PS Creativity > Reviews > Into The Vortex > Season Three

Season three gave us a very mixed bag of results - our members loved the epic twelve-week Dalek fest, and the fresh contempary War Machines, but weren't so keen on the enigmatic Toymaker and his childish games...

>> Season Three averages 6.765 out of 10 <<

Some comments from a few members...

The Daleks' Master Plan

"OK, let’s be clear about this: there is no way in hell this story should work. But somehow it does. Even the much maligned episode 7 is just what the story needs at that point: a break from the Daleks and the threat of Universal destruction. And of course the addition of the Meddling Monk in the second half carries what should be a paper thin plot along just nicely enough to fill those episodes before we return to Kembel for the climax. And what a climax. The ticking of the Time Destructor is still one of the most unnerving sound effects ever given to a weapon in this or any other series. An absolute joy, and that’s even before I’ve mentioned Kevin Stoney." -- Jason Thompson (10/10)

"Superb, and does remarkably well in holding my attention virtually throughout. If only we had the final episode in particular though." -- Jonno Simmons (9/10)

"Based on the existing episodes, there's too much running-around, and Kevin Stoney is just a bit OTT." - Andrew Curnow (7/10)

"despite the disappointing episodes in Ancient Egypt this story is a true epic, and one of the best Whos. Shame it's mostly missing" - Logo Polish (10/10)

"Finally, an epic story that I love! It would get a 10 if it weren't a couple of episodes too long (the narrative does lose its way during episodes 7-8), but there are many magic moments throughout. Episode 12 (The Destruction of Time) is very special - Hartnell's performance blows me away every time. He was really hitting his stride towards the end of his era, I think. Mavic Chen turning into a megalomaniac is riveting stuff too." -- Pip Madeley (9/10)

The War Machines

"A real ground-breaking serial, in terms of what the show could do. Hartnell is on top form, adapting to a big sea-change by putting in a superbly-judged performance, and his part 3 BCU cliffhanger is iconic!." -- Andrew Curnow (8/10)

"Now this is great stuff. Ben and Polly get a good start, and Dodo gets the ending she deserved. OK, the machines are a bit naff, with their penchant for driving into stacks of crates, but it’s nice to see the First Doctor in a contemporary setting at last." -- Jason Thompson (9/10)

"Best story of the season for me. There does seem to be a real threat here, with the story taking place in contemporary London. Hartnell gets compared to Jimmy Saville - genius!" -- Ant Williams (9/10)

"the first contemporary one, and it's a good one!" -- Phillip Culley (6/10)

The Massacre

"The downbeat ending of the previous tale leads perfectly into this surprisingly sombre tale, almost entirely devoid of humour. Top notch performances all round, and the perfect showcase for Peter Purves. Given the entire story to carry he does it superbly. Shame about the last five minutes. All that said, it’s not the most interesting of tales." -- Jason Thompson (8/10)

"I know that the story is probably very good, but on audio I simply cannot work out who's who for most of the characters. The first & particularly last episodes are fine, but after two listens this has been a chore rather than a pleasure." -- Jonno S (4/10)

Mission to the Unknown

"tense, gritty, wonderful." -- Ant Williams (9/10)

"A brave experiment, but ultimately bores me to tears when I try and watch the recon. Gets 2 marks for the ending with the Daleks." -- Pip Madeley (2/10)

"A great preview for the forthcoming Dalek epic, though I can see why audiences at the time might have been puzzled by it." -- Jason Thompson (7/10)

The Savages

"Quite dull, but with some good ideas. This one gives the impression that there would be little gain from recovering the episodes, as most of it is conveyed well enough by the audio. Not bad, but decidedly average and unremarkable." -- Jason Thompson (5/10)

"Not a classic, but a neglected story. Bonus points for having very different music...." -- Phillip Culley (8/10)

The Myth Makers

"A major disappointment for me, having heard and read so many good things about it. Yes, the last episode sounds quite good, but this fails to engage me very much. Best thing about it is losing Vicki, thank goodness." -- Jonno Simmons (3/10)

"Lovely. By turns comic and highly unpleasant. A lot is made of the sudden and jarring turn from comedy to out and out slaughter in the final episode, but I find it rings very true. The Greeks and Trojans have been staring at each other for ten years, so it seems only natural that they’d settle into a more relaxed life, joking and taking the constant challenges, duels and occasional deaths in their stride, but at heart the Greeks are still trying to sack the city so when they get the chance naturally they go for it. Besides, it isn’t as if the impending death and destruction isn’t foreshadowed in the script. For example, Steven’s warning to Vicki that she should tell Troilus to get out of the city because they know what’s coming. One of the few stories to surprise me by being a lot better than everything I had read of it suggested it would be. Highly enjoyable." -- Jason
Thompson (9/10)

