By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriros and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright CBS
I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.
Now you should really know who the Robinsons are in Lost in Space. As Earth is dying they are sent to Alpha Centauri in order to begin colonisation efforts for the rest of the planet. However they have a saboteur on board, one Doctor Smith, who intends for the mission to fail and the entire family to die. If you’ve watched the recent television series and the Matt Le Blanc movie from several years ago then you will be familiar with this but the original series that began it all featured many aliens and villains. It was a huge hit and quickly the focus moved from the Robinsons to the villainous Doctor Smith. Trapped with the Robinsons he was always seeking a way home forming a close bond with young Will Smith. Smith became something of a naughty child as he took every opportunity to get home. He invariably fell foul of his own machinations and alien of the week but in the only two parter of the three year run, the Keeper proved to be the most dangerous of all.
Lost in Space also had many famous actors take part in the show so for the role of the Keeper they cast Michael Rennie from the classic movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. The classic 1951 movie is given a small homage when the Keeper is questioned as to how he can speak perfect English. He replies that he learned it from broadcasts that came from Earth just as Klaatu did.
His presence is discovered when Doctor Smith is caught in one of his cages thanks to a hypnotic signal. The Keeper travels the universe collecting two of every species and keeping them on his ship. Upon meeting the Robinsons he decides he wants two of them for his collection.
The Keeper is as arrogant as he is charming as seen in a conversation with Don West upon seeing him with Judy Robinson. He comments on what a handosme pair they are. Don retorts they are not animals but intelligent beings. Smirking the Keeper simply says, “You’re entitled to your opinion of course.”
This is an intersting insight to the Keeper’s character as he does not see either of them as humans with a potential future but mere animals that can be caged and admired by him. He decides the younger ones would be a better fit and lures Will and Penny to his ship dazzling them with the alien animals and almost gets them into a cage. They try to escape but he uses his staff to control them. He almost succeeds but Dr Smith is also mesmerised and knocks the staff out of his hand. Despite numerous attempts to steal the children, the Keeper finds them too much of a nuisance to bother with and intends to leave. But Dr Smith takes his chance to steal the Keeper’s ship and accidentally lets loose all the animals inside.
The resulting stampede results in some animals being killed. Furious the Keeper tells the Robinsons unless they deliver Will and Penny to him, he will leave all the animals loose. With so many savage beasts now in the area, the Robinsons, John and Maureen and Don and Judy offer themselves.While the Keeper’s morals recognise it as a noble gesture, he refuses their offer. He takes the opportunity for self gain and fully intends to take full advantage of it. However he is injured by one of his animals and it is only Will and Penny’s compassion that makes him realise these humans are not mere animals to be caged. They are beings of compassion and self sacrifice. These qualities break through the Keeper’s mindset allowing them to stay free. He learns that not all beings are specimens for his zoo.
In the closing moments, he displays a sharp sense of humour when he tells the Robinsons he has rounded up all his animals but has left one to punish them. In the clearing they find a cage and in that cage is Doctor Smith.
Michael Rennie’s performance is flawless and of a standard that only he could bring. He made the Keeper a multilayered character that can engage and repulse you at the same time. it certainly raises the show’s respectability level.
This episode is deep for the show but highlights again that the Robinsons and Doctor Smith’s greatest weapon is their love for each other. It is this quality shown even for a rascal like Smith that breaks through the Keeper’s alien views to leave them in peace. Many villains on Lost in Space were pantomime and one dimensional but the Keeper stands head and shoulders above the rest to shine bright all these years later in a simple tale of what separates us from the animals.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
In a stately home in Bath in 1813, a ball is taking place; a ball where not everyone is what they seem and plans are afoot to cosplay the world to death.
Deadly cosplayers were done brilliantly in Supernatural and here we have an alien race called the Chuldur who literally take other forms to experience everything there is. Birdlike in appearance they are indeed a worthy foe much in the same vein as the Family of Blood. By stealing the appearances of others, they intend to go all the way to the top and start world wars just for the fun of it.
This episode is very much fun with the Bridgerton references and interpersonal dramas of love and status and a future of destitution because they don’t marry for love but status. The Doctor and Ruby are loving it and the introduction of psychic earrings are fun additions that become vital to the plot. Also the return of the psychic paper is very welcome.
But the Chuldur are very much a sideshow because this episode is much more focused on the Doctor and his relationship with intergalactic hunter known only as Rogue. I do wish they could have added in a Boba Fett reference though; Disney is involved after all.
Initially the psychic earrings tip them off to something not of this time and the sonic screwdriver leads the Doctor to Rogue. It’s a nice touch to see the Doctor’s observation skills in full flow as he remarks that the balcony is the perfect place to see all the exits and the room. So begins a playful cat and mouse between the two as Rogue believes the Doctor is the Chuldur he is after. Rogue brings the Doctor to his ship while he dismisses the Tardis as a shed. Of course his reaction when entering the Tardis is typical which the Doctor revels in. Both the Chuldur and the Doctor are shapeshifters so Rogue traps him to send him to an incinerator. Rogue is a Kylie Minogue fan which the Doctor loves to embarass him with as well as calling out Rogue named himself after a Dungeons and Dragons species.
