.

It doesn't look like a concession stand

After another Monday morning coffee group, I found Princess's Treasure on a rock wall in the woods.

The rock wall and me

I had a big hiatus then returned to caching later in the month with Pipe Dream, an easy and creative cache near the Mall in Columbia. Later in the day, we did the Crimes of the Centennial Century Adventure Lab and its associated Bonus Cache. The finds are all in Centennial Lake Park. The caches have a kid-theme so my kids helped out for a while.

Trying to avoid the photo by being too close or too far

Distracted by the playground

The lake (at least part of it)

Geese violating boundaries

Reunited at the playground

A few days later, I found several caches along the Short Line trail near Baltimore. Terminus is a multi-cache based on The Walking Dead TV show. It involved the whole line. Also on the line, I found What a Crappy Place to Find a Cache (yes, toilet-themed) and MD Cluedo 9 of 10 (yes, based on the board game). 

Trail head marker

Definitely reminiscent of Season 4 of TWD

I spent an hour in Woodmoor, Maryland, which has a surprising number of Little Free Libraries. Two of the caches, Maneater and The Safety Dance, are mystery caches, requiring a little bit of special knowledge to unlock (literally) the cache containers. The third, Straight Up, was a regular hide. While I was in the neighborhood I found Brood X, a cache inspired by cicadas.

LFL and Geocache!

Swag swap

I avenged a DNF at JC's Flea Circus, which is not at a circus location. I am sure the woods have plenty of insects in them. Last time I tried, I am pretty sure the container was gone because I looked in the exact same obvious area and did not make the find. The container is an ammo can, which is fairly large. The placement is deep in the woods, so I am sure no regular person happened across it. Maybe an animal did something?

Properly remote-looking geocache site

I went back over by the Northwest Branch to pick up a pocket of caches along the trail. Easy as 3.14159265358979323846264... was a puzzle cache involving Pi. You've Come A Long Way, Baby! is an earthcache about a rock formation that dates back 500 million years and to Antarctica. The rocks are also commemorated in Jutting Rocks, a traditional cache. My final find was Brookhaven, just outside the park near Brookhaven Drive.

Putting the "geo" in geocaching

LPC for 2/29 was actually placed in 2012 for that Leap Year. I finally found it this year. Also nearby are Foo's Former Fast Friend (which had a sleeping cockroach on it!) and The 11th Hour, a Tardis-shaped Little Free Library.

What's scarier--giant snail or regular cockroach?

Yes, it's bigger on the inside

I should have brought my fez

TV Review: Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials (2023)

Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials (2023) written by Russell T. Davis and directed by Rachel Talalay, Tom Kingsley, and Chanya Button

The Fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor has the same face as the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant)! A series of specials for the sixtieth anniversary of the show features Tennant and Catherine Tate returning as Donna Noble. Three fun episodes?

The Star Beast--The Doctor lands on present day Earth where he nearly runs into Donna. He does not want to do that because if she remembers him, she will die (because of entirely fabricated complications, the usual Doctor Who blather). He tries to avoid her as everyone except Donna sees an alien spaceship crash in London's outskirts. Donna has a daughter named Rose (Yasmin Finney) and a husband and a supposedly happy life. Rose winds up finding a cute alien creature, The Meep, which she tries to protect from the hostile aliens that have also landed on Earth and want to capture The Meep. The show has the usual dramatics and action of a Doctor Who episode with a very cinematic visual flare. There's a nice twist for the third act and a great deal of fun leading to the Doctor and Donna going for one last adventure in the TARDIS. There are some clumsy woke moments in the show, e.g. it is hard to tell whether they are mocking or affirming a character choosing a pronoun.

Wild Blue Yonder--Of course the TARDIS goes off course, landing the Doctor and Donna at the edge of the known universe in a seemingly empty, gigantic ship. The TARDIS suddenly transports out, leaving them stranded. Donna panics and the Doctor realizes the TARDIS only leaves when extreme danger is nearby. They investigate the ship, hoping to stop the danger and thereby let the TARDIS return. The adventure is fun, along with a little bit of character development and revelation. Not the best Doctor story, but good enough.

