1960s “The Aztecs”:
As someone who has previously found this rather overrated, I found myself enjoying this to a noticeably greater extent than on previous viewings. Perhaps seeing the characterisation of the Tardis crew naturally develop in chronological order adds some weight to the tale, as Barbara is especially well written in this. It’s certainly a maturely conceived tale, exploring the intimacies of Aztec culture without the need to oversimplify proceedings. The endings is rather poignant and understated as well, and one that doesn’t necessarily provide easy answers. Hartnell is excellent here too as always, and to reiterate, the 60s are easily the best decade when it comes to nuanced character writing. The story’s only real flaw (and why I don’t rate it as highly as certain other stories from the period, historical or otherwise) is the relatively staid direction- it’s not awful, but nor is it especially dynamic, and certainly isn’t on par with Camfield’s direction for The Crusade (more on that on a later viewing), and I don’t think I’d regard this as one of the best from the era by any stretch, but in terms of scripting and characterisation, this is very fine indeed.
1970s “The Mind of Evil”:
A gritty harkening back to season 7, this is a largely excellent serial with Clockwork Orange narrative undertones, especially in relation to the Keller Machine. In spite of its length, the story rarely falters in terms of direction or pace (although it could have been reduced by a single episode, all things considered), and Delgado continues to sell the role of the Master with a bravura suaveness, akin to the best Bond villains. The direction is very assured too, and Dudley Simpson’s score, albeit crude, (as it is throughout the season) compliments the story rather nicely. The only noticeable flaw present here is how the formulaic trend of the Doctor and the Master aiding each other in order to prevent a greater evil is repeated here (and will extend further in later stories), and there are some noticeable plot contrivances concerning the Master’s overarching plan and how he conveniently executes it with large ease, but the strengths far outweigh the story’s limitations. The cliffhanger to episode 5 is especially well conceived, with a nice touch of editing to mislead proceedings. A great story.
1980s “The Keeper of Traken”:
This story seems relatively well acclaimed by fandom, although I’ve never quite understood why this is. Geoffrey Beevers is superb as the Master, yes (with his icy vocal performance reinforcing the eeriness of his performance), there’s some nice characterisation here and there, and the borderline fairytale undertones stand out nicely amongst the more austere sci-fi of the rest of season 18, but it’s not especially interesting or well produced either. With the exception of Anthony Ainley as Tremas and a few other side performers, the acting here isn’t especially noteworthy (with Sutton instantly showing herself up as being rather poor, whilst Waterhouse begins to showcase this all the more as well), and there is a rather stagy vibe to the production. This was present in The Aztecs too, but in that case, the dialogue and characterisation were enough to outshine such limitations, and The Aztecs features much more thought provoking subtext at its core. This never quite achieves the same thing, and whilst the story is certainly not bad, it’s only truly noteworthy due to the Master’s surprise appearance during the final episode.
2000s “The Long Game”:
Oh, bollocks. I never rated this too highly originally, but this is much worse on a re-watch. The agonising romantic subtext between Rose and the Doctor begins here in a decidedly patronising manner (“I only take the best, I’ve got Rose...” “Look at Rose- she’s asking the right questions”- since when did the Doctor adopt such an attitude towards his companions?), and Eccleston is crap here too. He seems visibly uncomfortable from the opening scene onwards, and why does he always adopt that forced Stanley Laurel grin (Whenever he’s not looking confused or gormless, he pulls it...)? His character being laden with colloquial terms out of character with the Doctor’s own dialect doesn’t help either “Oi, Adam, me old mate!” The story itself lacks any grit or punch whatsoever, and as with the 2000s stories in general, has aged to a far greater degree than the Classic stories I am currently viewing. If I were an older classic fan watching this back in 2005, I’d have almost certainly considered quitting NuWho at this stage, to be honest. Simon Pegg is reasonable as the villain, and there are a few reasonable touches of suspense here and there, but I’ll admit that at this stage, I’m already fed up of the era on re-watch. Still, things do improve from this stage, thankfully.
2010s “Amy’s Choice”:
Although the soap opera aspects of the story between Amy and Rory do grate somewhat on repeat viewings, this is still easily one of the best NuWho stories, if not as good as I remembered. The central concept behind the story is rather surreal and unique for NuWho (with shades of The Mind Robber), there’s a very well realised atmosphere on display (whilst the village setting populated by lumbering zombies coupled with comedic undertones rather reminds me of “Shaun of the Dead”), and Smith is especially good here. Toby Jones is appropriately sinister also, and it’s a shame Simon Nye didn’t write more for Who. Although I will admit that the story itself isn’t quite as bizarre or as esoteric as it should have been- in spite of the interesting ideas on display, there is an all too conventional vibe to the episode, perhaps due to the never-changing conventions of NuWho and the lack of variety in the music. Gold’s score isn’t too bad here, but it still dips into maudlin and brass orchestral at times- this isn’t a bad thing on its own per se, but I’m not sure if it really suited this story, and I’m wondering how it could have benefited from a more unorthodox musical score as to compliment the episode’s blending of reality and fiction. Still, this is certainly really rather good for NuWho.
The 60s certainly has the best characterisation, whilst the 70s has the best overall stuntwork and direction (and to be honest, the 2010s also stood out rather reasonably this time).
Home
7/10
But my point being that Sutekh is most definitely not one of them. You real feel that this literally god-like entity is one of the most serious threats (if not the most) that the Doctor (and by extention, the universe) has ever faced. The gravity of the situation is keenly conveyed both in the writing and the excellent performances of the cast.