5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whatever you've seen before, you ain't seen nothing yet!, August 20, 2002
This review is from: Doctor Who - Greatest Show in the Galaxy [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Hey, a story with a title describing how I feel about Doctor Who! The Doctor and Ace land on Segonax, home of The Psychic Circus, which back in its earlier days, was a travelling entertainment show. Well, it's the same way on Segonax, except that it's more like a terminal case of the Gong Show or Survivor.
Coming to perform are Nord the Vandal, a brutish musclebrain on a roaring three wheeled bike with cow's horns for handlebars, wearing a winged helmet, intergalactic explorer Captain Cook and his assistant Mags, and the Whizz Kid, a skinny nerd with thick round glasses who's the Psychic Circus's biggest fan. Cook is a khaki-uniformed, pompous, selfish boor, looking out for number one, and quick to bore anyone with his travels. "I remember something similar happening on the planet..." He drops more planet's names than I've had hot meals. Well, maybe not that much, but you get the idea.
The Doctor, Cook, Mags, and Nord are captured, each awaiting their performance. Cook comes up with a survival of the fittest philosophy, all the while sitting leisurely at tea. He says it best concerning the Circus: "Anyone dumb enough to get into the ring gets killed." Or anyone unaware of the dangers, I'd like to add.
The Circus's employees are either disenchanted and rebelling (Bellboy and Flowerchild), under the thrall of the current owners (Ringmaster, Morganna the fortune teller, the Chief Clown), or mentally damaged (Deadbeat). It's the latter who actually helps the others discover the mystery of who's behind the Circus.
Ian Reddington (Chief Clown) has effective makeup that makes him look like the Joker from the Batman TV series. Veteran actor T.P. McKenna plays Cook to oafish, smarmy perfection, and Jessica Martin has an expressive, appealing, and exciting (in the cliffhanger to Episode 3) performance as Mags.
I got two things out of The Greatest Show In The Galaxy, one of the shows last superlative moments. It's an allegory on TV culture, demands by the viewers for better shows and by the BBC for better ratings. Cook's comments while in the cage point to this: "Your chance of survival in the ring are better if you keep them entertained." The Doctor asks, "Why, will they let you out again?" "No, you'll last longer." Whizz Kid is a stereotypical anal-retentively obsessed TV program fan, the family is the viewers, the ones in control the BBC, the Chief Clown the BBC Controller, and the Ringmaster and Morganna the BBC programmers.
However, it's also an allegory about warm and small businesses taken over by a larger, impersonal corporate entity. The difference with the Circus is, the only way out is to be killed. Bellboy wistfully tells Ace how the Circus used to be. "We all had high ideals when we started. We shared everything, enjoyed making people happy. If we all had a problem we'd sit down and talk it through. We were so happy." He's so disenchanted over the death of Flowerchild, he doesn't want to go on living: "the fun and freedom of being what you want to be all gone. They took everything bright and beautiful and buried it." Morganna says "We used to have fun." The Ringmaster tells her that they are part of a machine and more successful now, and that the other employees "couldn't take the pace. They wanted to live in the past, ... in the old lazy ways." If this is the future of all workplaces, then give me the past, give me liberty, or give me death.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece., January 28, 2000
It grieves me that some people judge McCoy's era (which was one of the series' highest points) on his first few adventures. Most of the stories of Seasons 25 and 26 are examples of how the McCoy era changed overnight from being a bland, garish pantomime into an era filled with multi-layered stories, the kind of genuine mystery surrounding the central character unseen since the sixties and a wonderfully dark, unchildish atmosphere.
'Greatest' is a classic. Whether or not you're scared of or suspicious of clowns there's no doubting they make good villains. The psychic circus' Chief Clown especially is excellently portayed. The story is filled with strong characters, including T.P.McKenna's scheming Captain Cook, the youthfully innocent Mags who hides a sinister secret. The Whizzkid is a humorous parody of the most irritating kind of Dr Who fan: "I never got to see the early days. I know it's not as good as it used to be but I'm still terribly interested". There is also a marvellously creepy family watching the show, providing an association with the audience by saying what the viewer is thinking. The psychic circus itself is genuinely eerie and the whole 4 episodes are filled with refreshing originality, good design and well-thought-out ideas, all assisted by one of the very finest Dr Who soundtracks.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Maybe we're between acts...", May 8, 2000
By A Customer
Amazingly, a lot of so-called Who fans don't really get this this story, which is fine with me, but for those of you who thought the program was on its last legs, "Greatest" happens to be about Doctor Who! The Circus is the show, the Gods are the BBC executives in the Dark Circus(love that name!), Captain Cook represents Who's adversarries, like Star Trek, The (yecch)A-Team and any other competing shows, and could Bellboy represent the Doctor himself or JNT? And let's not forget Whizz Kid(Yikes!) If fans want to relish in the so-called "Golden Era of Who", such as the Baker/Hinchcliffe/Holmes era, I feel sorry for you, as there are MANY enjoyable and entertaining adventureses THROUGHOUT the entire program. Sure, some episodes stick out like a sore thumb, but if the last few years of Who do absolutely nothing for you, blame it on the BBC and narrow minded fans! Remember people, it's only a TV show!
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