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Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora (Story 86)

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4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Doctor Who has always been very good with stories the fans call "pseudo-historicals", meaning tales that take place in a historical setting, but involve science fiction concepts - such as "Pyramids of Mars", "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", and "The Curse of Fenric", to name just a few. This is another such story, but it has always been cast aside by most fans for more popular adventures.

In truth, though, it's a pretty entertaining yarn...Tom Baker and Lis Sladen are both very good, and plot - the idea that the Doctor has unwittingly brought a fearsome sentient energy to 15th century Italy - is unusual for this era of the programme. The historical costumes and sets are very nicely done, and most of the guest cast are believable in their roles. The only real problem is that it drags a bit in the last episode, and the final solution isn't totally satisfying.

This is perhaps not the best Tom Baker story out there, but it's an enjoyable one and shouldn't be passed over.

The Mandragora Helix has hitched a ride via the TARDIS! The Doctor and Sarah land in Italy in the 14th Century, unaware of the evil they have brought with them. The design of the story is excellent, including the new(old?) TARDIS console room. But the story feels a little off kilter, it could have been an excellent 3 parter. Count Frederico isn't that bad of a character, the same with Heironymous. But at the end, the Doctor merely short circuits the Helix, and claiming that it would return in the latter half of the 20th Century(a sequel hunting ending with no sequel)! An "A" typical pseudo-historical adventure.

"How Big is Big?...."The Masque of the Mandragora, Season opener for the Fourth Doctor was surprisingly low key. We begin with the Doctor and Sarah in a TARDIS corridor having a conversation about his "enormous boot cupboard."

But as tame as the moment seems, it is one of the scenes I remember best from this story arc....up until this point very little of the TARDIS interior had been seen and here it is suggested how really huge it could be inside it's disguised form. Soon after this moment would be "called back to" in the chase through the TARDIS interior for "INVASION of TIME."

Another great thing about Masque is that is was another Dr. Who story set in Earth's past following the Third Doctor's isolation to Earth's "present" with UNIT (and some galactic yo-yoing towards the end of his tenure) it is good to have the Doc travel for these historical adventures again. This time the Doctor and Sarah are on Earth during the Italian Renaissance when the corrupt and powerful Medicis rule, and to heap some more trouble on to that the Doctor inadvertently transports a Mandragora ball of energy and alien intelligence intent on conquering Earth.

There's a great cast of plotting and political characters maneuvering their Machiavellian notions through this tale: Evil Uncle Frederico; a Count planning to usurp the rule of his naďve, nephew; Giuliano, with the aid of his court astrologer Hieronymous, not to mention the evil brothers of the Cult of Demnos. As in much of the Classic episodes of Dr. Who, there are clear similarities to Classic Lit., this time it is POE's "Masque of the Red Death", with added twists ofcourse. This isn't a complaint, mind you.

There's lots of horses, swords, wonderful costumes and wonderful dialogue, too. There's a running gag begun in this one in which the Doctor never gets to meet the great Leonardo DaVinci, I hope the new series picks up on this and does a story. Not to mention the open ending of this one...look out 1980's!!!

Drinking Game:

Drink when...

....the Doctor and/or Sarah are knocked unconscious

....the Doctor and/or Sarah are bound / gagged or arrested

....the Doctor and/or Sarah talk down to the "eye-ties"

....there is a case of mistaken identity before/ during or after the Masque

....someone is ZAPPED with Helix Lightning (like the Doctor's Clint Eastwoodish stand-off)

...you see a guy in tights (what the heck, go ahead)!

The opening story of Season 14 showed a return to a historical adventure. After a close encounter with the Mandragora Helix, the Doctor and Sarah head off to the Dukedom of San Martino in the late 15th century. Unfortunately, three things happen. One, Sarah is captured by the black-robed brethren, members of the Cult of Demnos, who intend to have her sacrificed. Two, the Doctor is captured by soldiers belonging to Count Federico. Three, some Mandragora energy which had slipped into the TARDIS goes around killing people, grossly distorting their faces.