The psychic paper says they are hot which flusters the Doctor but a bond develops between them. It isn’t until all of the Doctor’s past faces appear that Rogue is suitably impressed and more so than when he boards the Tardis. But the Doctor changes the trap to send the Chuldur to an empty dimension rather than kill them. The Doctor sees himself in Rogue as they have both lost people. Companions come, companion fall.
I don’t think the Doctor’s life has ever been put in such a beautiful way before as Rogue describes his own. “We travelled together, we had fun, you know. Then a day came along and at the end of that day I lost them.”
“I lost everyone.”
This loss prompts the Doctor to offer Rogue a place aboard the Tardis. We even get a shade of the first Doctor when he turns his nose up at the use of the word Doc.
But the talking point is of course when the Doctor and Rogue kiss. The dance and marriage proposal is there to fool the Chuldur into chasing them into the trap so i’m not really going to explore that. I am reminded of the Star Trek the Next Generation episode the Host where Beverly Crusher tells Odan the symbiote, that perhaps human love has not evolved to let us see beyond the body. Immediately people are going to cry out the Doctor is not gay and is destroying the character due to more woke business. Yes the modern era has seen him more sexual emotionally yet still keeping the line drawn to not being sexual physically. There was a huge opportunity wasted in not exploring the Doctor when he became the 13th Doctor. What does that mean when he beomes a woman? Given the Yaz in love with the Doctor storyline, you could interpret it as no matter what form the Doctor takes he is still attracted to females yet never acts on it. That’s sloppy but typical of he Chibnall era.
So here if you look at the scene it is actually Rogue that instigates the kiss with the Doctor rather than the other way about. I know there will be woke outcry over it but look at it in perspective. As a species will we evolve to be omnisexual just like Jack Harkness? With Ruby about to die, the Doctor’s early conversation about loss hits home. Just like the ninth Doctor fighting the Slitheen in Downing Street. he could save the world and lose Rose. Here, to save the Earth he has to jettison Ruby and the Chuldur to an empty dimension. There is no way he can let his friend die and would find another way that could end up with the Chuldur being triumphant.
He promised to keep her safe and cannot do it until Rogue steps in. The theme here could be simply viewed as every other person that gave their lives after meeting the Doctor just like Harriet Jones as Davros revealed in Journey’s End. The Doctor inspires people even bounty hunters to follow a better way and when in an impossible position Rogue does what the Doctor cannot do. He saves Ruby and the day while sending himself to literal Hell. Yes it could also be seen as one love sacrificing itself to save another but it is a multilayered thing.
So is our perception of this behind the times? If we do evolve to an omnisexual place then this would seem very normal and not a big deal at all. But with the Bridgerton background, it fits right in with the scandal to end all scandals of two men dancing and proposing marriage stirs things up.
As Sarah Jane Smith once said, “Pain and loss they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it’s a world or a relationship, everything has its time and everything ends.” Pain and loss is part and parcel of travelling with the Doctor bu there is also hope. There is a chance Rogue can be found one day but for now the Doctor must dwell on what could have been and slips the ring Rogue offered him in the fake proposal on to his finger lest he forget.
Not that Ruby is forgotten in all this as she hold her own against the social expectations of the upper class which always sounds like Up Their Ass with their regal morals and view of the world. Her almost death and subsequent pretence to be a Chuldur are not down to whatever power lies within her but her own wits and cunning especially when you have a pair of earrings that can turn you into a kick ass hero. Part of me though is aware of the short run of episodes and keeping the Doctor and Ruby apart does not let them get to the intimate levels as seen with Sarah Jane, Martha, Tegan or Jo Grant. They can hug all they want but those moments are missing.
Why we have such a short run is beyond me because next week is the penultimate episode of the season when we learn what is going on with Ruby and what lies within the vaults of UNIT hidden from even the Doctor.
So Rogue was a nice character development episode that put cosplayers in a whole new light.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright Disney
So Mae goes after her second victim Jedi Master Torbin in his meditation centre and she fails spectacularly. This fight was entertaining as Torbin didn’t move a muscle. His Force bubble saved him. Again we get more questions raised here. What unfinished business does she have with him? Is there a reason Mae demands her opponents to attack her with everything they have? Is she proving something to herself or her mysterious master?
It isn’t long before the story gets more complicated and gives us even more questions. Mae has a friend Qimir who gives her a poison which this time she offers to Torbin. Torbin has been in this state for ten years and Mae’s words about admitting what he did by taking his own life throws the audience. So the stuffy righteous Jedi did something so bad the night Mae and Osha’s family died on Brendok that Torbin retreated into a coma state then came out of it so he could end his life.
Last time I thought Mae wanted to kill all Jedi but in fact she has only four in her sights. Indara and Torbin are dead. That only leaves Sol and a wookie Jedi Kelnacca. Kelnacca is on a remote forest world called Khofar while Mae faces off against Sol on Olega, the location of the Jedi temple. This fight is beautifully executed and really showcases Sol’s control over his gifts as well as Lee Jung Jae’s martial arts skills.
Mae fails as Yord and Jecki close in and in a twist Mae discovers Osha is alive and well. Were both girls victims of some plan that went wrong? Sol tries to find out the identity of Mae’s mysterious master but not even she knows who he is. Or at least, we are assuming it is a he. So who is on the right side here?
Mae or Osha? or neither?
Trapped by the Jedi rules, Sol is left frustrated but they head to find Kelnacca before Mae gets there. We end the episode with Kelnacca scaring off two scavengers that attempt to raid his home. The sight of a wookie using the Force is a shocker but it got me thinking.
