Face of Evil - Very Powerful & Very Stupid

[Rob McCow]

It's a brilliant story, but it's one that is one-hundred times better on first watching. If you know what Xoanon is, then the mystery that drives the story forward isn't as inticing.

The sequences on film are superb. They seemed to be rather good at jungle planets in this era and the Face of Evil has one of the best. The trees are weird and organic, plus there's no evidence of the studio floor.

Then there are the invisible monsters which are terrorising the Sevateem. I thought that the use of GIANT INVISIBLE TOM BAKER HEADS as the enemy was absolute genius.

The performances are brilliant. Andor is a fairly traditional Bad Leader, but Calib and Neeva are brilliant creations. They are both pragmatic and surprising characters. They have an inner life, they consider events around them and react.

I also like the way the final showdown comes five mintues before the end of the last episode. In a story about facing the consequences of your actions, it's good to see the Doctor setting Xoanon off in the right direction.

[Si Hunt]

The premise of this story was always given in the reference books, so I never saw it without knowing the twist. Mind you, that goes for most stories, as books were around long before video or DVD releases. I'm very impressed if you saw it without knowing the plot!

Isn't the single time we see a Giant Tom Head an instance of the Doctor summoning up the image of Xoanon/himself to scare away the invisible creatures, rather than the creatures themselves resembling him?

Si.

[Jason Thompson]

when he's supposed to have made this little jaunt is not clear; maybe they could have been really adventurous and got Pertwee back to play Xoanon?

It could have been any time between almost any of the stories in the preceding season, couldn't it? Everything from Robot to Terror of the Zygons is clearly one long narrative, with each story leading into the next. Planet of Evil also evidently follows from Terror of the Zygons as they talk about their supposed trip to london after leaving Scotland being diverted by the business on Zeta Minor, and the business about the Doctor being tired of running around after the Brigadier at the start of Pyramids of Mars implies that also follows on (though it could refer to something entirely different, and Sarah's choice of dress does not suggest she's expecting to go to an important meeting in 20th century London). After that there is no indication that each story follows directly from the previous, is there? Maybe he dropped in on the Mordee just after dealing with Sutekh. There could even be a whole host of 'solo Doctor' trips between the Deadly Assassin and The Face of Evil.

[SiHart]

The book nominates mid-Robot, with him sneaking off one night.

[Rob McCow]

Mr Hunt said that the direction in this story was poor - but I would argue that it's variable. I agree that the laser/table scene really doesn't work very well, but there are other effects which are superb.

The Mount Rushmore Tom Baker head is excellently realised, as is the scene of the collapsing clock. As invisible monster scenes go, it's streets ahead of anything the Spiridons did in Planet of The Daleks. The Horda aren't perfect, but they're pretty damn good. And the cliffhanger to Part 3 is extraordinary, with the faces zooming in.

There are enough superb moments in the story to make up for a few flawed scenes.

[Jason Thompson]

Hmm, an odd choice given the numerous other opportunities.

[SiHart]

I think the implication was that the Doctor was still confused post-regeneration hence why he gets things wrong with Xoanon and why he doesn't remember when it was he went to this planet. Makes a kind of sense.

[Jason Thompson]

To me it seems to make sense that he wouldn't remember going there without relying on post-regenrative confusion, since it is completely different. He remembers pretty much as soon as he sees the Mordee ship, which is sitting in the middle of a pretty barren landscape on the back side of the mountain with his face carved in it. Up until that point he's been in a jungle with a savage warrior tribe and invisible monsters, none of the three of which were in evidence when last he was there (the jungle being hidden by the mountains and the tribe and monsters coming about after he left), so is it surprising he doesn't remember being there earlier?

[SiHart]

All true. I was just going by what i remember from the novelisation.

[Jason Thompson]

When next I see Terrance Dicks I shall demand an explanation of him!

[Stuart Wallis]

Sit him in the naughty chair!

[Si Hunt]

The mountainside face is ok, but his hair looks a bit weird and it's obviously a model.

The "pit of Horda" is laughably realised by someone vigorously shaking the set, and they don't look remotely capable of "stripping a mans flesh before he can scream".

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

Oddly, although I can remember Deadly Assassin, Robots & Talons from when they went out in 1976/77 I don't remember anything at all of this one (it's a "nothing in the middle" if you like). So I really enjoyed it when I first caught it on UK Gold - I'm not sure Tom's very good at talking to himself convincingly in part 1, and the cliffhanger to part 1 (which in my imagination was superb) is very weak, mainly because the face isn't all that recognisable (IMHO) and nor does it look like it's on the side of a giant cliff. But that aside, I quite enjoyed it I think... it'll be interesting to see what I make of it second time round!

[J.R. Southall]

I'm the complete opposite, Andrew. I remember the transmission of this vividly!

The first episode is hugely atmospheric, the characterisations are just as good (in my opinion) as those we see in The Robots of Death, and the latter stuff in the Tesh ship is enjoyably daft Doctor Who. I love it!

My disc came today, I'm hoping to watch it later on tonight. Wish me luck! I might still love it in the morning...

[Simon R]

I think the jungle set is over-rated in this one. It's over lit even on film and doesn't have any scale to it. There seems to be a black backcloth in site pretty much the whole time making it look like it just stops after a few feet. The trees look alarmingly like tumble dryer pipes as well!

I've tried with this story but it just doesn't connect. I seem to recall enjoying the book as a child but whenever I watch it I drift off and lose interest and it all seems to be dull people saying dull things in incredibly dull surroundings. I blame Pennant Roberts. Apart from "Timelash" and "The Pirate Planet" and "Shada" all his stories have this effect on me.

[Stuart Wallis]

I do have to say that it does seem odd to have some jungle scenes on film and others on video. There's probably a good practical reason for it - studio space or time or somesuch - but it does have a confusing stylistic effect. I don't think there's anything else about the story, give or take the face in the mountain, that's truly horrendous about this story.

[Si Hunt]

So they paid to get Louise Jameson back for a new interview for the documentary, even though this meant we couldn't get contributions from any of the supporting actors, when another feature on the same disk revealed they already had an interview with her in the vault in which she tells all the exact same anecdotes almost word for word!

Good use of the budget there guys!

Si.

[Rob McCow]

they already had an interview with her in the vault in which she tells all the exact same anecdotes almost word for word!

She says them again on the commentary, Si!!!
1. Metal knife at this point.
2. Asked for a bit of cloth to cover her bum.
3. Nervous on set.
4. Nearly killed a cameraman.

[Si Hunt]

5. Pennant said "You make me act"/got me a job on Tenko/his wife Bettan was lovely
6. "We'll enjoy lighting you"
7. Tom didn't like me
8. They blacked me up

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Thanks, I knew I'd missed a few.