Customer Reviews

Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters (Story 66)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Another two adventures featuring the intrepid Time Lord are released on DVD, again showcasing different eras from the long running BBC adventure series. "Carnival of Monsters" dates from 1973 and the tenth season of the show, with the companion release "Resurrection of the Daleks" hailing from season twenty-one broadcast in 1984.

As with all the previous DVD releases of Doctor Who, the archive material has been painstakingly restored, with spectacular results. Each of the two stories looks as impressive as when the adventures were first broadcast all those years ago. In addition to the restoration, a number of very interesting extras has been added to both releases which are almost worth the price of the discs alone.

Starting with the earlier adventure, starring Jon Pertwee as the third incarnation The Doctor, there are a lot of goodies included along with the four-part adventure. The story itself marked something of a watershed in the Pertwee era, since it was the first to feature the Doctor traveling freely in time and space since the black and white Troughton era which ended in 1969. The intervening seasons had become somewhat tedious with endless earth bound adventures, albeit with occasional escapes for the Doctor, so it was refreshing to have the Doctor once more freely roaming the universe. "Carnival of Monsters" was the first story to be recorded for season ten, actually being completed as part of the production block for season nine in 1972. It was held over and transmitted second in the tenth anniversary season. It was also the second Pertwee story to be directed by the show's producer, Barry Letts. Letts provides a genuinely interesting commentary along with the other star of the show, Katy Manning, the actress who played the enormously popular Jo Grant. Although a fairly one-dimensional character, Manning certainly brought a great deal of energy and warmth to her portrayal of Grant, and that enthusiasm hasn't been lost in the thirty plus years since the story was made. Manning and Letts are clearly delighted to be reunited again for this DVD, and their commentary is entertaining, informative and indeed delightful. There are also on screen captions to fill in the gaps in their memories.

This release differs from the earlier VHS release considerably. The four episodes have been re-mastered from the original broadcast tapes. All the additional footage and indeed edits from the VHS release have been included as extras rather than in the body of the programme. There is also a fascinating, but short, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the programme, plus an abandoned reworking of the theme tune, some model work, a photo gallery, the trailer from a 1981 TV repeat and an Easter egg to find.

The story itself is witty and refreshing, being penned by the programmes most prolific and popular writer, Robert Holmes, and acted well by the assembled cast. Sadly, I would say the production is let down by some gaudy design and costuming, particularly the scenes on the alien planet, but that was often the case with the Pertwee stories. The sister release, "Resurrection of the Daleks" is quite different and much darker in tone and appearance. Heralding the return of the Doctor's oldest and most popular enemies after a five year absence from the show, this story is from the end of Peter Davison's rather brief reign as the fifth incarnation of the Time Lord and indeed marks the end of an era as it includes the departure of the long running companion Tegan Jovanka, played by Janet Fielding.

One of the things I was dreading for this release was the commentary featuring Davison, Fielding and director Matthew Robinson. Davison has not exactly been enthralling with the earlier releases he has contributed to, and as most hard-core fans of the show know, Fielding has been extremely critical of the show; particularly it's portrayal of female characters in the years since she relinquished her role. However, I am delighted to report that their commentary is wonderful! Definitely the highlight of the release. Obviously Fielding has rediscovered her sense of humor, and doesn't even seem to mind when Davison and Robinson make endless sexist remarks about her costume and legs! Although it's a bit mean, their sending up of fellow actor Mark Strickson (Turlough) is genuinely funny. Robinson is actually the weak link in the commentary team, since unfortunately he is almost impossible to silence, and constantly talks over the other two. But it's a minor quibble.

Another surprise is the inclusion of BOTH John Nathan-Turner; the shows much-maligned long running producer, and his script editor Eric Saward who also penned the script. The two fell out while producing the ill-fated twenty-third season of the show resulting in Saward stalking out of the programme mid-way through production and a great deal of public mud-slinging. Although they are not actually seen together, they've both filmed new sequences with Director Robinson at the locations used for the filming of the story. The on-screen production notes are a little tedious on this release, and there are also two features from the BBC's "Breakfast Time" which actually have precious little to do with the story itself. But they're fun to see again.