By the way, he is played by The Force Awakens trilogy’s Chewbacca, Joonas Suotamo. But in a way Disney has missed a trick here. While a wookie Jedi has appeared in other mediums, the first television appearance of one should have been a much bigger deal.
Kelnacca, yes I want the figure, was in the promo material but for me, it would have been smarter to keep that secret. There is no drama or appeal in the reveal. It is said he is a wookie and the third target but wouldn’t it have been better to hide the fact the he is a Jedi ala Marvel style. Yes, we are getting surprises along the way but this character should have been revealed in a much more dramatic and story twist way. We haven’t seen Sol with a lightsabre yet but I can’t wait. His skills are being drip fed to us as here where he simply uses his body to defeat Mae, countering her every move and freezing her so he can talk to her about Osha. Equally Mae using the dirt on the ground to escape was cool and worked perfectly.
I have a feeling that Sol is much closer to both of them than we actually know yet. I’ve got my theory about the identity of Mae’s mysterious master so it will be interesting to see if I am right. But after these two episodes we have questions; questions born from the fact we have already been side swiped by our own assumptions of the storyline’s direction.
While not having the foresight to amp up the drama where the wookie is concerned, Disney have delivered a story populated with interesting characters and dangled enough carrots to bring me back for more.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
A hundred years before the rise of the Empire, it is a time of peace. The Jedi order and the Galactic Republic have prospered for centuries without a war.
But in the dark corners of the galaxy, a powerful few learn to use the Force in secret. One of them, a lone assassin risks discovery to seek revenge…
The shit is about to hit the fan.
So here we go on what has been advertised as someone bad hunting down and killing Jedi. From the trailers it was a distinct murder mystery vibe, serial killer almost and the first thing I did was see what the word acolyte actually meant. I was fairly certain but just wanted to check anyway in case there was a double meaning given the Jedi and Sith history.
Photos copyright Disney
An acolyte: one who assists a member of the clergy in a liturgical service by performing minor duties. 2 : one who attends or assists a leader : follower.
So we open with an assassination attempt on a Jedi, Master Indara. First thing I cheered was Carrie Anne Moss is a Jedi! The second thing I said was, well, she didn’t last long but she’ll get a action figure out of it probably. Probably could have used Neo there.
The opening fight is well done with the assassin’s face revealed for all to see and for Indara to recognise. I wasn’t expecting her to be killed off immediately so my expectations were immediately pulled from under me. ,
We then meet Osha (Amandla Stenberg), a former Jedi padawan who has given it all up and is a meknek on a ship, literally a maintenance worker with her hand held droid Pip. However her life is thrown into chaos when the Jedi arrive to arrest her for the murder of Indara. Before she knows it Osha is on a droid driven prison ship en route to Coruscant for trial. But a prison break ends up with Osha crash landing on a snow planet Carlac.
Her old Master, Sol (Lee Jung Jae) goes to retrieve her along with the two arresting Jedi, Yord (Manny Jacinto) and Jecki (Dafne Keen). When I learned that Osha had a sister and a family that were killed years previously then I guessed that the assassin was her dead twin sister Mae. Although her powers are rusty Osha speaks with her sister in her dreams where fire is consuming eveyrthing they see. In Sol’s class some of his meditating younglings see all consuming fire that no one can withstand.
Now it is very simple storytelling here and nothing that will exert your brain. Evil twins, shared symbols of fire and an ending that proves Mae is servant to a dark power that intends to kill all Jedi. The closing shots of Mae at the rocky shore as a mysterious figure stands on a cliff abov her is nice. And you know it’s evil by its raspy voice and red lightsaber.
Now given what we have we probabaly think we know how this is going to go; save sister from dark side even though she is justified in her hate for Jedi and the Sith ar rising because in a hundred years Palpatine will stage a coup under the veil of politics and diplomacy. But I sincerely hope we are going to be surprised here.
Osha is likeable and the sceptic in me thinks her droid Pip is going to be hitting Disney online soon because he fits in your pocket. Maybe because there is such a deluge of merchandise from Disney. However I really want a figure of the bar owner. I love that alien design. Yeah I’m a hypocrit but figures have been a part of me all my life and watching Disney turn out trash series and tons of figures as a cash cow makes the fanboy on me stand up and shout “Hoi, Mouse, Nooooo!!”
Now I have to say the character that caught me at once was Master Sol. He is just as I always pictured a Jedi Master to be. Deep, wise and a layered man who fits in yet stands outside Jedi beliefs. He and Osha have a bond which will undoubtedly be explored as we go on. Indeed he keeps a hologram of her. When asked why by nosy hole Jecki who goes by the Jedi belief that emotional attachments only encourage sentimentality and nostalgia, he says memories are lessons to be learned from or we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Sol clearly has deep feelings for Osha and Lee Jung Ja plays him with a grace and nobility that we like a lot. He uses Jedi logic to get his own way against Jedi not so sage like going to retrieve Osha. When he rescues her from falling over an ice cliff, he has no doubt that Mae is alive simply based on Osha’s word. He and Osha bounce off each other. Incidentally Stenberg does a great job of making Osha likeable and making Mae a believable kickass threat in just a couple of minutes.