The Giggle--Neil Patrick Harris guest stars as The Toymaker, a villain who wants to play games and win. He's used a puppet to drive human beings crazy, forcing the Doctor and Donna to team up with UNIT to stop him. The mechanics of the plot are very nonsensical which could have been okay if the cast was up for a bit of whimsy. For me, they played it a little too straight to make the fun outweigh the logical inconsistencies and incoherences. The new Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) has a nice introduction, though I hope he gets a pair of pants in the Christmas special. Tennant's Doctor gets a nice coda and a huge opening to come back at any time. Donna gets the ending that she deserves, which made me very happy.

Overall, these are okay. I didn't see anything really great here but I was entertained. I want to go back and watch the Donna Noble episodes. She is the best of the modern companions, maybe the best one from the whole sixty year history.

As I write (December 2023), the episodes are available streaming on Disney+ in America and other countries outside of the UK (where it is available from BBC).

TV Review: Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)

Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen (1975) written by Gerry Davis and directed by Michael E. Briant

Fourth Doctor Tom Baker and his companions Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) have returned to the Ark in Space to pick up the TARDIS, only to find themselves thousands of years before their last visit. At this point, the Ark is a space beacon guiding ships through the solar system. But a plague has broken out, leaving a handful of crew and one scientist, Kellerman (Jeremy Wilkin). Kellermen is interested in an asteroid nearby that is really the home of the Voga, a race of beings once at war with the Cybermen. Their asteroid is called the "planet of gold" because it is basically a chunk of gold ore floating in space. Gold is a weakness of the Cybermen--if their suits are contaminated they die quickly. Naturally, the Cyberman want to destroy Voga. The Vogans naturally don't want to die. Plenty of conflict is set up for the Doctor to resolve.

The plot moves along at a good pace with some mystery about who is on whose side among the humans on the space station. The typical cliffhangers abound in this four-episode storyline. The special effects are also typical for the classic Doctor Who (not very good). The story falls apart a bit when the Cybermen go to Voga to plant bombs. The Vogans fight them with rifles rather than using the plentiful gold all around. What the heck? Baker is charming as usual and has good chemistry with Sladen and Marter.

Mildly recommended--this is a typical, not great, story.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Web of Fear (1968)

Doctor Who: The Web of Fear (1968) written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, directed by Douglas Camfield

The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) has trouble flying the TARDIS (go figure). The trouble isn't really his fault as some entity is trying to trap him in the Space-Time stream along with companions Victoria (Deborah Watling) and Jamie (Frazer Hines). They manage to break free and land on Earth. The TARDIS winds up in the London Underground. London has been abandoned by the locals due to an infestation of Yeti, which are alien robots. The military works to contain the problem, bringing on board a scientist named Travers (Jack Watling) who has had previous experience with the Yeti, and even with the Doctor (in an episode called The Abominable Snowmen, which I must hunt down)! The mystery is on as they search for who controls the Yeti and how to stop them.

This six-parter is notable for the first appearance of Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), though he's only a colonel here, not "The Brigadier," and UNIT is not introduced. The Yeti are much more menacing and real-seeming than many of the classic Doctor Who baddies. The mystery keeps the plot moving along, as does the standard running around. Even with so many episodes, the story does not drag out or have slow spots. The cast are in fine form. As I've said before, Troughton has an excellent take on the character and is a delight to watch.

This serial was thought lost but five of the episodes have been recovered. Only the audio from Episode Three exists. The visuals were recreated through animation, much like some previous restored serials. I have to say the animation here is really atrocious. The characters move awkwardly and stiltedly, almost as if it was a rough cut of the animation, not a finished product. I don't know if they were being cheap or rushed, but Doctor Who deserves better! I found that episode hard to watch because of the poor visual quality. 

Mildly recommended--classic Doctor Who in classic form but the rough animation is really hard on the eyes.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (1979)

Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (1979) written by David Fisher and directed by Christopher Barry

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) has unintentionally landed (actually, the TARDIS auto-answered a distress call) on Chloris, a planet with a lot of vegetation and some strange, gigantic eggshell fragments near where they landed. The locals have a shortage of metals, except for Lady Adrasta (Myra Francis) who has control of the only mine. The mine has played out and is now used for dumping her enemies because there's a creature in the pit. The Doctor is intrigued about what is really going on, so he and Romana (Lalla Ward) investigate, which means the typical running around, getting into trouble, and saving the day.

