The Sun Makers is written by one of the greatest writers that Doctor Who has ever had. Robert Holmes is someone that has written some truly classic stories. Sadly The Sun Makers isnt one of those but having watched it recently I have to admit that its slightly better than I had previously given it credit for. The story takes place on Pluto which at the time must have seemed a fantastic idea, however since 2004 it’s not called a planet and is considered to be a collection of gasses. Thus making a planet where any civilisation cant live impossible. This story comes in Graham Williams’ first season as producer and he was trying to steer the show in a new direction after years of dark and gothic adventures. This story was suppose to be a satire on the taxation system however it gets bogged down and ends up being a slightly dull story.
The story is essentially about the Doctor helping those ‘tax dodgers’ from rising up against Gatherer Hade and the Collector. However the problem is that the people that he is trying to help are very boring and I find myself not really caring about them. The only one that I found myself liking was Roy Macready (Cordo). We get to hear his story and so can sympathise when he attempts suicide but is saved by the Doctor and Leela. Aside from that only Williams Simons is worth watching and that’s only because he was in the ITV drama Heartbeat. Richard Leech is pretty poor as Gatherer Hade. I know that this is suppose to be a satire but his character could have been slightly less camp and a bit more sinister. It seems odd that the collector would have Hade working for him but I suppose it was needed for the story.
There are things to like about this adventure. The story does come up with a funny line where Leela asks if paying taxes is like sacrifices to tribal gods and the Doctor replies “Paying taxes is more painful”. Then there is Henry Woolf. His involvement only starts in episode two but whenever he is on screen I find that the scene and the story pick up. The location scenes are very good and Pennant Roberts makes the best use of what there is. It would have been better if the sun had come out because the view would have been spectacular but Roberts still does well.
The ultimate problem with this story is the Robert Holmes has taken his eye of the ball and lost what he does best. Instead of telling a damn good story he is using this show as a way of ripping into the Inland Revenue for whom he had some dealings with previously which weren’t nice. Ok I can understand his frustration but there are better ways of dealing with that and The Sun Makers is a story that shows what a horrible thing taxation can be towards the poor but it should be able aliens and gribly things.
Tom Baker and Louise Jameson are reasonable in this story. Quite why Louise Jameson considers this to be one of her favourites is beyond me. Ok she’s entitled to her opinion but I think there were better stories to feature Leela. This isnt one of Tom Baker’s finest stories either but he’s just going through the motions here. The less said about K9 the better. There is a scene where he is meant to be creeping up behind someone but he’s making such a bloody racket that its hard to believe. The Sun Makers is a watchable story that has some good things in it but sadly is ruined by a lacklustre rebellion group and a gatherer that went AWOL from a panto. Not one of Robert Holmes’ finest.
The story is essentially about the Doctor helping those ‘tax dodgers’ from rising up against Gatherer Hade and the Collector. However the problem is that the people that he is trying to help are very boring and I find myself not really caring about them. The only one that I found myself liking was Roy Macready (Cordo). We get to hear his story and so can sympathise when he attempts suicide but is saved by the Doctor and Leela. Aside from that only Williams Simons is worth watching and that’s only because he was in the ITV drama Heartbeat. Richard Leech is pretty poor as Gatherer Hade. I know that this is suppose to be a satire but his character could have been slightly less camp and a bit more sinister. It seems odd that the collector would have Hade working for him but I suppose it was needed for the story.
There are things to like about this adventure. The story does come up with a funny line where Leela asks if paying taxes is like sacrifices to tribal gods and the Doctor replies “Paying taxes is more painful”. Then there is Henry Woolf. His involvement only starts in episode two but whenever he is on screen I find that the scene and the story pick up. The location scenes are very good and Pennant Roberts makes the best use of what there is. It would have been better if the sun had come out because the view would have been spectacular but Roberts still does well.
The ultimate problem with this story is the Robert Holmes has taken his eye of the ball and lost what he does best. Instead of telling a damn good story he is using this show as a way of ripping into the Inland Revenue for whom he had some dealings with previously which weren’t nice. Ok I can understand his frustration but there are better ways of dealing with that and The Sun Makers is a story that shows what a horrible thing taxation can be towards the poor but it should be able aliens and gribly things.
Tom Baker and Louise Jameson are reasonable in this story. Quite why Louise Jameson considers this to be one of her favourites is beyond me. Ok she’s entitled to her opinion but I think there were better stories to feature Leela. This isnt one of Tom Baker’s finest stories either but he’s just going through the motions here. The less said about K9 the better. There is a scene where he is meant to be creeping up behind someone but he’s making such a bloody racket that its hard to believe. The Sun Makers is a watchable story that has some good things in it but sadly is ruined by a lacklustre rebellion group and a gatherer that went AWOL from a panto. Not one of Robert Holmes’ finest.
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