So we have a mystery on our hands of who the drk power training Mae is and how is she not dead? What reaally happened when Osha’s family were killed because Sol was there when it happened. Is there more to the story and why Osha bailed on him? Nice simple storytelling that I hope is going to spin off and hit us with the unexpected in the coming weeks.
A real Doctor Who legend has sadly passed away. Actor William Russell who played the very first male companion, teacher Ian Chesterton has died.
He was part of the original line when Doctor Who began. As Ian , he provided the muscle alongside elderly Doctor William Hartnell. William was the quintessential hero with his good looks and bravery. Alongside fellow teacher Barbara Wright, Ian was the scientific side while Barbara was the historian. In the beginning, Doctor Who was intended as an educational programme for kids. The Tardis was originally supposed to travel throughout earth history at landmark events and viewers would be educated about them through the eyes of Ian and Barbara. There was to be no bug-eyed monsters, just historical people and places. Ironic in the end that the historical adventures proved the least popular, slowly being outed by the science fiction element.
Ian and Barbara were school teachers at Coal Hill, Ian a man of science and Barbara a history teacher and both their attentions were caught by the super brilliant pupil Susan Foreman, in reality the Doctor’s granddaughter. Her behaviour at seemingly brilliant leaps of logic and a knowledge of things she couldn’t possibly know intrigued them.Following her home, they come across an old police box in a junkyard and a crotchety old man whom they believe is keeping Susan against her will.
Forcing their way into the box, they find themselves inside the Tardis and discover Susan and her grandfather are time travellers from another world. Russell T Davies always said Earth companions work best because they act as the door for ordinary viewers to explore the Doctor’s world by asking questions the viewer would and reacting similarly.
Indeed, their first adventure took them to the era of the cavemen seeking the secret of fire. Originally, the Doctor was very much the anti-hero, prepared to murder a man to save themselves and get back to the Tardis. He resented the two newcomers’ invasion of his home and wanted to get rid of them asap but without being able to control where the Tardis travelled, getting them home was all hit and miss. Ian and Barbara that showed the Doctor the value of humanity and, I believe, brought him to realize he was not alone and the importance of family. Indeed, he was devastated by their departure after battling the Daleks in the Chase, the first time we saw how lonely the Doctor truly was.
Photos copyright BBC
Throughout their adventures, Ian and Barbara’s talents were put to the test. Ian was the action hero in the tradition of the Hollywood beacons of goodness. He was fiercely protective of his friends and frequently argued with the Doctor but they had a grudging respect which evolved to the point where the Doctor trusted Ian to get them home on more than one occasion and take the lead, especially in their trek with Marco Polo and Richard the Lionheart. Barbara wasn’t afraid to tackle the Doctor either when he behaved badly, forcing the Time Lord to look at himself and actually think about the consequences of his actions on others. They forced him to be human and the more time they spent together the more the Doctor enjoyed showing them the wonders of the universe without being condescending. Ian and Barbara showed the Doctor what he was to be human and cemented his love for the human species through their travels.
The historical stories were prevalent in their time, cleverly using Barbara and Ian’s talents without diminishing the characters. This Tardis team were all equal and faced death in the French Revolution, the burning of Rome, a journey with Marco Polo, the Crusades, as well as Daleks, Voorrd, Mechanoids, Mire beasts and they even returned to their right time except they had been miniaturised. But they faced it together, becoming the family the Doctor and Susan had lost.
Their return home was celebrated with a montage of shots showing them doing normal things like taking a bus. It was widely believed they married after leaving the Tardis and it was further explored in the BBC novel series. Their team featured in more Missing Adventures, another book series showcasing stories set in between the televised shows. These remain some of the strongest tales and perfectly recapture the team sending us back to the beginning of this incredible 61 year journey.
William Russell, who played Ian, has done several plays for the Big Finish companion chronicles as well as narrating audios of old Target novels. He even voiced William Hartnell o several audio stories. With most of the missing episodes from the Troughton era, the majority of Hartnell shows still exist though there will be a DVD release of the Reign of Terror with missing episodes completed via animation. Once again Ian and Barbara will grace our screen in another adventure just as they did all those years ago.
There is something ageless about this team and in the Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor they are name-checked as still fighting the good fight as seemingly ageless people. It is a touching line that evokes memories and you really can believe they are married, still out there and carrying on everything they learned from the Doctor.
Ian was due to return to the show in the twentieth anniversary story Mawdryn Undead but it never happend so the Brigadier was used instead. However Ian’s story was not over and returned in the Jodie Whittaker finale Power of the Doctor. Graeme (Bradley Walsh) brings together old companions including Ian. He is puzzled when they refer to the Doctor as her. But this set a world record for the biggest gap between appearances for a television character. Seeing Ian again just took our breaths away. If not for his portrayal we would never have secured the show’s popular beginnings.
Unsurprisingly Ian and Barbara returned to meet the eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) in the 50th anniversary comic strip Hunters of the Burning Stone in a sequel to the Unearthly Child. It was voted the best comic strip of 2013 as Ian and Barbara get to meet their old friend once again.
I met William Russell in Belfast at a convention in Belfast and he was so lovely. He wandered around between queues showing a genuine interest in fans. We chatted about his time on the show and his autograph remains pride of place in my collection. I am so glad I got the chance to meet him as the character of Ian together with Barbara are the stuff legends are made of.
Rest in peace sir. A legend has died today yet will live forever. William, you truly will never be forgotten.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
photos copyright Universal
I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.