The story has a lot of humor (it's from the period where Douglas Adams was script editor) and has some interesting mysteries. The pacing is a little faster than usual and Romana is very sharp and in control of her part of the story. She's much more of an equal to the Doctor than a damsel in distress. The creature is a big fake blobby thing, though they gave it an appendage in the first episode that looks ridiculously phallic. They toned that down for the subsequent three episodes of this four-parter. The final episode had some extra drama thrown in after the main baddie was vanquished.

Recommended for fans of the old Doctor Who--the comedy is pretty good, except for the unintentional comedy.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken (1981)

Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken (1981) written by Johnny Byrne and directed by John Black

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) are mysteriously pulled off course by the Keeper of Traken (Denis Carey). Traken is a world that has had a thousand years of peace because the Keeper has stopped all evil and corruption. Well, sometimes evil things show up but they are completely incapacitated. One such evil thing is Melkur (voiced by Geoffrey Beevers), a sentient robot that has become paralyzed and is little more than a garden decoration. This particular Keeper is coming to the end of his life, which means that the safety of Traken is in jeopardy. Melkur is showing signs of life, manipulating one of the ruling council's members for mysterious and maleficent purposes. The Keeper expects some danger, that's why he's pulled the TARDIS down to Traken, landing in the very garden where Melkur stands, gathering moss and scheming.

The story follows a fairly typical plot with some nice twists, especially in the last episode. Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), a future companion, shows up and joins in the scientific crafting with Adric and the Doctor. The acting is very good. The episode is minimalist on special effects, making it easier to watch forty years later. 

Recommended--a fun outing with the Doctor.

TV Review: Doctor Who: Castrovalva (1982)

Doctor Who: Castrovalva written by Christopher H. Bidmead and directed by Fiona Cumming

The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) has just regenerated from the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). He's not in great shape and needs more time to finalize the regeneration. The first plan is to take him to a special room in the TARDIS with healing properties. While Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) escort him, Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) becomes lost in the TARDIS. Soon enough they discover that Adric has been kidnapped by the Master (Anthony Ainley), who is using him to sabotage the TARDIS. Tegan flies them to Castrovalva, a city recommended by the Doctor for its healing powers. They arrive only to find it very strange. Are the Castrovalvans plotting against them too?

The story is very slow, with a few extended wandering around scenes. The pacing probably would have benefitted by condensing from four to three episodes. Some of the costumes are silly even by Doctor Who standards. The special effects are also dodgy-looking. This story was Davison's first outing as the Doctor, so he switches into his cricket outfit and, by the end, gets the celery stalk on his lapel. Overall, a less than remarkable beginning for a guy who would grow nicely into the role.

Mildly recommended.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (1984)

Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani (1984) written by Robert Holmes and directed by Graeme Harper

The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and his companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) land on Androzani Minor where they stumble into a small war. The miners who were extracting a valuable mineral have taken up arms against the corporation sponsoring the dig. The corporation is clearly evil because they are ready to execute the Doctor and Peri as rebel spies with no proof or trial. The leader of the rebels is a disfigured scientist named Sharaz Jek who invented the mining androids and wants revenge against the corporation. He's pretty evil too, trying to stiff the arms dealers who fail to make a delivery. And Jek wants to keep Peri in his base as the most beautiful creature he's seen. Full points for taste but negative points for not respecting her personal dignity. If the situation wasn't bad enough, the Doctor and Peri have been exposed to a local toxin and will die in a few days unless they can find the antidote (bat milk!) deep in the caves.

The plot is interesting enough even though it's hard to find a sympathetic character aside from the Doctor and Peri. Neither the corporation nor the rebels are in the right. The caves, where much of the action happens, are fairly dark, giving some sympathetic lighting to the one creature hiding in the lower depths of the caves. The monster has little to do with the plot other than checking the box for "rubbish-looking monstrosity" that's part of most classic Doctor Who episodes. Some of the other effects look dodgy, as does the parts recording on videotape rather than film. I always think it's weird they decided to blend the two filming formats. The show ends with Peter Davison's regeneration into the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, so that's a nice bonus (though the effects are also very 1980s).

Recommended. Not great, but of historic value for the transition.

Book Review: Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time by S. Tipton et al.

Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time written by Scott and David Tipton with art by Gary Erskine and others

For the fiftieth anniversary of Doctor Who, a twelve-issue comic series was published. Each of the first eleven Doctors has an adventure typical for him. An overarching villain is depriving him of his companions for some nefarious purpose that gets revealed toward the end of the series.

The First Doctor visits Thomas Huxley in the 1860s for a little lecture on science and a confrontation with a London subway-dwelling enemy that shouldn't be on Earth. The Doctor and his companions (Ian, Barbara, and Vicki) fight the good fight. The Doctor mysteriously winds up alone at the end of the story when the three companion vanish into thin air.

The Second Doctor travels with companions Jaime and Zoe to an intergalactic mall where they discover an underground slave market. The slavers discover Jaime is from the past, and thus very valuable. They kidnap him, causing the standard rescue mission. The story is fun though it ends much the same way with the two companions disappearing during a trans-mat transportation. There must be some joke about them vanishing into thin air when they are dematerialized by the trans-mat, but I can't come up with it.

The Third Doctor is stuck on Earth in the 1970s and has an adventure with UNIT. The Brigadier has gone crazy and the whole planet is being flooded by freak storms. The Doctor quickly discovers the Remoraxians are behind the plot. The Doctor cures the Brigadier with a made-up doodad and they work together with Dr. Liz Shaw and Sarah Jane Smith to beat the Remoraxians. Then the three companions (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Dr. Shaw, and Sarah Jane) are kidnapped by a hooded figure.

The Best Doctor, I mean, the Fourth Doctor takes Leela and K-9 to the garden planet Agratis for a feast. When they arrive, the place is in anarchy. An irreplaceable gem has been stolen and the rhino-like Judoon have been brought in to find it. The Doctor helps solve the mystery and winds up at a feast where K-9 and Leela are kidnapped by the hooded bad guy.

The Fifth Doctor lands the TARDIS on an obscure planet with a slight crack in space-time. The power leaking out of it will recharge the TARDIS. The only problem is the planet is also a battleground in the thousand-year war between the Sontarans and the Rutan Host. The Doctor has run into both groups before and does his usual job trying to talk them out of war. As the Doctor and his companions (Tegan, Adric, and Nyssa) flee back to the TARDIS, the Doctor gives a little speech about the inability of people to deviate from their natural tendencies. The bad guy shows up and accuses him of endangering his innocent companions, which seems like a natural tendency of the Doctor. The bad guy kidnaps the trio of companions and the doctor starts to remember the previous kidnappings.

The Sixth Doctor visits 7200s Earth with Peri and Frobisher. Frobisher is a shapeshifter and has taken the form of a penguin since they are visiting Antarctica. Or I should write "Antarcticopolis" since the continent has become one gigantic city. They run into trouble when they visit the city and the locals think that the Doctor has kidnapped a penguin. A frantic chase ensues with the Master interfering, causing the Doctor to get locked up. Meanwhile, the bad guy captures Peri and Frobisher. By this point, a future Dcotor has left a message for the companions. Frobisher uses his shapechanging to escape his cell and starts to investigate the bad guy's lair.

The Seventh Doctor and Ace visit 19th century Scotland where two elderly aristocrats lie on their deathbeds. The Doctor is all too willing to help cure them, especially since there's an extraterrestrial element to what's going on. The villain turns out to be the Master, who says he is working with a partner who is trying to torment the Doctor. The villain is our recurring bad guy, who snatches Ace in the very last panel of the issue.

The Eighth Doctor takes Grace Holloway (also a doctor) on a supposedly quiet and unexciting jaunt through the universe. They wind up at a planet with a big moral dilemma and have an adventure resolving it. At the end, the Doctor confronts the unnamed bad guy/kidnapper, who indeed snatches Grace at the end of the issue.

The Ninth Doctor takes Rose to a colossal monument dedicated by the richest man in the universe to the richest man in the universe (typical Doctor Who stuff, eh?). They have their adventure and run into the bad guy at the end, who explains that he is Adam, a minor character in one episode of the first series of the Doctor Who reboot. Adam worked at the vault on Earth where they found a Dalek. He uses the other alien technology in the vault to get revenge on the Doctor. The Doctor had invited Adam to go adventuring but then left him behind with some weird alien tech in his head. After the exposition, Adam knocks out the Doctor and Rose, kidnapping Rose and presumably taking her back to his base.

