DW STORY #126 – MAWDRYN UNDEAD [FIFTH DOCTOR]: The third story of the twentieth season was a four-episode adventure broadcast over two Tuesdays and Wednesdays from February 1st to February 9th, 1983. PLOT: It is 1983. Brigadier Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart has retired from U.N.I.T and is now a teacher at a public school where, unbeknownst to him, one of his students (Turlough) is actually an alien disguised as a British school boy. Turlough is approached by the Black Guardian (last seen at the end of the “Key to Time” series during the sixteenth season) and offered a ride back to his home planet if he manages to kill the Doctor. Turlough agrees, under the impression that the Doctor is evil. Meanwhile, the Doctor and his companions find themselves caught in the warp ellipse of a starship that has become trapped in time. Once on board the starship, the Doctor encounters Turlough and together they journey in a transmat back to Earth. There the Doctor meets up with the Brigadier, but the Brig has no memory of the Doctor! It turns out that in dealing with the starship, the TARDIS, and the transmat, the Doctor and his companions are travelling back and forth between 1983 and 1977. At the heart of the story are a group of scientists on the starship (led by Mawdryn) that had been experimenting with Time Lord technology in the hope of mastering regeneration only to find themselves in an undead state of permanent decay. All they wish to do now is die. The Doctor finally agrees to give up his remaining regenerations to help them die, but before he is able to do so, a 1977 version of the Brigadier meets up with a 1983 version of the Brigadier. When the two touch, the resulting release of time energy sets the scientists free from their curse as well as triggers the memory loss experienced by the 1977 version of the Brigadier. At the end, the Doctor agrees to take Turlough aboard the TARDIS as a companion, unaware of his alliance with the Black Guardian. REMARKS: Continuing with the theme of reminiscing about the show’s twenty years, not only are the Brigadier and the Black Guardian brought back in this story, but numerous flashback clips are used to show the Brigadier’s memories. There were discussions early on of bringing companion Ian Chesterton back (hence the school setting), but actor William Russell was unavailable. They next considered Harry Sullivan, but eventually settled on having a retired Brigadier in the role of school teacher. Not only does the Doctor bring up the “Blinovitch Limitation Effect” (last mentioned during the Third Doctor’s era), but several old companions are also mentioned by name: Sergeant Benton, Harry Sullivan, Liz Shaw, Jo Grant, and Sarah Jane Smith – a veritable potpourri of nostalgia! In addition, the show adds some information about regenerations, specifically stating that this is the Doctor’s fifth incarnation and that he only has eight remaining (clarifying the 12 regenerations rule established in “The Deadly Assassin” and verifying that the Doctor did not have any incarnations prior to the First Doctor [which, some would argue, contradicts what was suggested in “The Brain of Morbius – but that’s another issue]). The new companion – Turlough – was played by Mark Strickson. Producer John Nathan-Turner thought that Strickson’s blond hair made him hard to distinguish from the Doctor and asked that he shave his head. When he refused, Nathan-Turner decided to make him a redhead instead (and out came the hair dye …). If you are a regular reader of these revues, then you’ll already know that I do NOT recommend this story. It is 97 minutes of your life that you’ll never get back! But, as always, that’s just my opinion. It is NOT the worst story of the season, but it’s very near the bottom. This story has an okay plot … but (again, just my opinion) it is entirely ruined by the production, the acting (or lack thereof), the bad makeup, and the extreme over-lighting (General Hospital appears to be dark and foreboding compared to this story!). What on paper reads as an interesting story comes across as boring and discombobulated. The production values appear cheap (even when they aren’t), the Black Guardian’s makeup is laughable (Crow hair? Really?), and viewers are left just not caring about what happens to the various characters in the story. Having said that, it was nice to see the Brigadier again. COMPANIONS IN THIS STORY: Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough Up next: “Terminus” … ~ CL
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 01:23:52 +0000
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