The original Battlesta Galactica had a very distinctive look to it featuring Egyptian infuences with a language that was yet wasn’t quite English. Words like frak are part of pop culture now but those influences have led to fan speculation as to whether what we were watching was in fact where our world started when Galactica finally finds Earth. The subsequent Galactica 1980 blew that out of the water but before that happened there are themes of good and evil between higher beings with powers beyond us normal humans.
Count Iblis is one such person. Played By Patrick Macnee, the Avengers and The Howling actor also narrated the intro to the show and provided the voice of the Imperious Leader of the Cylons. When he appeared in the War of the Gods two parter, it was thought that he may actually be the Imperious Leader himself in some sort of elaborate trap to capture the humans. But the truth was greater than that and again feeding in to Earth religious beliefs.
When Apollo (Richard Hatch), Starbuck (Dirk Benedict) and Sheba (Ann Lockhart daughter of Lost in Space’s June Lockhart) discover a crashed ship on a planet, they find one survivor, Count Iblis.
From the start Count Iblis wields his power to get what he wants. Rather than letting the pilots explore the crashed ship, he manipulates Apollo’s instruments to register radiation levels too high to be safe. Sheba is immediately taken by the Count who is charming to a fault. As John Steed in the Avengers, Macnee fine tuned this to a masterclass. Dressed in white, he immediately subconsciously is taken as a good guy by anyone that meets him. Only good guys wear white in our minds. But when mysterious white orbs flash across the sky he is desperate for them to leave as his enemies are hunting him.
When he is given refuge aboard the Galactica, Adama (the late, greatLorne Green) is uspicious listening to his son’s concerns but the Council are not only taken with Iblis but prepared to hand power over to him. Similarly Iblis manages to sway the refugees to his side by providing food where there is none and comfort where there is hardship. He is very critical of how Adama and the Council has treated their people. Iblis can seemingly control people especially those who give themselves to him like a cult leader. Boomer unwittingly falls into this trap as he reveals he would do anything to beat Apollo and Starbuck. Unconsciously he has a resentment of their seeming place as favourites of Adama. He feels his abilities are not being recognised and Iblis can secure that reality for him. Adama is helpless as he loses control of the refugees but Iblis pulls of a seemingly impossible feat. He promises to lead them to Earth and deliver the traitor Baltar. At the end of part one, he does deliver Baltar to them for trial for his crimes. This secures his power as he keeps his word and to the hungry and frightened refugees, Iblis is the man that can deliver them to Earth and a new life free of Cylon tyranny. Such is the indolence, the pilots are too sluggish to respond to the arrival of great balls of white lights buzzing the Galactica. Iblis is furious alerting Apollo that something about these lights may prove to be their salvation. Pilots are going missing when ships are launched to intercept the lights including Boomer yet Iblis is unconcerned. Surely if all these people are his followers would Iblis not want to keep them close rather than let them fall into the hands of whomever is behind the light ships?
Baltar too sees something familiar on Iblis in that he recognises the voice as that of the Imperious leader. The remains of the human fleet have given themselves over to the person responsible for the destruction of their worlds. But with Baltar sentenced to life on the prison ship and Iblis on the verge of becoming president of the Council, he confronts Baltar in his cell. He dismisses the notion he is the Imperious Leader by saying he couldn’t possibly be over 1000 years old.
Adama tells Apollo that the balls of light were written about by their ancestors, The themes introduced her are that they are a higher power something that the humans too may evolve into at some point in the future. However Iblis confirms he is from the same dimension as them. Putting together all the so called miracles and strange mind control, Apollo believes they are dealing with the Prince of Darkness himself, here to drag the Galacticans into a life of indolence and slavery under him. The fleet is vulnerable now the rest of the pilots are allowed free reign to indulge themselves.
Returning to the crashed ship, Apollo finds the truth and shows a horrified Sheba the remains of the people in the wreckage. Iblis appears knowing he has been discovered. When Apollo shoots him, Iblis’s true form is revealed breaking Sheba free from her infatuation. Iblis tries to kill Sheba but Apollo is struck down instead. Iblis disappears vowing to return in another time and place. The beings of light revive Apollo and give them a set of coordinates. The Galacticans learn that there are beings out there that are watching over them and fighting the darkness just as they are.
While Iblis gets away scott free at the end, the door is open for a return which sadly did not happen given there was only one season before the show was cancelled and reinvented into the awful Galactica 1980. What is interesting is that the implication of Iblis bring the Devil raises the Ship of Lights must be God or at least angels on his behalf. It would not be the last time the Ship of Lights would appear. Does that make the Galacticans journey a holy trial or a prophecy?
Parick Macnee was an easy choice to play Iblis because as John Steed, he charmed British audiences as the quintessential English gentleman for years. To be fair, he was brilliant and so popular with sudiences. It is easy to see the Devil parallel as his philosophy is that the only law is there is no law. Indolence and over indulgence are part and parcel of Iblis’ way and given the desperate state the Galacticans find themselves in makes them easy targets for Iblis. Now the connection to being the Imperious Leader is intriguing but appearance wise they are very different. But as we see Ibis has more than one face. Add to that the Imperious Leader is a robot. If Iblis truly is the Devil Then he would amuse himself by setting the Cylons on the fleet. But the Devil needs followers and when a man is starving he will do anything for a slice of bread. Iblis’ grass is muh greener than what Adama can offer butt a desperate person does not listen to reason. They listen to their growling stomachs and unwashed bodies while sleeping in a makeshift bed. Remember there are famlies here and parents have to feed their children. Equally Iblis has no issue persuading the humans to make themselves easier targets by letting themselves fall into sloth. Iblis is very much set up as a cult leader. I wonder if the Cylons had attacked would he have sacrified his new found lambs or unleashed his power to destroy the Cylons? Perhaps he took the Imperious Leader’s voice to taunt Baltar upon his capture?