The Tenth Doctor takes Martha Jones to 1950s Hollywood and the Griffith Observatory. There's a film crew there, but it's not Rebel Without a Cause, just some B-picture sci-fi thriller. The show is behind schedule because of disappearing crew. The Doctor and Martha investigate with the expected results. Adam shows up at the end and gets the drop on the duo, carting off Martha. The Doctor comes to and sends his message back to Frobisher. 

The Eleventh Doctor starts off confronting Adam, who snatches Clara. Then the Doctor tries to find Adam's lair, which he eventually does. Adam explains why he's so angry at the Doctor and reveals the Master as his ally. The Doctor warns Adam of how evil the Master is. Adam is uninterested and delivers his ultimatum--he will kill all but one of the Doctor's companions; the Doctor chooses who will live. And thus, he chooses the others to die.

The big finale unites all eleven Doctors to fight Adam and the Master. Naturally, the Doctors free the companions while the duo release other minions to have a big fight scene. It all ends pretty much the way you'd expect.

I found the series mildly interesting. I wish they had gotten to the mega-team-up quicker and spent more time on that, rather than rushing through an adventure for each Doctor and then rushing through the ending. Individual stories had different artists, making the style shift a bit from issue to issue. Also, the art winds up being more and less good with so many people working on it. This book is a great idea but a mediocre execution.

Mildly recommended.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus (1964)

Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus (1964) written by Terry Nation and directed by John Gorrie

The First Doctor (William Hartnell) lands on a strange island on a strange planet called Marinus. The beach has sand and glass, the ocean is acid. One-man submarines (they look more like torpedoes) deliver some locals to the island. One of those locals menaces Susan (Carole Ann Ford), so they must be the bad guys. The Doctor and his companions head to the only building on the island. Inside they discover Arbitan (George Colouris), the last scientist in charge of the Conscience of Marinus, a machine that eliminates evil inclinations and thoughts from the planet's population. The machine was shut off when the Voord (those are the guys from the subs) rebelled and started taking advantage of the people who would not fight back against the Voord's violence. The scientists have decided to restart the machine with a stronger setting to overcome to Voord. The only problem is that four microchips from the machine have been scattered across the planet. All the other scientists, including Arbitan's daughter, have gone to get the chips but never came back. Arbitan enlists the Doctor's group to help him. Well, he throws up a force field around the TARDIS so they can't leave until they help him. They reluctantly agree.

They travel all over the planet, encountering different people in different situations (a forest full of evil plants; a trapper on a frozen mountain; a big city). They eventually join up with the daughter who helps them out. The story follows the standard solve problems/get captured/escape from capture routine that is in a lot of Doctor Who stories. The variety of problems is nice and viewers get a sense that the planet has all sorts of people on it. That part is fun. They could have been stand-alone single episodes except for the overarching mission.

The sets exhibit a variety of quality from well-done to barely finished. One city treats the TARDIS crew to a luxurious life and the room has plenty of statues and hanging decorations. On the other hand, there's an ice cave that looks like plastic wrap on cardboard boxes. The rubber-suited bad guys at the beginning are locals wearing rubber suits to protect themselves from the acid ocean, so it is not as bad as it looks.

Recommended--I found the show entertaining and I make allowances for their low-budget.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Sensorites (1964)

Doctor Who: The Sensorites (1964) written by Peter R. Newman and directed by Mervyn Pinfield and Frank Cox

The First Doctor (William Hartnell) lands the TARDIS on an Earth spaceship from the 28th century. The ship is trapped near the Sense-Sphere, where the locals (the Sensorites) have kept them. The locals do some brain manipulation on the humans but are otherwise not hostile. One of the crew has been driven mad--he was a geologist who discovered a valuable mineral on the planet. The locals fear being wiped out by humanity when they come to mine their homeworld. The Doctor works with the future humans and the Sensorites to resolve the situation.

The show is fairly interesting. The Sensorites' government is clearly patterned after Plato's Republic, with a leader class, a warrior class, and a working class. These classes live in harmony for the most part. The occasional bad eggs are messing up the system with their personal ambitions and xenophobia. They want to solve the problem by killing the humans. The good leaders are very mild and forgiving. The conflicts with the humans and the hard work of peaceful negotiation and trusting others makes for good drama. Even the costumes and makeup for the Sensorites looks good by Doctor Who standards.