Count Federico is quite the authoritarian, as his men make random attacks on peasants to get any idea of insurrection out of their heads. He is beset by one obstacle in his attempts to gain the dukedom after the death of his brother. That is his young nephew Giuliano, someone interested in scholarly learning, particularly astronomy, but also justice. "I want to rule over a land where there is no tyranny, no lies, no blind ignorance and superstition. ... We make our own lives... not the stars."

That last is against Hieronymous, the hooded court astrologer with a funny forked beard who also heads the cult. The Mandragora energy communicates with him and choses him as the one to become supreme ruler of the Earth. Hieronymous deems himself a humble astrologer and interpreter who says "the decrees of fate must be obeyed. We have no choice." I wonder if the name of this character was inspired by Hieronymous de Savanarola, who condemned church corruption under the Borgias and wore a monk's habit in public.

The Doctor and Sarah are befriended by Giuliano, who perceived the Doctor's scholarly abilities. He finds an ally in the Doctor, who helps him against Federico, who begins to openly move against his own nephew.

Great lines: when Hieronymous accuses the Doctor of profaning the sacred stone of the cult, the Doctor replies flippantly, "Oh, come off it, Hieronymous. You know who I am. You can drop all that bosh about profanity and sacred stones. Just be your natural horrid self."

One interesting question viewers might have is why do the Doctor's companions understand and speak with the local inhabitants in their travels. Here, the Doctor explains it as a Time Lord gift he shares with his companions.

Other things: Tim Pigott-Smith plays Marco, Giuliano's companion and at times, stronger friend. And Norman Jones (Hieronymous) appeared in another Who story The Silurians as the ill-fated Major Baker. This also sees the introduction of the secondary TARDIS console, with brown wood paneling, brass fittings, and no central column, and smaller so it could be more easily moved. And the Doctor should've said "another 150 years" instead of "another 50 years" when he says "we could've used Galileo's [telescope]."

Some sources place the setting as 1478, but as Giuliano mentions a man who believes the Earth is round and not flat, it's more likely 1492, as Columbus's theories were accepted upon his return back the following year.

The concept of superstition, astrology, and predestination, represented by the Helix, and that of knowledge, astronomy, and free will, represented by Giuliano and the Doctor seems a bit simplistic, but it works. After all, who would want to have their decision guided when Mars is in the House of the Ram or is in conjunction with Saturn? For man, the only thing worth having is a sense of purpose-"the ability granted to every living being to shape its own destiny" instead of being idle-minded, useless sheep. Indeed, Giuliano's pondering, "Perhaps the stars don't move, maybe it's we who move" sums it all. In that sense, it succeeds, with the use of Portmeiron in Northern Wales a good location doubling for early Renaissance Italy.

A strong entry in the early Tom Baker years (my favorite era on the show). Great cast, great use of sets and locations, not too bad on the FX. Another gothic horror tinged story with a cult of satanists no less. Instead of a race of monsters, a ball of energy. Simple but effective.

This is supposed to be a bad episode? Are you kidding me? This classic boasts not one but two of the better villains ever to twirl their mustaches on "Dr. Who" -- a pretty impressive statement considering this is the show that produced Davros, Dr. Soren, Weng-Chiang aka Magnus Greel, Harrison Chase, Sutekh, and innuerable other bad boys who just want to crush, kill, and destroy. Don't believe me? Pop the tape in and watch the insufferably smug and self-centered Count Frederico growl to his flunky, "By morning I want to see Guiliano's liver fed to the dogs."

But I'm getting ahead of myself. "Masque" is about a malevolent and rather wierd being called the Mandragora Helix, that thumbs a ride on the Tardis to 15th Century Italy and once there, decides to avert the Rennaisance and trap mankind in the Dark Ages forever. Its motive? Uh, well, it doesn't like mankind. Fears it will expand across the galaxy. That sort of thing. Really, who cares? The Helix is not really a villain, it's what writers call a "maguffin" -- an obvious plot device designed to set a chain of events in motion.

The chain is this: San Martino's old ruler has just passed away under mysterious circumstances. The new duke (Guilano) suspects his scheming uncle Frederico and his sinister fortune-telling sidekick, Hironimous, of the murder. He also suspects he's next on the list, and he's right. But Hironimous is playing a double game: not only is he working for Frederico, he's also secretly the leader of a nasty pagan cult that favors masks, robes, and ritual sacrifice (and in fairness, who doesn't?). Naturally, this gets him the favorable attention of the Helix, which decides to use him and his cult as its servants on earth.