It's a taught story, with a stellar guest cast, although like most of the Davison era, it's all a little too complex, and doesn't stand up to a great deal of scrutiny. Some of the plot holes are pretty large, but it still works as a very entertaining piece. The episodes are included as produced, in four 25-minute episodes, even though they were actually transmitted as two 45-minute episodes at the time, thanks to the BBC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics.

They're both great releases, and a welcome addition to the growing Doctor Who DVD library. I'd recommend both discs even if you're not a die-hard fan of the show.

The 2nd story from the 10th season is probably one of the best of the Pertwee years. It combines a series of monsters, both up-front and cameo, with both seriousness and tongue-in-cheek insight.

Dr. Who and Jo land on what the Doctor believes is Metabelis-3, the famed blue planet. Jo, however, believes that they are on a ship in the Indian Ocean in 1926, based on evidence of a newspaper and the ship's cargohold. Unfortunately, they are both wrong. The TARDIS has landed in a Mini-Scope, which is being viewed both by the government officials and visitors (two show people who have brought the Mini-Scope) to Inter-Minor. The Mini-Scope contains such specimans as Ogrons, Cybermen, the people on the ship, and the dreaded Drashigs.

I won't go on and spoil the story, but honestly the ending of Part 2 is probably the best cliffhanger of the Pertwee (and perhaps others) years.

The DVD picture is much sharper than the video, and comes with fun extras such as watching Vorg warming up for the camera ("Roll up, roll up and see the Monster show"), alternative electronic credits, a 1981 BBC promo for THE FIVE FACES OF DR WHO, and others.

This is easily one of Jon Pertwee's best episodes. An important episode in terms of his Doctor. Having his exile lifted, he resumes his temporal wanderings, with his favorite companion, Jo Grant faithfuly by his side. It's a bit ironic his first "voyage" post exile, lands him inside a cosmic sideshow! Another noteworthy event is the introduction of the dreaded Drashigs, the "nasty beasties" of the story. Years later, Pertwee would recolect that they were one of his favorite monsters. The last important note is the appearance of Ian Marter who plays first officer on board the ship the TARDIS "lands" on inside the "side show do-hickey". Fans will recognize Marter who goes on to play Harry Sullivan during Tom Baker's 1st season.

Hoo-boy!-another Doctor Who DVD release....As far as Dvds go, this one is loaded with some pretty decent extras. There are at least four deleted, extended and changed scenes. There is an alternate opening sequence that sounds as if Keith Emerson may have had more of a hand in composing than the BBC workshop. There are commentary tracks, but for some reason, my player wouldn't work in that mode. The DVD transfer is of above average quality, but somehow the deleted scenes looked better. Go figure. The audio quality is also above average. I had no trouble understanding any of the spoken dialogue. The photo gallery is nice; I was really surprised to see the way Katy Manning hadn't aged one iota--she truly is a beautiful woman. There is also a small behind the scenes clip that shows just how much work went into the production of just one scene from the series, another reason we fans should be grateful to the creative architects who helmed the series over the years. There are even a couple of hidden features that showcase an extneded opening sequence and some guy counting backwards from 30. As for the story itself, Carnival was never one of my favorites from the Pertwee era, which is why the four stars instead of five. I would have rather seen Inferno or another Master episode released. It's way overhyped. Granted, the writing is very clever, but the action and plot are real yawners. Still any Who you can see is good who.

After getting several classic Doctor Who episodes on DVD, the time has come to revisit the Pertwee era, and for this outing, we're treated to 'Carnival of Monsters.'

Often regarded as a curiosity between the fan-favorite stories 'The Three Doctors' and 'Frontier In Space,' this story actually has a lot going for it, and is given the full treatment on this new DVD release.

The story has been carefully restored and remastered, and, as a first, is finally presented in the way it was originally broadcast. The previous videotape version had some curiosities about it, namely the early edit of episode two, which featured some additional, non-broadcast material and a different arrangement of the traditional theme music. Additionally, when the story was repeated in 1981, the director, Barry Letts, requested a reedit of part 4 and got it - so the original hasn't been seen for ages! Don't let that put you off though; it's been polished and shined and I can only guess that it's never looked as good!