His confidence and supremacy ooze from his very being making him the ultimate enemy who uses your own weaknesses against you. This may be why Sheba falls under his influence so quickly as she sees in Iblis the father figure she needs since she lost her father, Commander Cain of the Pegasus. It would also explain why Adama, Apollo and Starbuck are not sucked in. Adama ‘s only drive is to find Earth and get his people a home. Apollo is fiercely loyal to his pilots and Galacticans so needs nothing. Starbuck’s unquestioning faith in Apollo is his saving grace. There is nothing as dangerous as an enemy that uses your own weaknesses spoken and unspoken to win you over. It’s a web you become stuck in without even knowing it until you try to leave.
Count Iblis was a great character in Battlestar Galactica that promised so much but was cut short by television executives dumb decisions.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright BBC
Hold onto your seats folks when I say this but Dot and Bubble is the cleverest epiode so far. However woke does manage to taint it although slightly.
Watching it I can see the youngsters of today stuck in their social media bubbles just as in the Age of Steel I could see the explosion of earbuds around me. Because of this I never did get wireless earbuds. I like my flesh where it is thank you very much.
The story focuses on Finetime, a colony under a dome surrounded by the wild woods. Every citizen is a rich kid who lives through their internet bubble. This is powered by the Dot; a robotic device that levitates and surrounds the user with the internet bubble. This bubble tells you when you pee, what direction to walk, group chats and keeps you in constant communication with the other citizens. They have to work for two hours a day then party for the rest of the time. Ruby compares it to Love Island. It even has its own celebrity, Ricky September, who dances to Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini with everyone living there following him.
However people are disappearing and going offline. And nobody seems to care. The story is seen through the eyes of Lindy, part of the population of Finetime.
Just like today, the first thing we do is reach for our phones in the morning just as Lindy does. She cannot even brush her teeth without the bubble. But to open a story with a person in front of the mirror while a monster lurks in her living room is a great hook.
I very much felt the same here as when I watched the Silent and the Weeping Angels on screen. They are just hovering over your shoulder, a prelude to disaster and death. The big slug crab monsters here have that same feeling unlike the 73 Yards Woman last week. A bit like Blink the Dotor and Ruby can only access Finetime via the internet pleading with Lindy to see what is happening. Not even they can penetrate the dome.
Bubbles usually protect whomever is inside but this time they are a hindrance. There is very much a frightening atmosphere throughout not just because the monsters are eating everyone alive all around you without anyone noticing but you can see our own generation in their behaviour. They are stuck in a digital world where everyone are besties. Life is big party and the result is they don’t have to think for themselves. The new generation is putting on weight and their appendages are changing with console technology. Constant exposure to a computer screen affects the eyes and dulls the reflexes. And they see only what is in front of them oblivious to even the calls from parents for dinner. What they could have done is include heavier people in this episode; I saw none, to illustrate how indulence through reliance on technology is on the human body.
This is best seen in the creepy sequence where Lindy drops her bubble and sees she is in fact working in an empty office where a colleague is being devoured by one of the creatures. Urged by the Doctor and Ruby she tries to leave but can’t even walk properly because she doesn’t know how to. She is so used to following the bubble’s directions, this basic bodily function is damaged. There are shades of Wallee in this which is why I don’t want to live in a house where I don’t have to turn a light on by voice command. Additionally, Susan Twist appears as Lindy’s mummy but this time is recognised by the time travellers. Is she a Clara type form splintered across time watching over Ruby no matter where she goes?
Woke does get its finger in here when the Doctor and Ruby fight over how hot Ricky September is which totally jars against the fourth Doctor’s classic line, “She’s a beautiful woman. Probably.” Yes the Doctor has been more lover boy since the new era but do we really need a Doctor who quite obviously would do rude things with Ricky? He gave up Rose to a cop of himself because he couldn’t bring himself to try and live a life with her that way. He has grandchildren so has done it with a fellow Time Lord. It’s not the Doctor no matter what the agenda people want you to think. You have to be true to the character and its history, not what you think the wokes think you should be doing on television.
An interesting point here is that the Doctor cannot speak to Lindy in terms she understands. She is a real bitch to him. Despite this new love for life incarnation he is still a socially awkward Time Lord. Ruby sees what Lindy is and is able to get her to trust her through complimenting her blouse and love of Ricky September. Materialistic items and how she looks is all these people care about.
To save her the Doctor tells her to go to a conduit where there is an underground river they can use to escape. These monsters are really good and remind me of something that came from beneath the waves. That scene where Lindy comes face to tentacle with one in a lift and when she is close to the conduit the Doctor told her to go to but the alley is blocked by four of them sticks in the head. Saved by Ricky September, Lindy is hugged for the first time. Obviously, the party does not include physical contact which is a large part of the party lifestyle. She has a crush on Ricky and we think by freeing them from their reliance on the bubble, we will see a people ala Wall-E where they really see each other for the first time. What sort of offspring would these people produce?
