This story in a nutshell: War between Earth and Draconia
lingers and the Master is the one firing the shots...
Sparkling Dialogue: 'An Emperor who does not rule deposes
himself!'
'The Ogrons have got the finest defence mechanism of all -
stupidity!'
'I was never very fond of nursery rhymes...'
The Good:
* Much like The
Space Pirates before it, the modelwork is of a very high standard through
Frontier in Space (although in my opinion not quite as good) and you only have
to watch the documentaries on the DVD to see how a lot of these models were
cobbled together in desperation and from parts of other shows. It doesn't show
and the wealth of good modelwork (still my preference over CGI I have to say)
really helps to sell the scale of this story and give a sense of journey
between the many destinations we visit. A huge round of applause to the effect
team.
* Mac Hulke really
shows his contempories how these futuristic adventures should be written right
from the off by allowing the 26th Century characters to talk like normal, every
day people from the 20th Century. Watch the first scene, through two people
having a chat at work about the current Earth/Draconian you get some clever
world building, a healthy injection of character and a sense that these are
real people with jobs and dreams of a better life. That kind of earthy realism
is spread throughout the story to every character.
* He might have The
Time Monster on his record (although I would still say there are some
effectively realised moments throughout that story) but I think that Paul
Bernard is quite an underrated director (certainly by Barry Letts and Terrance
Dicks on the DVD commentaries). He might be using old school techniques but
that is because they work and I love his excessive reliance on zooms, pans and
fades to created a feeling of movement and time passing in the story. It means
that although the Doctor and Jo spend the majority of this six parter in an
assortment of prison cells that there is a swift stride to the tale that keeps
it moving. With relatively little money he manages to assemble a creative team
that carves out a vision of the future that really stands out, taking us to
alien planets, prisons on the moon and a corporate version of the Earth. Black
news casters (unheard of at the time) spreading propaganda, stock footage of
riots, broadcasts of politicians calling for war, reports of conflict around
the world ('In Los Angeles demonstrators burnt an effigy of you!') - so
many smart little details that help to build an impressive picture of a planet
on the verge of war. Between this and Day of the Daleks, Bernard carves himself
out as a director to watch. What a shame he would never work on the show again.
* Bernard clearly
has a decent hand on the actors since this story is packed full of terrific
performances, enhanced by Hulke's memorable dialogue. Vera Fusek (the
President) and Michael Hawkins (General Williams) have both been extremely well
cast, both actors hinting a relationship beyond what we see on screen and enjoy
both fraught and gentle moments trying to hold the volatile situation on Earth
together. It took several viewings of this to realise that Cross was played by
the same actor who delighted us with Governor Lobos in The Space Museum. This a
chance to see him having a stab a more animated role and the results are so
different. There's an unspoken relationship between Cross and the Governor of
the lunar prison as well, which rears its ugly head when he fails to kill the
Professor.
* The beauty of the
set design cannot be ignored either with the designers having to live up to the
challenge of bringing to life three very different cultures. With Bernard
shooting the sets to their maximum capacity there is a real sense of space to
the story which helps with its operatic feel. I doubt there was much more money
thrown at this than your average six parter but with so many different sets in
different locations, all of them pulled off with some style, it just feels
like there is a greater budget. On Earth, the exteriors create a sense of this
story taking place at a later date, opting for a very concrete, build up
utopia, all straight lines and tall gantries (on a location that was probably
considered very futuristic at the time). Function over aesthetics. This
depressing, washed out view of the future was adopted by Blake's 7 for
practically its entire 4 year run.
* Isn't it
astonishing that the Draconians have never appeared in Doctor Who since
Frontier in Space (beyond a couple of appearances in spin off material) given
their critical success? Given JNT's love of giving the fans a hand job to the
past and the current wealth of classic series creations being re-invented in
the new series, this species is something of a glaring omission to those who
have been given another chance to shine. John Friedlander's masks are
extraordinarily good, allowing the actors facial movement (trust me this wasn't
always the case) and the chance to emote and the emerald green Samurai
aesthetic that the designers have gone for really makes the race stand out in
rich colours and stylish design. They have the look and feel of a race that
enjoys its own culture and identity and has a life away from the programme.
Most alien cultures feel as though they have been custom made for a Doctor Who
story and wouldn't have the substance to last beyond it. Not so the Draconians.
* The return of the
Ogrons is a great surprise, not least because they hint at the true masterminds
behind this operation as far back as episode one. Hulke cleverly subverts this
by mentioning the Daleks and throwing the audience off the scent. They are
something to be pointed and laughed at in Frontier in Space (usually by the
Master) although it is fair to say that they are effective muscle too. And what
an entrance, blasting onto the cargo ship, shooting the Doctor in the back and
towering over Jo (this really feels like it should have been a cliff-hanger).
The great lumbering oafs come crashing through doors (clearly they haven't been
taught how to use a handle) and massacre a ton of guards like swatting flies in
their attempt to capture the Doctor and Jo.
* The political
manoeuvres that play out between Earth and Draconia with the Master in the
middle winding them both up are exquisitely handled so that it is simple enough
for children to understand but complex enough to engage the adults too. This is
space opera on a grand scale (with monsters, alien planets, shoot outs and
space battles) but much of the political wrangling is fairly sophisticated too.