All the material from that early edit of episode 2 has been preserved here in the form of extras: you get a title sequence using the aborted 'Delaware' theme, deleted scenes, and also a presentation of the edited ending. That's not all though, as there's a great commentary from actress Katy Manning (Jo) and Director/Producer Barry Letts. Katy is obviously having a great time watching it and provides lots of humor, while Barry reveals quite a lot of behind-the-scenes info. There's also the now-standard pop-up production notes (one of my favorite parts of the whole line), a Who's Who section for information on the actors, a fascinating actual look at the shooting of the story from 1972, test footage of the visual effects, a photo gallery...plus even more. This disc is packed to the gills, and contains everything you'd like to have, and some things you probably didn't even know about.

All in all, it will make a great addition to your growing Doctor Who DVD library. If you hadn't thought about this one before, the fantastic extras more than make the difference, as they reveal some rare behind-the-scenes info, and a chance to see the story as it was originally intended.

"The Carnival of Monsters" is most definitely not a "Doctor Who" classic. It's average and run-of-the-mill. Nothing about it really stands out and grabs your attention. And that's exactly what I loved about it. Classics are all very fine and well, but this storyline demonstrates the show's ability to reliably and consistently tell a good story and entertain in a more low key, week-to-week register--probably more of a factor in the show's longevity than a handful of interspersed peaks anyway, and in any case peaks aren't peaks without the context of level ground.

One great thing about this storyline is that it works very well on several different levels. The most basic is plain adventure: the Doctor and Jo being mistaken for stowaways on a British steamship or being chased by viciously carnivorous monsters and such. Stuff even the kiddies can get into. Then there is the fine and inventive sci-fi storytelling that keeps us guessing: why are the Doctor and Jo on a steamship in 1926 when sensors show they are on another planet in another time entirely? The longer they're there, the more things don't add up. And how does all this relate to the itinerant entertainers' problems on Inter Minor with officious bureaucrats and restrictive immigration procedures? To see these various mysteries gradually resolved as all the unraveled strands come together makes for a somewhat more sophisticated enjoyment. And then the amusing social satire definitely appeals to the adults, for who among us hasn't had their time wasted and been exasperated to distraction by mediocre, paper-pushing tyrants? "Office" and "officious" are cognates for a reason.

Yet the story functions on a deeper level still as an extended exploration of the various means by which we objectify, dehumanize, and exploit others. The Inter Minor bureaucrats are of course key here, both for their use, or abuse rather, of the Functionaries as slave labor and the manner in which they justify this to themselves in terms of the old superiority/inferiority dichotomy, and for their blatant xenophobia and condescending attitudes towards "outsiders"--as less civilized, as dirty and diseased, as aggressive and hostile, the standard stereotypes. But the two Lurman entertainers (with wonderfully gaudy outfits, by the way) bearing the brunt of Inter Minorian xenophobia are just as guilty in their own way, chiefly through their habit of capturing other intelligent lifeforms and imprisoning them in the Miniscope for display, all to make a quick buck. Also, it's not emphasized much, but they did come to Inter Minor in the first place counting on an unsophisticated and easily bilked audience, after all. Appropriately, the Doctor tells both of them off when he finally gets out of the miniscope (the 1926 steamship was, it turns out, one of the exhibits therein). Speaking of the latter, it can surely be no coincidence that of all the historical settings conceivable to the writer, he chose a British ship on its way to India; if xenophobia has an inward twist of isolationism, it also has an outward twist of imperialism.

So, in the very best traditions of science fiction, "Carnival of Monsters" operates across a broad spectrum of sophistication levels all at once, proving that entertaining and thought-provoking need not be mutually exclusive antonyms. Imaginative costumes and sets, fine acting, and little touches of humor help things along, too. This indeed is the kind of stuff that keeps people watching "Doctor Who" week after week, year after year, generation after generation--or should I say, regeneration after regeneration?

