Customer Reviews

Doctor Who - The Mind of Evil [VHS]

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I came to Doctor Who through a series of novelisations published by Target in the 1970s and 1980s. These novelisations were fast moving, and exciting. When I finally saw the television programme I was distraught. William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Jon Pertwee had long since disappeared. The release of a number of these early stories on video has eased some of that childhood trauma.

Mind of Evil is compelling second season Pertwee. To Who afficionados, the second season means three things: The Doctor is earth-bound (which means the Brigadier and UNIT are involved); Jo Grant has joined the Doctor; and every story features a common villain, Roger Delgado's portrayal of the Master.

While all Pertwee stories were recorded in colour, this story is available only in black and white. Do not be put off by this. This actually heightens the atmosphere, and means that many of the worst excesses of CSO (or chromakey) are avoided. With no irritating visual distractions (aside from the operation of the mind and its impact on various cast members) the viewer is left to concentrate on the story - and while perhaps one or two episodes too long, this is superior Who.

The script is by Don Houghton, responsible for the classic Inferno (the first Pertwee season close), and there are a number of links between the two stories. Houghton's scripts tended towards social commentary more than his fellow scriptwriters, and here the effective storyline revolves around a prison, where prisoners are having their negative emotions drained from them (effectively lobotomising them). Houghton's observations on prisons, and recidivism are not the stuff of high criminology, but they are an effective attempt through what was thought of at the time as children's television to address larger issues. The lumbering state of those that have gone through the process offers its own comment on the need for balance in the mind.

On the sci-fi elements it hardly needs to be said that the Keller machine that operates this system is not all that it seems, and Professor Keller is a bearded gentleman familiar to most viewers.

This is a good introduction to Pertwee era Doctor Who. Pertwee is more restrained than some of his eye popping hysterics of his first season, and the UNIT members are an effective team - and in later episodes given a chance to act militarily. Katy Manning is still finding her feet as Jo Grant, but has started to work on the curious mix of vulnerability and resourcefulness that some found appealing. Best of all, though, is Delgado. He is a convincing villain - made to appear all the more malevolent in black and white. He oozes menace.

You may not hide behind the couch, but you will enjoy this story if you accept it for what it is - well written, but cheaply made sci-fi.

Admirers of this will enjoy Inferno, and The Daemons, two other Pertwee era stories.

This was a very good set of episodes of Doctor Who
entitled "Mind of Evil" which had an interesting
premise the Doctor (Pertwee) and Jo (Katy Manning) investigate a machine that feeds of evil and kills
those who are consumed by it. Very neat. Now throw in
some special effects, and the menacing character
of the Master (Roger Delgado), a murder conspiracy,
the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) and there you
have a great story.

If you don't know who "The Master" it was an evil and
rather brilliantly created arch enemy to rival that of
the Doctor. Just like Lex Luthor was the arch enemy to
Superman, "The Master" was the nemesis to "The Doctor". He had special powers such as hypnotism, and the power to change form. Also like "The Doctor" he could also travel through time. Roger Delgado did a great job establishing the role, before he unfortunately he died in a car crash.

As stated The Doctor and Jo Grant are investigating
a machine that feeds of evil, although they dont know
it yet. They receive an invitation to a mental prison
where a new machine is being used to try to rehabilitate criminals, the Keller Machine, created by Professor Kettering (Simon Lack). However, the machine does not help the prisoners, but it kills them. At first Professor Kettering does not know what to make of it. When Doctor and others investigate the murder they find the victims are being killed by their own fears , which are in part fed of the evil inspired by the victims.

Meanwhile Unit and Brigadier are hosting a peace
conference that has gone wrong when certain important
delegates are missing. The Brigadier thinks these
mishaps might be due to a sinister female Chinese
Captain named Chin Lee (played by a real life Asian
woman named Pik Sen Lim). I don't know too much about
Miss Sen Lim, but she looked like a great actress
(and she was pretty too). This was a big deal because
Asian actors were practially nonexistent in the
1970's up until now. The only Asian persons that
got speaking acting roles were action stars and celebrities like Bruce Lee. Take into consideration that these episodes were done in 1971, right in the middle of Vietnam, so there
was a considerable amount of hate and racism toward
Asian people and actors in general, but the BBC prooves here that they weren't one of them, so in that regard the BBC deserves alot of respect and credit.