The Ark

"Bit dated in places (particularly the gung-ho Commander in the first two episodes) but gets a high score because of the ingenuity, the visuals, and the superb midway cliffhanger." -- Andrew Curnow (7/10)

"A great idea, but quite dull and poorly executed, especially in the final stage. Dodo is annoying, the Monoids are comically inept, but they were not supposed to be, and the human costumes are a bit silly. And it’s dull." -- Jason Thompson (6/10)

"Another interesting concept, but again rather dull...a common fault with stories this season, it seems... " --MacNimon (6/10)

The Gunfighters

"It's really grown on me with successive viewings, and is clearly one of Hartnell's best performances - he's in his element here! And I rather like the Ballad!" -- Jonno Simmons (7/10)

"I’m quite a fan of this story! Great fun, but I think it has to be viewed as a piece of 60’s TV which happens to feature William Hartnell et al, rather than a Doctor Who story." -- Ant Cox (7/10)

"I like this story! It doesn't take itself too seriously, it's good fun. My only real gripe is that that bloody song gets irritating after a while!" -- Ant Williams (7/10)

"Received wisdom told us until recently this was an awful story. Well, received wisdom had it utterly and completely wrong. It’s great (provided you can look past the rather poor accents in places). Hartnell shows how good he is at the more comic material, and overall it’s a fun way to spend an afternoon. A nice surprise." -- Jason Thompson (7/10)

"Gets a bit too much stick, there's worse during this season. A fairly interesting plot, with some fun performances, especially Hartnell, who does the comedy well (Mr Werp indeed hehe). Shame about the Ballad, and the inexcusable bits where Dodo and Steven manage to play the song note-perfect on the piano, despite saying they've never played one. Steven's a spaceman, for goodness sake! Average but watchable." -- Phillip Madeley (5/10)

Wayne gave this story no marks whatsoever, but sadly declined to comment. :-)

Galaxy Four

"Hartnell turns in a good performance, he's quite good during this season. The Rills are an interesting creation, the scant images show them to look quite horrific." -- Pip Madeley (6/10)

"Listened to it twice now on audio. It's easy enough to follow, which is something, but a fairly routine season opener - not bad, but not especially good either." -- Jonno Simmons (6/10)

"Not nearly as bad as conventional wisdom would have us believe, but hardly great either. The supposedly clever idea of making the ‘beautiful’ Drahvins evil is somewhat undermined by Maaga’s utterly cold nature and the somewhat dimwitted nature of her troops.The ambiguity of the Chumblies was much better. It is rather unfortunate that re-writes required Steven, an astronaut, to forget what an airlock is, but I can’t see what all the fuss is about with regard to Maaga beating him in a fight because originally it was supposed to be Barbara who was doing the fighting. Steven isn’t exactly beaten, but seems to be holding his own until the fight is interrupted." -- Jason Thompson (5/10)

The Celestial Toymaker

"Marks for trying something new, but it’s all rather pointless. The scenes with William Hartnell in are the best on offer, which just shows what a mistake writing him out in a fit of pique because the producer didn’t get on with him was. Michael Gough gives a reasonable performance as the Toymaker, but the others seem to have pitched their performances a little on the comedic side. We’re supposed to be scared at the idea of living toys, but it’s all too light. And Dodo is just plain stupid in episode 4, constantly amazed that Cyril is actually a cheating git." -- Jason Thompson (1/10)

"My Mum hated it when she watched it in 1966, and I hate the remaining episode. Even the audio doesn't grab me all that much. And the Target version's very lame too. Awful." -- Andrew Curnow (3/10)

"Unlike the historicals above, I've actually had no problem following the (admittedly thin) plot on audio, hence I find it more enjoyable than those two!" -- Jonno Simmons (6/10)

"Had the potential to be a reasonable ‘surreal’ story, but fails miserably." -- Antony Cox (3/10)

"A great idea, badly realised. The Doctor and his companions being taken out of time by an immortal entity known engimatically as The Toymaker, forced to play games for their lives... sounds great. Shame its deadly dull when you listen to it. The existing episode doesn't do it any favours, particularly when you want to put your foot through the TV whenever Dodo talks. Least we get a fun TARDIS demat (stock picture of space n' all)." -- Pip Madeley (3/10)

last updated 10th March 2007
return to the Into The Vortex Index