It's a pity that Doctor Who is underappreciated as a show with poignant messages. It's not like that all the time, and while it was always primarily intended to be entertainment, sometimes it leapt out with something to say. "Carnival of Monsters" preceeds "The Truman Show" by 25 years, yet has roughly the same message. Although Peter Weir's film is very good, all the ironies and "social context" messages seemed obvious - the reaches of television, the media and the basic voyeurism that lies in our dark personas. This Jon Pertwee tale is exactly the same, although in its day was not discussed as a treatise on television culture, even though it asks exactly the same questions - are we being watched, who is watching us and where do you draw the line between reality and entertainment. The Doctor and Jo wind up within a travelling peepshow - a boat in the Indian Ocean in 1926 in which the passengers, totally unaware of their predicament, play out the same acts, like a stuck gramophone record (or, according to today's terms, in constant action replay). The genius of Robert Holmes shines again, delivering not just a message (and avoiding the didactic way "Star Trek" always spells its concerns out to its audience) but a gripping story. The Doctor's gradual realisation of the situation, followed by his and Jo's attempts to escape from the Miniscope make for an adventure full of nail biting suspense. It is also fortunate that the Drashigs are excellently realised monsters. Except for a few scenes where the effects let them down (mainly when they attack the ship), the Drashigs are impressive, especially when one bursts out of the marsh at the end of episode two. "Carnival of Monsters" has everything. Suspense and terror (the Doctor and Jo wandering on the marsh plain before the monster appears is extremely tense, with a foreboding atmosphere that makes the viewer realise something WILL happen soon); clautrophobic scenes as the time travellers make their way through the machine's workings. There is also humour, in the form of Vorg and Shirna and, to a lesser extent, a subtle jab at bureaucracy in the form of the Inter Minor officials. (The subject of xenophobia is also presented, making this story a multi-message one indeed!) Michael Wisher is brilliant as the scheming Kalik (possibly his second best role after Davros). Terence Lodge as Orum is wonderfully sycophantic and viewers see Ian Marter for the first time, as Andrews (Marter would go on to become companion Harry Sullivan and then write very good novelisations of stories). So, whether you want a clever and subtle story on television, the watchers and the watched; or whether you want a well paced and exciting adventure, "Carnival of Monsters" should be your cup of tea.

The TARDIS has landed on a cargo ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean...or have they? Not convinced that they are on Earth, the Doctor discovers that He and Jo, along with other kidnapped earthlings and aliens, are in a minscope, a machine that contains living organisms from around the universe in their own minaturised enviorment. "Carnival of Monsters" is the highlight of the Tenth season. Robert Holmes does it again, poking fun at TV and his audience. The production is pretty good, the direction from Letts is superb. Ian Marter making his fist Who appearance is great, and so is Micheal Wisher( not making his first appearance). Shurna and Vorg are hilarious. The Drashigs(on film) aren't that bad. Even though we can see the edge of the bald cap on Pletrac, and a couple of cheap effects, "Carnival" is thoroughly entertaing, even with repeated viewings.

This episode brings back memories of staying up late on a Sunday night when I had to be up for school the next day. Our local non-profit TV station used to run all the seasons of Dr.Who. I would stay up and record the episodes.
In this particular episode, the Doctor and Jo, while en route to Metabelis 3, are caught in a gravitational field of a peculiar machine. This machine holds a number of creatures sustained in their own habitats, so you can imagine their bewilderment trying to figure out where in the world they are.
Like all Dr.Who episodes the effects are somewhat cheesy but that is what we have come to enjoy from Dr.Who. The plot line is pretty good but the makeup on a few of the characters is awful. All in all I enjoyed this episode as I knew I would. One drawback is that for ...they should have remastered the audio. It's still in 2.0 prologic which is the same as a video tape.
Hope this review has helped.

This story contains some very memorable characters, especially the Minorians who despite being so obviously dull and bureaucratic, entertain us with some ludicrous dialogue - "The tribunal will not tolerate insolence from unauthorized lifeforms! ". Good performances all round, wonderful wobbly sets and a semi-serious script (yes - believe it or not, the story is supposed to be a sort of parody of 70's British television!), ensure that this story has a special place in any Who fans collection.