Anyhow, the Doctor himself tries to find out how to stop
the Keller machine and is almost killed himself (in a
rather badly special effected, but otherwise entertaining scene). However, that's the start of the problems for Doctor and Unit as it's revealed that the Master (Roger Delgado, one of the best actors in Doctor Who) has been playing a hand in the machine, the mishaps of the peace conference, and the mysterious Chinese
Captain.

Overall, this is one of the most interesting Pertwee episodes out there, but it has been somewhat overlook by Who fans. However, you should definitely check it out. It has
a rather great story, the effect ain't bad, and theyre
is much action and the episodes are unpredictable.
You should definitely watch this episode "The Mind Of Evil".

An extremely ambitious production for Doctor Who, The Mind of Evil boasts an excellent script, some fantastic acting, and Roger Delgado's definitive version of the Master. Some great stunts and action sequences help bring this Doctor Who to life, making it one of Pertwee's best stories. If there is one drawback, it's that the storyline gets a bit muddled, and maybe overreaches, with espionage, the Master, a nerve gas missle, and an alien brain parasite all crammed into six episodes. Still, a very entertaining romp, with one of Nick Courtney's best turns as the Brigadier. You'll enjoy it!

This is my all-time favorite Dr. Who story. The evil of the prisoners is quickly dwarfed by the rapacious evil of the hungry creature inside the Keller Machine. Given that it soon learns to move right through walls, the suspense factor increases, as you never know where it will show up next to gobble up the minds/life forces of a few victims.

This classic Pertwee story includes a good moral look at what evil is and what it fears the most. And the fact that it is all in black and white keeps the story gritty, displayed in muted tones against sufficiently dull backgrounds to keep the look and feel of the prison real. In this one instance, I can forgive the BBC for having trashed the color copy. I think B&W improves this one.

Add to this mix the current (at the time) tension with communism, the fear of nuclear war, and you've got an interesting, thought provoking Doctor Who classic.

This may be my favorite Pertwee (3rd Doctor) story. The era of the 3rd Doctor is typified in this story. The typical 3rd Doc story involves the Doctor, Jo, UNIT (the Brigadier etc) and situations that quickly get out of control. The Doctor and Jo go to Stangmore prison to observe the use of the Keller Machine that supposedly removes the evil impulses from the brains of convicts and makes them useful members of society again. The Doctor doubts the machines abilities and thinks the machine should be destroyed. He is correct but destroying the machine is easier said then done. While the Doctor investigates the Keller machine, the Brig has to manage the security for a world peace conference which quickly becomes very complicated. And transport an illegal missile. The Keller Machine runs amucks at Stangmore Prison and riots ensue, a diplomat is murdered during the peace conference and the missile is stolen. The Master is involved in all of this. The Doctor is great as usual. The Master is as devious and dangerous as ever. And scenes where the Master and the Doctor are forced to work together are amazing. The Master even saying something like "What can I do to help?" This was such a un-Master like thing to say and mean that it was a shock. But it was perfectly plausible because of the circumstances. Jo who has been considered a bit of a ditz and a bit wimpy by some is excellent here, helping to quell a prison riot. The story was filmed on location somewhere in England and it is absolutely wonderful. UNIT was excellent in this story, perhaps one of the stories that show them off best. They appeared to be a well-oiled, professional group and not the stooges they are accused by some of being in later stories. The Brigadier is excellent with his Trojan Horse tactic. Benton and Yates were ideal. Yates, heroic and triumphant. Benton getting shot and getting a concussion but perservering. The other characters were also good. Mailor the inmate was sufficiently thug-like and Barnham was well done. This is a great story. If you have never watched a 3rd Doctor story before, or only seen a few, or never seen any Doctor Who at all. This is an excellent video! A must have!

Put simply, buy "The Mind of Evil." This is a facinating story, punctuated by wonderful acting and interplay between Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado. This story shows where so many Doctor Who episodes could have gone and didn't. IT provides a fast-paced, interesting science fiction adventure, while exploring complex moral and political issues as well. I particularrly enjoyed the subtle poke at the Brigadier's lack Euro-centric attitude toward the Chinese, and the Doctor's reverance and respect for the culture. This one challenges not only the limits of our willing suspension of disbelief, but our interest in world politics as well.