Recommended.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol

Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol written by Graeme Curry and directed by Chris Clough

The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) travel to Terra Alpha, an Earth colony in the distant future. The planet has a domineering leader (Sheila Hancock) who wants to ensure all the citizens are happy. So they live in an oppressive society where no one is allowed to be unhappy or express any negative emotional states like disappointment. The Happiness Patrol is a corps of miniskirted women who go around capturing and/or executing the undesirables, who are known as "Killjoys." The Doctor and Ace start investigating the falsely happy society. They quickly run into the Candy Man, an executioner who seems more interested in experimenting with various sweets.

The show has a fun premise--the Doctor needs to alleviate oppression by letting the people be unhappy. The execution is not so great. The Candy Man looks very silly, as does his Candy Kitchen lair. The place should have been either an industrial kitchen or the witch's cottage from Hansel and Gretel, not a implausible mash-up of the two. The planet also has some mole-people living underground who help out the Doctor and Ace but only seem to be in the story to be helpers. They don't fit in with the society or the storyline. McCoy and Aldred are charming as always. Other minor characters are well performed but still can't quite sell the thin material they've been given. The interesting premise but the political satire is constantly shifted off stage for some very run-of-the-mill shenanigans.

Not recommended.

TV Review: Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden (1979)

Doctor Who: Nightmare of Eden (1979) written by Bob Baker and directed by Alan Bromly

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), Romana (Lalla Ward), and K-9 land on a space liner that's crashed into another ship. The two ships are stuck together and the two captains are stuck arguing over who's at fault while exchanging insurance information. The Doctor and Romana pose as insurance agents and get involved. The situation gets much more complicated as monsters show up (this is Doctor Who, after all) and a bizarre scientist shows off his zoological collection from various planets (any guesses as to where the monsters are coming from?). And a minor drug smuggling plot gets higher and higher in priority as the show goes on.

The first episode is a bit all over the place with the plot, introducing a fair number of characters who have seemingly uninterrelated problems. Figuring out what's going on is a bit challenging, like parsing "uninterrelated." Part of the problem is the low-quality effects--the crash of the two ships is shown on screen but viewers can't really tell that's what happened until later in the episode when the  characters talk about it. On the other hand, the acting is quite good. The drugged out characters are convincingly loopy; the kooky scientist is entertainly weird; Baker and Ward have great comic chemistry. All the various strands of plot lines eventually come together but not in the most convincing way.

Slightly recommended.

TV Review: Doctor Who: Shada (1979)

Doctor Who: Shada (1979) written by Douglas Adams and directed by Pennant Roberts

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) are summoned to Cambridge by Professor Chronotis (Denis Carey), who is a retired Time Lord posing as a Cambridge don. The only problem is Chronotis can't remember why he summoned them. A bit of the professorial senility has set in, which is probably why he loaned out an important Gallifrean book to one of the undergraduates. It's an ancient text with enormous power. Another time and space traveler has shown up and is looking for the book as well. He has a creepy grey sphere that he uses to steal other people's memories. What better device to set up end of episode cliffhangers?

This story is a bit legendary because the production was shut down half-way through making it. Strikes caused a lockdown at the BBC. A bit of the content was used in The Five Doctors but otherwise it had remained unseen for a long time. For the thirtieth anniversary of Doctor Who in 1993, they edited together what they had and Tom Baker filled in the gaps with descriptions of the missing action. Having Baker in a Doctor Who museum exhibit telling bits of the story makes for interesting viewing. The plot is good and the performances are a lot of fun. The special effects are the usual mishmash of good sound effects and dubious visual effects. The Cambridge location shooting is nice, especially if you've been there before.

Recommended, well worth putting up with the shortcomings. Beware--there is a more recent version of this with the choppy animations of other Doctor Who restorations that is generally poorly reviewed.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Ribos Operation (1978)

Doctor Who: The Ribos Operation (1978) written by Robert Holmes and directed by George Spenton-Foster

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) is joined by Romana (Mary Tamm), a Time Lady who is assigned by the White Guardian (Cyril Luckham) to help the Doctor search for the components to the Key to Time. The Key is a powerful device, too powerful to be left in the hands of just anyone. The Black Guardian (whom viewers do not see) is also looking for the components. In addition to Romana, the Guardian gives the Doctor a locator device for the components. The device leads them to the planet Ribos.