It helps that the actors are driving every nuance out of the script that they
can find. The President intends to cling onto diplomatic relations with the
Draconians as long as possible and watching how far the Master will go to test
her resolve is half the fun. Williams' history with the Draconians, firing a
shot in haste which started the first Draconian conflict, adds some depth to
his presence and opinion. He tries to make excuses for his actions when called
upon but he knows that he acted rashly. Was he trying to use this conflict as
an explanation for what happened before. He proves himself to be the better man
ultimately by apologising and agreeing to set the record straight this time around.
* When the
escape/capture routine is just on the verge of getting dull we are flung to a
spanking new location, this time a prison on the moon. It's another vivid
setting, I especially love the screens that looks out on the desolate lunar
surface. It feels like Hulke has sketched out this corner of the galaxy in
vivid detail. Thousands of political prisoners who have criticized the
government incarcerated in one place they can't cause any more trouble.. 'I
sometimes think there are more members of the peace party than back on
Earth...' Adding details of Sirius IV, 'a tin pot' colony as General
Williams calls it and how it has been granted Dominion status generates more
interest in this sector. Have we ever enjoyed a more comprehensive setting outside
of a Robert Holmes script?
* Has there ever
been a Doctor Who story where the padding as pleasurable as this? With Terrance
Dicks on hand with his quick fix solutions to any plot problem, the Doctor and
Jo could easily escape their any confinements much sooner than they do. However
Hulke and Dicks know they have to pad out six episodes half the fun of this
story is the dialogue they share when they are incarcerated. Cue outrageous
tales of peace conferences, insane escape plan ideas, the Doctor recounting his
trial by the Time Lords (and putting his own egotistical spin on it), Jo's
glorious babbling when she is trying to distract the Master whilst the Doctor
is flying about outside the prison ship (basically giving him a stiff telling
off for giving the Master such a hard time when he keeps offering him a share
of the galaxy) and Jo's very funny prison scenes with an Ogron who chomps on
her banana. These dialogue scenes are some of my favourite in the whole story,
showing off actors who are extremely comfortable with each other ('Thank you
Miss Grant, we'll let you know...').
* Yes you can see
the string that is holding Pertwee up in some scenes (although I like to think
that is some kind of tether so the astronaut cannot fly too far away from the
ship) but the sequences of the Doctor out in space clinging on the side of the
ship are very nicely realised. Shot on film, atmospherically lit and for once a
character is put in a spacesuit that looks genuinely functional rather than
sparkly and fashionable. Very nicely done and another feather in the cap for
Frontier in Space.
* Usually at the
end of a long Doctor Who story the money starts to run out but there is no sign
of that in this tale with a visit to two planets in the final two episodes. The
Draconian scenes are based around the throne room with its billowing emerald
green curtains, incense wafting in the air and an impressive sized throne for
the Emperor to sit on and lord it up to his subjects. With John Woodnutt
turning up and pouring every ounce of Shakespeare into his performance as the
Emperor, it is a refreshingly exotic setting and the one where the Master
attempts to stage his greatest coup. An attack on the palace with Ogrons
disguised as human soldiers.
* There aren't many
scenes in Doctor Who that make you goosebumps all over like the one at the end
of Frontier in Space where the Master reveals that his allies are the Daleks,
gliding dramatically to the edge of a precipice. We are used to seeing the
Daleks being given a gosh wow introduction at the end of episode one but is
this the first time since The Space Museum where they have turned up to shock
us at the end of the tale? It's a fantastic twist because it adds a whole new
dimension to the story (which was pretty complex to start with) and kick starts
a whole new story to take place after this one. It puts the whole twelve part
storyline on a pretty ambitious scale, the Daleks weakening the two strongest
powers in this corner of the galaxy by setting them at each other and then
coming at them both with 10,000 strong army of Daleks. A shame that the Doctor
put a spanner in the works with both plans because that would have been one
hell of a fight.
The Bad:
* Weirdly the
Drashigs don't work half as well in this story as they did in Carnival of
Monsters. It's a good thing that they are contained to a few seconds of
hallucinatory madness on Jo's part.
* The end of
episode five isn't so much a cliff-hanger as a pause in the action. Unless we
are supposed to be shocked that the Ogrons are attempting to rescue the Master?
* 'One dominant
life form. A large and savage reptile...' or more like an orange duvet
having a conniption fit and grunting with ecstasy. Not quite the least
convincing monster this show has ever put out but it ranks pretty high all the
same. Bernard was right to limit its exposure as much as possible.
* I complained in
my previous review about not bothering to give certain characters and plots the
ending they deserved, instead leaving their fates unresolved. The same thing
happens in Frontier in Space but it doesn't bother me anywhere near as much
because this is the first half of a twelve episode epic. Williams and the
Prince Regent head off to tell their respective societies the truth and restore
peace so they can fight the Daleks. We can only assume they made it because it
is never mentioned again. It is quite remiss of Terrance Dicks, I would have
expected him to at least have had a mention in Planet of the Daleks that the
status quo had been restored.
* As for the
direction of that final scene? Actually it is the editing which is mostly at
fault, cutting away from the action too quickly before we have figured out what
has happened. The Master simply vanishes and the Doctor is dragged into the
TARDIS by Jo in a terminal condition. It's a shame that such an lucid, well
presented story should end on a confusing hiccup like this.
2 comments:
Cracking review as ever. Makes me want to fire this one up and watch it soon. cheers Paolo
Well, that does it! The DVD comes out on the weekend for a viewing! Would be great to see the Draconians back on our screens in the new series but it comes down to the writing and how they'd work in today's WHO. Excellent review, Joe ��
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