Beyond that, this is another example of how color doesn't mean better. The whole picture has an elegant feel and better-than-usual editing gives the episodes a more cinematic sheen than the good Doctor usually enjoys.

I enjoyed the entire adventure and can't wait to give it another go. Excellent writing and a must buy for anyone who loves Jon Pertwee's Doctor.

We all remember Pertwee's era as one where the tall, silver-haired one battled dayglo monsters against cheesy chromakey backgrounds, where female companions wore high heels just to make sure they'd trip over so he could save them. Well, The Mind Of Evil predates all this. Actually benefitting from the fact that it only exists on black-and-white film, this tough, sub-Clockwork Orange thriller includes some strong comments on international relations of the era and contemporary concepts of prison reform. This also shows a pre-Colonel Blimp Brigadier who isn't afraid to send his UNIT troops into battle with real guns firing real bullets that really hurt people. If Pertwee's era had continued along the lines of this story, people's perception of the show might have been altogether different. Brilliant!

"The Mind of Evil" has a lot of great things to recommend about it. Pertwee excels with Delgado, fleshing out their relationship. UNIT also has their hands full with a peace conference, a gas-nuclear missle and the recapturing of Stagmoor Prison. Although it is never really explained what or where the "Mind of Evil" came from, except that the Master brought it to earth. Some nice stunts and action, some fun UNIT humor("Chesire cat, Captain Yates, chesire cat"). Katy Manning is much better in this story than her debut(as with Mike Yates). Some interesting views on politics and prison reform. "Mind" stands up very well on its own, showing that Pertwee's second season was in full swing of success!

Sadly this third Doctor story is only available in black and white as all of the colour copies were lost. ...P>The central theme of this story is the Master once again trying to bring chaos to the earth in a plot to destry a major peace conference. Roger Delgado, again someone no longer with us, is evil incarnate but you have to love him nevertheless. His portrayal as the Master as a foil to the Doctor was a highlight of the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who years although it has always puzzled me why the timelords should act against the Doctor yet allow the Master's interventions.

The story once again involves outside broadcasts on location and casts the British Prison Service in a poor light suggesting that experiments should be allowed on prisoners in order to achieve a compliant and co-operative prison population.

As the story develops from the focus of the prison and the Keller machine for removing eveil impulses to incorporate the wider focus of the world peace conference, the show attempts to demonise the Chinese under the leadership of Mao Tse Tung as the protagonists in a plot to create war, firstly through the use of a female Chinese official as a murderer of one of her own delegation and then through an attack on the American delegate. Reflecting the cold war realities of the time it's use is limited by the existance of the Master who merely uses his alien technology to manipulate people and alien life forms to achieve his own ends.

A strong story the main weaknesses of the 'Mind of Evil' for me involve the poor set for the prison scenes, the drawn out sections of the Keller machine and the length. There certainly was a tendency in the Pertwee years for six part stories but to my mind a number of them could have been considerably shorter including this one.

The strengths of the story are greater than the weaknesses including a strong plot with sub-plots and it's contemporary relevance. It is hard to imagine a world on the brink of war but that was a possibility more than once in the period between 1960 and 1980. Topicality too given Richard Nixon's visit to China and the continuing conflict in Vietnam...

I still think "The Claws of Axos" is my favorite one in this season, but now after seeing this one, this one is right up there with "Terror of the Autons" as being my second favorite.

First, here's what I don't like about this one, it's in black & white. It was originally made in color, but the color prints were lost and now all that survives is black & white copies. Although there are about 5 minutes of color footage that remains from Episode Six which is included as a bonus feature at the end. But then again, it doesn't matter to me if it's in black & white just as long as it's good, and it is. After all, all of the William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton stories were made in black & white, and I love them. But still it's a shame that this one didn't survive in color.

Apart from that, this story was excellent. All of the episodes were action-packed with each episode getting better and better. You've got a great plot about countries trying to make world peace while the Master threatens to steal a dangerous missile and use it to provoke a nuclear war, you've got a killer machine (named the Keller Machine) with a creature inside it that sucks the evil out of men's minds, but then becomes too powerful and threatens to destroy everyone in its path, and you've also got one or two prison riots in this story. The Keller Machine was a very effective villain, and the Master has one of his best performances ever. You've also got the whole UNIT gang with it. It's just great, and is highly recommend!