Ribos is a fairly primitive planet, currently in a medieval period. The planet is centrally located, making it an ideal spot for Graff (Paul Seed), a petty and shouty prince, to take over. Graff was not allowed back in his kingdom after a war of conquest because the people didn't like his pettiness or his shoutiness. He's hoping to buy the planet from a consortium represented by Garron (Iain Cuthbertson). Garron is actually a con man trying to bilk money from the prince. When the Doctor shows up, he's not sure if Garron is a thief or an agent of the Black Guardian. The usual hijinks ensue.

The story is entertaining with a more original setting than most. The medieval world keeps the sets and costumes simple. There is a dodgy-looking monster that appears a few times but he's not the focus of the episode. Mostly it's about sorting out the con and trying to get the component. The initial relationship between the Doctor and Romana is a bit frosty on his part since he doesn't want a companion to watch over. She starts out a bit young and naive but she catches on quick. Baker and Tamm have good chemistry, promising a good run together. The show is also interesting as it is the first arc of a set of six series all involving the components from the Key to Time.

Recommended.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet (1978)

Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet (1978) written by Douglas Adams and directed by Pennant Roberts

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Time Lady Romana (Mary Tamm) continue their hunt for the components of the Key to Time started in The Ribos Operation. They travel to the planet Calufrax only to find it not there. The TARDIS had trouble landing, which they initially assumed was just tempramental machinery (though Romana wants to fly the TARDIS by the instruction manual, which the Doctor disregards). They discover the planet is called Zanak. The planet's society goes through periods of prosperity which are heralded by a change in the stars in the sky. That is, the pattern of the stars completely changes. The Doctor and Romana investigate, finding out that the planet jumps around the galaxy, landing on smaller planets to mine them for valuable resources. Such a plan must be stopped and they get to work.

The show has a fairly interesting plot with some surprises along the way. The writer is the same fellow who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so humor abounds. The captain of Zanak is a bit like a Vogon captain, all shouty and threatening death to those who disobey. His cartoonishness has a better explanation than uncreative writing. Baker and Tamm make a good team and work well as individuals.

Recommended.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Green Death (1973)

Doctor Who: The Green Death (1973) written by Robert Sloman and directed by Michael E. Briant

The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) has finally gotten permission from the Time Lords to leave Earth. He tries to convince his companion, U.N.I.T. employee Jo Grant (Katy Manning), to go off-world but she wants to go to Wales. She sees news of a fatal mining accident seemingly caused by Global Chemicals. She wants to join in the protests and leaves the Doctor behind. The mining accident turns out to be much more bizarre and sinister--a man was brought up with glowing green patches on his skin. Global Chemicals is in charge of the mine site and doesn't want anyone investigating what's in the mine. The Doctor eventually catches up to Jo, though he has to go down into the mine since she's gone to help out another miner trapped down there. They find some creepy crawlies down there. But is the subterranean threat worse than Global Chemicals, which has been brainwashing its employees and is run by an unseen character called "The Boss"?

The story is an early 1970s cautionary tale about the evils of fossil fuel. Jo teams up with a local professor who's developing mushrooms as meat substitutes when he's not protesting Global Chemicals's activities. The ambiguity about the villain of the piece is interesting and keeps the viewer engaged. I found the revelation of who "The Boss" is disappointing. The evil maggots from the underground actually look decent though the episode has a lot of low-budget-looking green screen work that I found distracting.

Mildly recommended--this is a fairly run-of-the-mill classic Doctor Who series.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (1988)

Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (1988) written by Stephen Wyatt and directed by Alan Wareing

The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) go to the planet Segonax for the Psychic Circus, the titular Greatest Show in the Galaxy. Ace hates clowns so she is reluctant. More reluctant is two of the circus regulars who flee the big top only to be hunted down by the Chief Clown (Ian Reddington). The regulars split up, resulting in the capture of one and the death of the other when she stumbles upon an abandoned hippie bus with an evil android ticket-taker. The Doctor and Ace stop at a roadside fruit and snack stand run by a local who is down on the circus and anyone who wants to go. They have to leg it to the tent. On the way, they discover famous explorer Captain Cook and his companion. The captain is trying to unearth a giant robot. Or at least his companion is, while Cook blathers on about his exploits. The Doctor and Ace eventually move on, making it to the circus. They find a very small audience (a family of three). The Doctor is immediately recruited to be a performer, though it's the sort of command performance that involves a jail cell.

