Carnival of Monsters is the first story since The Three Doctors where the Doctor was given his freedom back and allowed to roam time and space in the way he wants to. This story doesn’t rank highly in my favourite Doctor Who stories for one simple reason. It’s not very exciting. There was never a serious threat to either the Doctor or Jo and its 100 minutes of nothing. It’s a shame because it’s a Robert Holmes script and with his track record you would expect better but sadly on this occasion it just suffers with a lack of enthusiasm.
The story sees the Doctor and Jo arrive inside a Miniscope which were banned by the Timelords but somehow one managed to escape. The story largely takes place on a CSO riddled planet Inter Minor. Another problem is large portions of this story involve the Minorians who are covered in silver/grey make up and are your typical bureaucratic characters. Also the make up is a little suspect on them, it’s not completely painted on properly. Now it’s plausible that its suppose to be that way but somehow I’m not so sure. There were a few moments that did make me chuckle. The first being the appearance of Ian Marter who in less than a year would be returning but as Harry Sullivan. The moment where the Doctor and Harry – sorry Lt. Andrews – have a impromptu boxing match. The Drashigs work quite well but sadly don’t appear in the story more. The stuff in the Miniscope is actually quite funny. The bit at the beginning where the Doctor is trying to convince Jo that just because something looks like a chicken doesn’t mean it isn’t intelligent and then when they are discovered, the Doctor comes all over posh.
Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are kind of sweet in this story. Their chemistry is enough to get you through the early part of the story until the Drashigs appear. Ian Marter is good as Lt. Andrews but whenever I see him through my long time fan eyes, I will always see Harry. There are a couple more familiar names in this such as Michael Wisher (Davros in Genesis of the Daleks) who appears as Kalik who seems the best out of the three Minorians we meet. Then there is Peter Halliday who’s best role was Packer in The Invasion plays Plectrac. It’s not the best story for either actor which is a shame.
When you buy the DVD the best thing about it (as of February 2011) is the commentary with Katy Manning and the late and very great Barry Letts who was the Director. The commentary takes on a slightly different tone in my mind when you think about the contribution that Letts has had on the show. Carnival of Monsters is a story that should be viewed if not to see Ian Marter before he became Harry. It’s quite odd that given story such as The Three Doctors, Frontier in Space, Planet of the Daleks and The Green Death which are either big dramatic stories or have moral messages that Carnival of Monsters somehow seems like a four week respite.
The story sees the Doctor and Jo arrive inside a Miniscope which were banned by the Timelords but somehow one managed to escape. The story largely takes place on a CSO riddled planet Inter Minor. Another problem is large portions of this story involve the Minorians who are covered in silver/grey make up and are your typical bureaucratic characters. Also the make up is a little suspect on them, it’s not completely painted on properly. Now it’s plausible that its suppose to be that way but somehow I’m not so sure. There were a few moments that did make me chuckle. The first being the appearance of Ian Marter who in less than a year would be returning but as Harry Sullivan. The moment where the Doctor and Harry – sorry Lt. Andrews – have a impromptu boxing match. The Drashigs work quite well but sadly don’t appear in the story more. The stuff in the Miniscope is actually quite funny. The bit at the beginning where the Doctor is trying to convince Jo that just because something looks like a chicken doesn’t mean it isn’t intelligent and then when they are discovered, the Doctor comes all over posh.
Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are kind of sweet in this story. Their chemistry is enough to get you through the early part of the story until the Drashigs appear. Ian Marter is good as Lt. Andrews but whenever I see him through my long time fan eyes, I will always see Harry. There are a couple more familiar names in this such as Michael Wisher (Davros in Genesis of the Daleks) who appears as Kalik who seems the best out of the three Minorians we meet. Then there is Peter Halliday who’s best role was Packer in The Invasion plays Plectrac. It’s not the best story for either actor which is a shame.
When you buy the DVD the best thing about it (as of February 2011) is the commentary with Katy Manning and the late and very great Barry Letts who was the Director. The commentary takes on a slightly different tone in my mind when you think about the contribution that Letts has had on the show. Carnival of Monsters is a story that should be viewed if not to see Ian Marter before he became Harry. It’s quite odd that given story such as The Three Doctors, Frontier in Space, Planet of the Daleks and The Green Death which are either big dramatic stories or have moral messages that Carnival of Monsters somehow seems like a four week respite.
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