But the truth is darker than the Doctor and Ruby thought. The mystery as to why some people are eaten and others aren’t is so rooted in reality it is chilling.
The Dot is the villain as AI is seen today.
It has grown to hate the humans and their behaviour. It created the monsters to get rid of the humans and their sloth ways. In a way the Dot is a hero and knows how such a lifestyle is not healthy for any society. It does not like the type of people Finetime is breeding. Lindy has been rude and dismissive to the Doctor and Ruby until she needed them to get out of the city. The most efficent way to do that is kill the populace off alphabetically. Lindy and Ricky surnames begin with P and S. If a computer system wants to kill us then that would be the most efficient way.
Ricky tries to contact their homeworld but it has been destroyed. All human life is gone presumably by the Dot. I don’t blame the Dot at all as these type of people are awful in this day and age never mind on another world. They are the upper class that you see on Dr Phil who say their parents should pay their way and they cannot get by on less than £3,000 a week. Work is a dirty word and popularity and how you look is priority to them. How many likes do I have? Does my new hairstyle make others jealous? How much do people want to be me?
Ironically Ricky is the poster pop star good looking guy yet he is the most human in Finetime of them all. He only uses the Dot to upload his videos then spends the rest of the time learning and reading which is how he also know about the river escape.
Sadly, we learn the bubble hasn’t been the cause of their me, me, me behaviour; it only enhanced it. These are horrible people as Lindy, to save her own life, betrays Ricky to the Dot. She reveals his real surname is Coombs, not September so should already be dead and should die before the Dot kills her. The Dot smashes right through Ricky’s head allowing Lindy to escape. This is a shocking moment I had to watch twice to be sure of what I was seeing. Yet it exemplifies just how false their society is and wher their morals and values lie.
This is even more telling when Lindy meets the Dcotor and Ruby in the underground river port along with other survivors. These are all safe thanks to the Doctor and Ruby. The Finetime survivors are preparing to ship out and tame the wild woods and create their new society. Lindy lies as to what happened to Ricky and the Doctor’s suggestion that he can take them all in the Tardis to a new home is met with disgust. Lindy says they cannot go with him as he is not one of them and she barely tolerated his tapping in to her bubble. His claims are dismissed as voodoo and they leave before they are contaminated by the Time Lord. It wasn’t until I watched Doctor Who Unleashed that they refused his help because he was black hence the voodoo reference. I genuinely thought it was because he was an outsider, not rich and not part if the bubble friends group.
Those closing shots of Lindy staring back at the Doctor from the boat are unnerving and powerful. He tells them they will die and as the episode closes, the scariest thing is that these people may well succeed and create a brand new society; a society built on the murder of a man that dared to turn the Dot off and help someone. It will be a society where colour is unwelcome. This ending reminded me of the seventh Doctor standing over the blubbering body of Helen A as she mourned the death of her pet Fifi in the Happiness Patrol. She didn’t care her world had just collapsed then either.
Without saying a word, Ncuti Gatwa’s rage and frustration at their leaving speaks volumes. No good deed goes unpunished and this is one time he should have let them die. The only person worth saving is lying dead unmourned and buried beneath a lie. It is a powerful reminder friends on social media are not really FRIENDS. None of the friends Lindy lost affect her in the slightest.
This is a great episode that is so full of social commentary, and I mean relevant social commentary, it really does make you look twice at people with their faces stuck in phones. The next time you see a video on the net where someone walks into a lamppost, you will think of Dot and Bubble and wonder just how far are we really from this scenario. Excellent.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright Paramount Pictures
I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.
In the animated series episode The Infinite Vulcan, the Enterprise crew meet a race of plant based aliens called the Phylosians from the planet Phylos. These are totally alien in nature and appearance something which could not have transferred across well as a live action alien. Of course it would be easy to do today but in those days, animation was the way to go.
At first the Phylosians appear friendly and welcoming as they save the life of Sulu. A passionate botanist, Phylos is a goldmine for him. However he is stung by one of the indigenous life forms. Doctor McCoy is unable to stop the helmsman from dying but the lead alien Agmar gives him the antidote. However, this is a distraction to kidnap Spock. The Phylosians reveal they were devastated by a plague brought by a human traveller explaining their familiarity with human biology in saving Sulu’s life. Stavos Keniclius is dead but cloned himself resulting in a giant version of himself. He was sickened by all the chaos in the galaxy like the Eugenics Wars, Romulan War and much more so has searched for the perfect specimen in which to create an army of peacekeepers and that army will be a race of Spock giant clones. This was achived through his knowledge gained during the Eugenics War. His path brought him to Phylos where we learn he carried a disease that decimated the Phylosians. They have no problem with Stavos’ intentions as they saw a fellow spirit in him especially now Spock’s hybrid nature will help bring about their original intentions of imposed peace. Think the Empire and you get the picture.
The Phylosians reveal that before the plague Stavos brought, they had a massive fleet of ships about to launch on the galaxy. They had the same view and were going to impose peace on every planet just like Stavos intends to do. Kirk fails to persuade them that there was peace brought about by mutual cooperation between all species in the Federation.
