What made Horns of Nimon enter the halls of fan infamy?

It seemed like in the years after Horns of Nimon closed out Season 17, it became something of an unmentionable story in fandom, or a by-word for depths the show must never go near again. It was almost reviled to mythical proportions.

Looking back on it in the decades after though, I would say the myth completely dwarfs the reality of the story.

The story looks now like it wouldn't have been that out of place in the Colin or McCoy era, or even the early Troughton era.

It seems like the years have taken away its ability to be shocking. But even in the context of the time, it feels to me like its only real crime was following after Creature From the Pit and Nightmare of Eden with what looked like more of the same.

Most fans have no sense of humour. That's what it comes down to. Anal, I believe is the word.

Yeah, I have to say there's a lot I find to enjoy in this one.

It was mainly the big names of fandom really. Nimon's a piss funny sci fi comedy that sadly pissed off the superfans like Levine and led to the next season being an bit of an overcorrection in their eyes. That and the low budget made it an easy target sadly.

Indrid Mercury wrote:It was mainly the big names of fandom really. Nimon's a piss funny sci fi comedy that sadly pissed off the superfans like Levine and led to the next season being an bit of an overcorrection in their eyes. That and the low budget made it an easy target sadly.

To be fair, I think it was mainly the BBC and Barry Letts who insisted on the more serious overcorrection the next season. The superfans just happened to be in synch with that approach.

I like season 18 better than 17, but both were very good, and I've always liked Nimon a lot. Actually Soldeed is one of my favorite minor characters in all of Doctor Who, I even seriously considered calling myself Soldeed when I registered here.

In the name of the second Skonnon Empire!

The argument that 'most fans have no sense of humour' is a really crap defence. People find different things funny. You can still think Charlie Chaplin or Mr Bean are shit, but get your laughs from other types of humour.
That said, when it comes to being rubbish and unfunny, (or funny for the wrong reasons) Nimon is not the worst offender, as the notoriety in that department mainly belongs to Crowden. Take him out the equasion and the story on its own merits is not so bad.
Certainly preferable to the likes of Nightmare of Eden.

Horns of the Nimon is basically Paradise Towers with papier mache heads.

Dont like it.

Abysmal acting by some, forgettable performances by others. Special mentions for the pilot of the freight ship ("weakling scum" repeated ad nauseum for fucks sake), Janet Ellis and Gipps-Kent (Seth). Crowden was deliberately over the top. And Baker was at his most flippant. The impression given was that he and Baker were having a ball at the viewer's and the overall production's expense. The only decent performance was Lalla Ward but she got no support whatsoever from her surrounding cast.

The over acting particularly annoyed me because it was a frequent charactersitic of the Williams error.  Purchase (the Captain) in Pirate Planet, Paul Seed (The Graff) in Ribos, Myra Frances as the Lady Adastra in Creature from the Pit, Lewis Fiander in Nightmare of Eden and Christopher Neame as Skagra. Had it been an isolated incident i might be more forgiving but it was a recurring trait. Its as if Williams was ending each job advert for the show with the words "Ability to act not - definitely not - required"

The Nimons were ridiculous. A bloke in a tee shirt with a "something on his head". Imagine if they had done that with the Cybermen in Tenth Planet or the Silurians in the JP story. I admit the voice characterisations were okay but the overall effect was unimpressive to say the least. The deep booming voices didn't go with the costume.

And then there is the truly shite "console blows up scene" at the end of episode 1. With Scooby Doo sound effects. Played for laughs. Again. It could have been so much better played straight - dangerous explosion, sensible sound effects, Doctor knocked unconscious and seriously hurt, K9 destroyed in the blast.

Some might say "Well your the problem here Stengos because you've got a 5 foot pole stuck up your arse. Take it out, relax and you might enjoy this story more". Actually no. Having said pole in situ is the only way to watch this story and maximise your enjoyment of it for the simple reason that you would be so distracted by the pain you'd be completely oblivious to what is happening on screen. Then again, the pain of simply watching it even in those circumstances would most likely override the pain of the pole in your rectum and so still prevent you from enjoying it. Dunno. Maybe I will try it some day. Doubt it though.

K9 was shit in this.

Perhaps some fans wanted more serious stuff and The Horns of Nimon isn't serious at all, it's basically a Sci-Fi pantomime. And yet I love it - Season 17 is gloriously silly but very watchable. Plus, Lalla Ward is gorgeous.

Kaijuko wrote:Perhaps some fans wanted more serious stuff and The Horns of Nimon isn't serious at all, it's basically a Sci-Fi pantomime. And yet I love it - Season 17 is gloriously silly but very watchable. Plus, Lalla Ward is gorgeous.

She was great.

stengos wrote:

Kaijuko wrote:Perhaps some fans wanted more serious stuff and The Horns of Nimon isn't serious at all, it's basically a Sci-Fi pantomime. And yet I love it - Season 17 is gloriously silly but very watchable. Plus, Lalla Ward is gorgeous.

She was great.

Indeed, and I'm sorry you don't like Horns but I kind of understand. Arguing that something is good because it's silly, is pretty fucking silly itself. The Wheelie bin eating Mickey in Rose is silly, so is Eccelston's gurning face and ridiculous dancing in The End of The World, but I hate those scenes. I Like Horrns because it's so endearingly daft and it because it features Tom and Lalla, so I'm far more forgiving than I would be of any other Doctor/companion pairing.

Kaijuko wrote:

stengos wrote:

Kaijuko wrote:Perhaps some fans wanted more serious stuff and The Horns of Nimon isn't serious at all, it's basically a Sci-Fi pantomime. And yet I love it - Season 17 is gloriously silly but very watchable. Plus, Lalla Ward is gorgeous.

She was great.

Indeed, and I'm sorry you don't like Horns but I kind of understand. Arguing that something is good because it's silly, is pretty fucking silly itself.  The Wheelie bin eating Mickey in Rose is silly, so is Eccelston's gurning face and ridiculous dancing in The End of The World, but I hate those scenes. I  Like Horrns because it's so endearingly daft and it because it features Tom and Lalla, so I'm far more forgiving than I would be of any other Doctor/companion pairing.

Its just not for me thats all. I am sincerely glad you like it and respect your opinion. We all get different things out of Dr Who. I am sure I like stories that others regard as silly or look down on. I like Leisure Hive and Logopolisd but most on this site find them really boring. I don't see that myself.

stengos wrote:

Kaijuko wrote:

stengos wrote:

Kaijuko wrote:Perhaps some fans wanted more serious stuff and The Horns of Nimon isn't serious at all, it's basically a Sci-Fi pantomime. And yet I love it - Season 17 is gloriously silly but very watchable. Plus, Lalla Ward is gorgeous.

She was great.

Indeed, and I'm sorry you don't like Horns but I kind of understand. Arguing that something is good because it's silly, is pretty fucking silly itself.  The Wheelie bin eating Mickey in Rose is silly, so is Eccelston's gurning face and ridiculous dancing in The End of The World, but I hate those scenes. I  Like Horrns because it's so endearingly daft and it because it features Tom and Lalla, so I'm far more forgiving than I would be of any other Doctor/companion pairing.

I like Leisure Hive and Logopolisd but most on this site find them really boring. I don't see that myself.

I never found The Leisure Hive or Logopolis in the least bit boring. I'm a very huge fan of both Seasons 17 and 18 but for totally different reasons.  I adore the light-hearted, Adamsy, fun of 17, but equally, enjoy the more serious, (sometimes sombre) tone of 18. Horns is far from my favourite Who story, but I simply find it impossible to dislike anything featuring Lalla Ward.  Even The Duchess Of Duke Street .