Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Whew! This TARDIS crew CAN get along!!, June 5, 2008
If it weren't for this story, I would be left scratching my head and wondering why the hell these four individuals (they were barely a TARDIS team) would hang around each other for so long. Adric just becomes an obnoxious brat with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan just wants to go home, and Nyssa gets shunted to the sidelines every damn time. With the Sixth Doctor and Peri, there were moments in every story where you could tell they were close friends, which is absent with this team.
Except for this story.
Black Orchid, a two-parter that's a bit of a diversion, but it was needed, in my opinion, before the emotional-roller coaster known as Earthshock. A light-hearted adventure that you can sit down and relax to after doing a long shift of work, or even if you've come from a night about the town (like I did on the day I bought this.) The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa, the best Fifth Doctor combination, both get to shine here, Nyssa with Sarah Sutton's double role with Ann, finally giving Nyssa something to do in a story, and the Fifth Doctor, who shows off his amazing cricket skills, bringing a team back from a pathetic score (though I don't think even the Fifth Doctor could help England against Australia!)
And where the TARDIS crew get along? The scenes at Cranleigh Manor are easily some of my favourite of the Fifth Doctor era, where Tegan shows Nyssa some of the Earth dances and cheering on the Doctor in cricket, and Nyssa just looks more amused than ever at these bizarre rituals. Not to mention where they both gently mock Adric about his constant eating (how large are Alzarian stomachs anyway?) Adric for once is actually likeable.
Surprisingly, there are no science fiction elements whatsoever, a throwback to the early Doctor Who days where sci-fi and history genres went hand-in-hand, it's more like a murder mystery, a whodunit, where the Doctor becomes trapped while getting ready for the costume ball at Cranleigh Manor, and someone takes his place wearing the clown costume, "Attacking" Ann, and killing a servant who tries to help her...
All in all, one of my favourite Davison stories, and one you can watch and just enjoy.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Historical Doctor Who with no monsters? ...Sort of., May 10, 2008
In this short adventure with the fifth Doctor, the Doctor and his over full TARDIS end up in the Edwardian English country-side for this almost purely historical (the first story to due so possible since the 2nd Doctor meets the Highlander, please correct me if I'm wrong on that score).
The Doctor lands the TARDIS at an Edwardian train depot, where he is mysteriously expected by some local chaps for a game of cricket. Only happy to oblige, the Doctor tags along with Adric, the boy genius, Tegan, the walking mouth, and Nyssa, the smart & cute orphan from Traken. This case of mistaken identity leads the crew into a manor mystery Agatha Christie-style and a fancy-dress ball. Nyssa meets her Earth-twin and a twisted "monster" who may not have her best interests at heart.
As is the way of things in the 5th Doctor's era, the incidental companions end up learning of the Doctor's true origins or of the TARDIS. This plot device has been replaced in the new series by the Doctor's psychic paper, so he doesn't have to waste precious story-time with answering questions about "how he got there."
What keeps Black Orchid from being a neat historical adventure?
As is the way of things in the 5th Doctor's era, the incidental companions end up learning of the Doctor's true origins or of the TARDIS. This plot device has been replaced in the new series by the Doctor's psychic paper, so he doesn't have to waste precious story-time with answering questions about "how he got there." This nearly pointless visit to the TARDIS takes away from the mystery of the period. Another mistake is the overly ambitious make-up team that in the lack of an alien, they must compensate with latex.
What makes Black Orchid work? The beautiful location footage, which is always a staple of the series, the cricket game footage is really charming and are the costumes of the period and the fancy-dress as well.
Some of the dialogue is clunky, but overall consistent with the theme.
The story is a short 2 parter (thus the low selling price) which the new series has proved is the way of things for the 21st century viewer, so this one may be more accessible for fans who are just discovering the original shows.
As far as the extras go, the cast is really down on this particular story. Their personal experiences relayed during the audio commentary are some of the most negative & abrasive you will hear tied to a DVD, but train-wreck fascinating.
Possible Doctor Who drinking games.
Drink when....
The Doctor is completely at a loss for what is going on.
Adric eats.
Someone confuses Nyssa and her Earth twin
The TARDIS is gone.
A mysterious onlooker looks on.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Why do I always let my curiosity get the better of me?", August 15, 2008
"Black Orchid" is like a trip back in time. Well, obviously so in that the Doctor and his three traveling companions wind up in 1925 where a series of mistaken identities and coincidences conspire to have them taking part in cricket matches and fancy costume balls as the guests of a certain Lord Cranleigh only to come under suspicion for murder. And this is the BBC, mind you, so all their expertise with period dramas comes to the fore in this relatively short "Doctor Who" storyline to convincingly authentic grand effect. But it's also a brief return (or the last belated gasp?) of this long-running show's original premise, wherein strictly science fiction stories alternated with strictly historical ones (not counting the Tardis, which lands the characters in a past time and so gets the ball rolling). This latter type of story gradually began to take a back seat and apparently saw its last with "The Highlanders" in 1966--until this story a full sixteen years later. No anachronisms, no aliens, no robots, no Cybermen, no lasers nor spaceships are to be found. Just a very terrestrially human and somewhat tragic threat.
Which is somewhat refreshing but also borders a tad on the dull side. It's a welcome change to see the Doctor along with Tegan, Nyssa, and Adric enjoying themselves for a change, living it up in good old 1925 fashion. After all, the vague suggestion (at least in my mind) was always that this is how the Doctor and company occupy themselves most the time, and the death-defying adventures come along ever so often in the meantime. Too much of a good thing could get tiresome, of course, which is why "Black Orchid"'s noticeable brevity betrays a canny wisdom here on someone's part. The belatedly appearing threat is less than earth-shattering but still very real all the same, giving just about the right amount of dramatic tension to the tale. The only actual downside really is that the whole plot is set up like a fine specimen of the British "whodunit", only the cat is unfortunately let out of the bag virtually from the get-go, leaving even the minimally attentive viewer with little doubt as to who actually did the murders. Leaving a little mystery here, maybe even leading one to wonder if the Doctor isn't somehow inexplicably the culprit, might've added nicely to the suspense and made for a somewhat more memorable story. But so it goes. "Black Orchid" keeps to the low-key from start to finish, and that is both its strength and its weakness. Anyway, as a brief respite for both the Tardis crew and us viewers, it's quite topping in its own manner.
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