The plot is all over the place at the beginning in a surreal and disjointed way. The first (of four) episodes introduces a lot of characters and I was nervous that they wouldn't get pulled together. The story became a lot more coherent in short order. McCoy's goofy comic sense shines and he gets to do a bit of very credible-looking stage magic (nowadays they'd just use CGI or quick cuts). Like Patrick Troughton and David Tenant, McCoy has the knack for seamlessly switching between comedic and  dramatic performing as the Doctor. Reddington is good as the Chief Clown with a performance that is sinister and just under over-the-top (a very hard mark to hit). The rest of the cast is good, too. The circus setting is fun and sets up an interesting and creative shift at the end.

Recommended--the patience you need to get through the set-up is highly rewarded.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Macra Terror (1967 and 2019)

Doctor Who: The Macra Terror (1967 and 2019) written by Ian Stuart Black and directed by John Davies (1967) and Charles Norton (2019)

The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) arrives at a futuristic Earth colony somewhere in space. The colony is idyllic in appearance. The workers are happy and well-fed with celebrations almost every night. Cheery music announces work shift changes. The only problem is the occasional worker who claims he sees creatures crawling around at night. A worker named Medok is just such a fellow. He's been assigned for "re-education" but flees imprisonment. When the TARDIS lands just outside the colony, Medok bumps into it. The Doctor and his companions (Jamie (Frazer Hines), Polly (Anneke Wills), and Ben (Michael Craze)) subdue Medok. His pursuers thank the Doctor for capturing the insane criminal. The Doctor isn't so sure Medok is crazy. They all go back to the colony where the strangers are feted by the locals. The Doctor is still curious about Medok and the overly Utopian nature of the colony. His investigation reveals some darker secrets.

This series of episodes is another case where the video has been lost but the audio survives. The BBC created animation based on production photos to pair with the audio. Since the animation is not interwoven with leftover footage from the Troughton series (which was filmed in black and white), this series is in color (or colour, I suppose). The animation isn't great but it gets the job done and the Macra creatures probably look better than they did in the original broadcast.

The story is a little slow, a reflection of the pacing back then. It's a standard Doctor Who plot and well executed. Troughton is delightful as always, even in animated form.

Recommended for classic Doctor Who fans, if you are okay with the animation replacement.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983)

Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983) written by Terrance Dicks and directed by Peter Moffatt

The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) experiences some cosmic illness and is sucked back to the Time Lords' home world of Gallifrey. But not to just any part of Gallifrey--he's been pulled into the Death Zone. The Death Zone is an ancient area where combatants were placed to provide gladiator-style entertainment. The Zone was sealed off by Rassilon, a Time Lord with great powers and an even greater moral sense. As it happens, not only is the Fifth Doctor hijacked, but also the First Doctor (played by Richard Hurndall, replacing the late William Hartnell), the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), and the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee). The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) is also kidnapped but he gets trapped in the time vortex and does not arrive on Gallifrey.The four Doctors travel to the Dark Tower at the heart of the Death Zone. The Tower is Rassilon's tomb, a place that legendarily can grant amazing powers.

The other Time Lords see the disturbance of the Doctor's timeline and send in the Master (Anthony Ainley) to get the Doctor out of the Death Zone. Sending in his worst enemy seems like a bad idea and none of the Doctors wants to work with him. They go through a lot of shenanigans to get to Rassilon's burial chamber, where the true mastermind behind the scheme reveals himself and tries both to achieve immortality and eliminate the Doctors.

The episode celebrated the twentieth year of Doctor Who. Baker did not want to come back for this special episode, so footage from an unaired episode was used to shoe-horn his Doctor in. The plot is a nice excuse to bring back not only the previous incarnations of the Doctor but also a lot of beloved companions and villains, some in minor cameo roles. Viewers need a bit of familiarity with these Doctors in order to appreciate a lot of the jokes and references. Without that background, the episode is probably much less interesting and enjoyable.

Recommended, but be sure to have some knowledge of the first several incarnations of the Doctor.