While the Phlosias intentions were honourable and driven by a need for peace, their methods left a lot to be desired. Maybe fate played a part here by bringing about Stavos’ arrival and subsequent plague to prevent that from happening. But an iron fist does not guarantee peace and stability; instead it will bring about unrest and resentment. It is only when the giant Spock realises Kirk is right does he perfom a mindmeld on the dying original Spock allowing him to leave. The giant Spock will stay with Stavos and both clones will continue the work to make the whole of the galaxy a better place. There is also the chance of saving the Phylosians and restoring their race again. They do pop up in a crowd scene of aliens so perhaps they have taken the first steps to being part of the galactic peace you longed for.
By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photo copyright BBC
SPOILERS BEWARE!!!
So can 73 Yards continue the quality of last week’s Boom?
The wilds of Wales, a spooky web thing that looks like a dreamcatcher but is actually a fairy ring, a pub in the middle of nowhere and a land soaked in blood.
Spooky trailer indeed. The first thing that struck me was the Doctor’s garb in the beautiful coastline of Wales somehow reminded me of Sarah Jane in The Sontaran Experiment. Don’t ask me why; I don’t know. Excited about being in Wales, the duo tell each other of previous visits to Wales. The Doctor tells Ruby about a Welsh politician, David Pa Gwilliam, who almost brought the world to nuclear destruction then realises this is all in Ruby’s future so he never finishes the story.
So when the Doctor accidentally stands on a fairy ring, Ruby reads the messages amid the bird skulls and trinkets. One of the messages talks of Mad Jack and in a second the Doctor has disappeared. She sees a woman standing in the distance watching her yet no matter how close Ruby gets she cannot meet her. The old woman remains the same distance away every time.
The Tardis is locked so Ruby thinks this is how the Doctor leaves others behind and she walks along the cliffs to find civilisation. Along the way she meets a hill walker who approaches the woman in the distance and runs away screaming. I have to say the shots of the cliffs are stunning and the camera rotating round the Tardis is gorgeous and slightly reminiscent of the 13th Doctor’s final shot.
Finding refuge and overnight lodgings in a pub, the Dead Wood, run by the unfriendliest landlady in the world, Ruby tries to figure what is happening. The pub scenes are a complete nod to An American Werewolf in London’s famous pub scene. WIth the dark setting of night and the close ups, the introduction of witchcraft is well done and an exciting possibility. Are they up against primal forces or a reature from beyond the grave? Has Ruby and the Doctor accidentally unleashed the ghost of Mad Jack intent on picking up his evil behaviour where he left off? The fear of this woman following her unnerves Ruby especially when local Josh went to speak to the woman and ran away in terror just like the hill walker. Is she the manifestation of Mad Jack hunting Ruby?
But the vengeful spirit is nothing but a joke but the persistent woman sticks what Ruby discovers is a distance of 73 yards. There is no reason nor reason. She is there constantly. Even on the train journey home, Ruby sees her everywhere. Her mum Carla stays on the phone while she confronts the woman haunting her daughter. However she runs away screaming, changing the locks so Ruby gets the message she is no longer family.
Jump forward in time and Ruby is found by Kate Stewart but the haunting woman even scares off the UNIT forces. Alone and learning to live with the presence, Ruby sees a television report where new and upcoming minister, David Pa Gwilliam is fighting to make Britain great again. Remembering what the Doctor told her about him, Ruby now thinks she knows why she this is all happening.
Now we are in the Dead Zone territory as Ruby must stop a charismatic politician from bringing the world into a nuclear apocalypse. Infiltrating his political campaign, Ruby works her way into his closest ranks. Gwilliam quickly gains massive popularity and is so popular is about to get the codes for the nuclear missiles in a worldwide broadcast. If that happens then he will launch them bringing about the end of the world.
Ruby positions herself 73 yards from him so the haunting woman appears beside him and speaks to him. He runs away in terror, disappearing from public becoming a hermit. Ruby then lives the rest of her life alone until she returns to the clifftop where it all began. The Tardis is still there covered in all sorts of crap. Ruby lays flowers at the doors then sits admiring the views.
As an old lady, Ruby is visited one night by the haunting woman and it is revealed that the haunting woman has been Ruby all along. This time she stops the Doctor stepping on to the fairy ring and the 73 yards woman disappears.
I haven’t the slightest idea what this episode was about. It feels like a poor man’s Turn Left but without the explanation. Ruby solo mission happens for seemingly stepping on a fairy ring. Is it some temporal anomaly, ancient magic or something that lies within Ruby herself that subconsciously triggers by the thought of nuclear devastation in the near future? Was the Doctor wiped from history? If so why was the Tardis still on the cliff sixty years later?
Millie Gibson does a great job as she lives her life without the Doctor and stepping up to save the world all alone. The pub scenes are haunting and provocative until Mad jack is revealed to be a windup. That is until Gwilliam reveals on a television interview that his nickname is Mad Jack. Ruby’s slow realisation and isolation from everyone she knows and near tenure with UNIT is palpable. Ruby has no emotional ties and has fleeting relationships with men. She is ultimately a lonely figure just as the Doctor is by this strange circumstance.
I knew the woman was Ruby from the get go but how this was going to play out kept me going to the end. But to be honest I grew tired part way through and just wanted it to be over. There was nothing original here and again i have to ask where is the new style of storytelling that brought Russell T Davies back to the show? The only thing I can think of is that this somehow will tie in with Ruby’s secret.
Well acted, well directed but ultimately, not one I will watch again. Back to Boom for me.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 