Having brought the Helix to earth (oops, sorry about all the horrible deaths) Tom Baker's Doctor (in very fine and cheeky form) does his best to frustrate the count's ambitions, unravel Hironimous' connection to the cult, and prevent the Helix from wiping out the men who will bring humanity out of the Dark Ages. It's really the least he can do, considering. Liz Sladen's Sarah gets captured, hypnotized and nearly sacrificed more than usual, but at the same time gets to enjoy a sort of low-key, G-rated flirtation with Guilano, which makes this one of the few episodes ever that aknowledged that yes, some of the Doc's sidekicks were cute and yes, boys might be attracted to them.

What makes "Masque" so enjoyable in my book is the excellent costume and sey design, the large number of scenes shot outdoors (instead of the cramped, overlit, fake-looking sets that the show was condemned to in the last years of Baker's run as Doctor), the cockney accents of the Italian guards ("I ain't goin' do'wn 'ere Givoni, not fer awl th'gold in Rome"), and the truly wonderful villains (I wish I could remember the names of the actors; but the guy who plays Hironimous also showed up in the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Homes episode "The Crooked Man" as well, the Crooked Man). I'm well aware that the story has some rather large holes and more than its share of maguffins, but I also am paralyzed with not caring. "Masque" may not be among "The Best of the Best" but it is, in my book, "The Best of the Rest."

This historical story from "Doctor Who's" 14th season is wonderous on so many levels. It introduces the temporary wooden console room, is Elisabeth Sladen's penultimate (second to last) story, and brings "Doctor Who" back to the historical fiction aspect (even though none of it's true in this case). Not a well remembered story, but a fine one. Tom Baker gives another fantastic and gothic performance as the Fourth Doctor. "Masque" also features "Cheers'" Gareth Armstrong (Robin Coulcourt).

This was my first viewing of "Mandragora" and, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The production values are high, the characters well-drawn and the ending actually surprised me. What I really respond to is Phillip Hinchcliffe's influence on the tonality of his seasons - sci-fi, dark humor, and melodrama, all blended together with a dash of grand guignol.

I am in the process of collecting every Who episode I can get my hands on. To all the Baker Who fans out there - isn't it frigging awesome that we can now see these in high quality with all these supplementary features? I have been more excited about collecting these than expanding my blu ray collection...:-P

Cheers!

A brilliantly written and acted episode. This episode has it all. Great villain, great chemistry among the cast, great buildup!!! Baker is amazing in this episode and the episode is so well paced that by the end, you will be popping out of your seat. Great episode from a fantastic era of Dr. Who.

The Doctor and Sarah are pulled into a spiral in space called the Mandragora Helix, which looks suspiciously like blue paint with silver flecks in it going down a bathtub drain but is actually the source of a malevolent influence seeking to take over Earth. Mandragora energy in the form of a sparkling red orb infiltrates the TARDIS and is unwittingly transported by the Doctor to Renaissance Italy, where it escapes and gets up to all sorts of mischief.

The science-fiction element of this story is paper thin, but the lush Renaissance setting and costumes are captivating enough to make you understand why the show was at the top of its game during this period. Exterior scenes were shot on location in the village of Portmeirion in Wales, which had been used as the setting for the TV series The Prisoner, although it was sufficiently altered for Doctor Who that fans of the earlier series might not recognize it. The dialogue, written by Louis Marks, is very sharp, particularly delivered by this cast, which includes several experienced Shakespearean actors, such as Gareth Armstrong and Tim Piggott-Smith, who look right at home in swords and tights.

"The Masque of Mandragora" is also notable for the introduction of the second TARDIS control room, a particular favorite of mine. The brass-appointed, dark wood-paneled set was designed to give the control room a fresh look in a more easily manageable size. Designer Barry Newbery says in one of the Special Features that he was channeling Jules Verne. By reaching into science fiction's past, however, his design was actually ahead of its time, predating the Steampunk movement of the 1980s by at least seven years.