We’re coming to the end of Classic Who, there’s only one more small bit to cover after today before the end of the series, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at today’s choices.
Year 25: 1987 to 1988 - Remembrance of the Daleks
Urban fantasy fans take note, this the first of two serials of this era written by future Rivers of London scribe Ben Aaronovitch. I’ll quickly mention here the second one, Battlefield; it’s one of the first Who serials I watched as part of that 1992/3 repeat season, and it’s one I have a lot of fondness for; it brings back the Brigadier and UNIT, but facing something that’s completely unlike anything they faced in the Pertwee era, Arthurian Knights. It has gotten a bit of stick for some of the directorial and design choices, but the story is strong enough to overcome those easily, especially in beating the Moffat era to the punch of being all about the consequences of something to come in the Doctor's future.
But focusing on this story, this one opens the 25th anniversary season with a bang. In fact, with it returning to Totters Lane and Coal Hill School, what’s implied to be only a few days after the events of An Unearthly Child, it works far better as an anniversary story than the official serial Silver Nemesis does. It’s a better outing for classic monsters in the story too, as this serial has the Daleks in not just their best story of the eighties, but at the best they had been in years. The props look great, especially the new Imperial and Special Weapons designs, the new extermination effect works well, and has influenced how it’s done in New Who with the skeleton effect too, and they aren’t hampered by a story that tries to do too many things with them at once. What’s more, it has more focus on the racial purity angle of the Daleks than ever, and uses it well both to tell a thrilling story of them in a civil war, and parallels it with the casual racism of the early sixties; though this has the show in a way revisit the time and place that gave birth to it, it doesn’t sugarcoat the era in the slightest.
This is also a notable moment for the regular characters too; this is the true start of what’s become known as the Cartmel Masterplan, an attempt by script editor Andrew Cartmel to give a sense of mystery back to the Doctor. As such, it has him in a very different mode to Season 24, and Sylvester McCoy pulls it off wonderfully, especially in moments like the above exchange, which a lot of fans do highlight as perhaps the best moment of the story, him considering the implications of what he’s about to do. Also, it’s the first solo story for Ace as a companion, and it’s a fine one for her too, Sophie Aldread getting a lot to work with, from her quiet anger at finding a “No Coloureds” sign, to of course her beating up a Dalek with a Time Lord-science infused baseball bat. Many of these threads were expanded upon in the Target novelisation, which me and my brother had a copy of long before we actually watched this story. It adds a tonne to the story, including flashbacks to Gallifrey, and overall it can be seen as the true origin point for the style the New Adventures novels of the 90s would run with. Watch the serial or read the book, this is a phenomenal story of the show’s later years, a great example of how it was firmly on the mend during this period, it’s a must see.
Year 26: 1988 to 1989 - The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
Being pretty humble with that title, huh? This serial is all about Who itself in a way, with the Psychic Circus the story’s set at being a stand in for it. I find it remarkable that the show can have a storyline that’s so self-reflective of not just the state it was currently in, but addressing an era one would have thought it would have chosen to just forget and move past. In a wider sense, it can be seen as a story about any artistic endeavour that has sold out, becoming just content for forces that demand more satisfaction, more of the entertainers and creatives than they can give. In many ways, looking at the way big franchises have gotten in the current streaming and blockbuster age, and the way the audiences are starting to turn away from them even as the higher ups are trying to bleed more money from them, the points made here start to seem positively prophetic. Why yes, I did find a way to link an 80s Doctor Who story to the situation around Coyote vs. Acme, go me!
Regardless of the metatextual elements, this is just a hugely fun story on so many levels. The mad selection of characters that really shouldn’t work together, yet somehow do. Sights as bizarre as being threatened by a robot bus conductor being surprisingly chilling. Hints a wider backstory, with more of the Doctor hinting at greater depths than before. McCoy using a lot of his experience in vaudeville to great effect in the finale. A chief clown who, though in theory a traditional Pierrot style, is clearly going for a David Bowie in the video to Ashes to Ashes look. The ending includes a perfect “Cool guys don’t look at explosions” moment… urgh, there’s just so much to enjoy here! If you are a New Who fan looking to get into Classic Who, I often say you should start with the McCoy era, not just because I really like it, but because many of the stories feel like an ideal bridge between the old style, and the Russell T Davies years, and this is a great example.
Next time, one last serial from Who’s TV run, and then a look at the start of what would become the main source for new stories in the first part of the 90s…
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