Rate and Discuss: Doctor Who and the Silurians

[SiHart]

There's trouble afoot on Wenley Moor. Mysterious disappearances, problems with the new Cyclotron and people hospitalised with strange primal symptoms... Could it be something to do with the Dinosaur sighted in the caves or something more primal from the dawn of the Earth?

What do you think of Doctor Who and The Silurians?

[J.R. Southall]

I almost love this story. The only fault really is that it does go on for far too long, and some of the episodes that are stuck inside the research centre can be a little dull. Having said that, the location work is amongst the series' most atmospheric, the Silurians are an ingenious creation, and it's a really strong continuation of the series after Spearhead. So an 8, but not far short of a 9...

[Andrew Curnow]

I'll probably come back to this thread later, because it strikes me there's so much to discuss about this story - it's very strong, and unlike some later Pertwee six-parters I don't ever really find it dragging. Its more sedate pace allows the story to build gradually, and the script takes full advantage of this, using the extra time to, amongst other things, build up the suspense as to the appearance and nature of the creatures beneath the ground.

The book, of course, is even better than the TV version, which is saying something, but the two really are (for me anyway) quite separate - lots of the emphasis in the book is very different, with (from memory anyway) a lot, lot more made of Dawson & Miss Quinn & the 'captive' Silurian (not to mention the prologue, and... well, and lots of stuff).

One bit that always makes me shiver is when the Doctor tries to warn the Silurian at Quinn's cottage. He says "The humans will destroy you" - reinforcing that the Doctor is still at this time very much an outsider, he's not an honorary human all pally-pally with UNIT and a part of the system, he's a frustrated exile stuck where he is, and most importantly he's an alien from another world, and to him the humans are (almost) as much another race of beings as the Silurians are. It's a subtle but brilliant bit of scripting, IMHO.

[Rob McCow]

I think Doctor Who And The Silurians is a wonderful story. There is a question of whether 7 episodes was too many, but I think in the 1960's and 70's audiences were used to longer multi-part serials. It might be too much to watch the whole of The Silurians in one sitting, but it works extremely well on a week-by-week basis. Malcolm Hulke in particular had plenty of experience writing for this format.

Plus, if you fast forward through the title credits it's shorter than Avatar!

It's still a shame that we don't have a full-colour copy of the story. Despite the Restoration Team's brilliant efforts, the colour is still a bit wonky. It does detract from the viewing experience a bit, because everything seems a little more drab and muted. There's no point where the action is unclear, but it gives the whole story a bit of a grimy atmosphere. The same is true of Ambassadors of Death and The Mutants, both of which could do with being a lot sharper.

The story itself is great. The Silurians are intelligent and mysterious, with their internal bickering making for some great dramatic moments. It was a brilliant idea to set the Doctor at odds with UNIT too. No matter how cozy things became later on, there would always be an underlying tension between the Doctor and the Brigadier after this story.

I love the way the focus of the story keeps changing track - in the first half, it's about the monsters in the caves and then the stakes are upped as the Silurians try various different methods to wipe out humanity. The plague sequences in particular are very memorable and eerie.

The quality of monster / alien* design continues to improve too. There was nothing as good as The Silurians or the Autons in Troughton's last season! The Silurians may have immobile faces, but they still look superb.

*yes, I know the Silurians are neither monsters nor aliens!

[Anthony Williams]

This is one story that I think goes over my head a little. To me, it's the outlier of Season 7. I adore the other three stories, but have never quite been able to get into this one.

As both Steve and Andrew have already pointed out, there's a LOT to like here.

It's obvious that the Third Doctor doesn't quite trust humans (and why should he? We're a warlike and fairly barbaric lot at times), and that really shows. It's a far cry from the Tenth Doctor's "HUMANS! AWWWW! I LOVE HUMANS!" attitude. My wife's idea on fiction is that she likes to think that there's always a grand plan to everything, even if she knows that the authors just made it up as they went along. In her mind, this is a wonderful continuation of the mistrust of the First Doctor towards humans, and much truer to the Doctor's character in general than any way in which the Tenth Doctor acts towards humans.

Likewise, the very idea that there were already a race of intelligent, bipedal creatures here before humanity, who basically just want their planet back from these usurpers, is just a brilliant concept. And why shouldn't they? If we were dormant for many millions of years, to find that an intelligent, bipedal species had evolved from cockroaches, we'd probably want to find a way to wipe them all out, too. And that's the real crux here, isn't it? These creatures are not designed to be villains, but to give the story an ambiguous morality - which to me seems to be the point of the final three stories of the season.

Despite this, there's something about this story that just doesn't quite "click" for me. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, but I just don't enjoy it nearly as much as the rest of the season. A lot of the time, it just feels like it's treading water to me, waiting for the big climax. Things thankfully speed up a little when the Silurians unleash their virus.

That's the thing. This is a brilliant concept. I should love it. But I don't. And I really don't know why. It's not a story I'm ever clamouring to put on. I don't think it's the length - I love both Ambassadors and Inferno. This is a story that I desperately want to love, but I just never seem to enjoy it. I can't rationalise why. To me, it just comes across as a distinctly average story, and it gets 5/10 from me. Perhaps there's just not enough Darrow.

[Si Hunt]

It's a really good story, with a great guest cast. We have Fulton McKay AND Geoffrey Palmer AND Peter Miles.

I think the storytelling is the star - the way to plot evolves and unfolds. Pertwee is at his very best here, trying to broker a peace in the face of his scientific curiosity.

I have to disagree with Steve though, the Silurians let things down because they are so rubbery. They needed to be more slimy and scary, they haven't employed dancers so they clod around a bit. It dates the story a little.

Si.

[Stuart Wallis]

Plus, if you fast forward through the title credits it's shorter than Avatar!

Only just though!

Whatever the story's called this week, it's a pretty good one. They manage to add a new plot device in just as the seven episode length looks as though it's going to feel even longer. Yes, the Silurians (or whatever they're called this week!) look rubbery at times, but they're still reasonably designed. Indeed, the dinosaur's the only point where the design really falls down. the acting's fine too.

8/10

[Terry Leptil]

A lot of people say that seven part stories drag on especially this and The Ambassadors of Death. However, I like this story. It's strong, tragic and memorable what with scenes like the people dying from the plague in Episode 6 and featuring many notable cast actors like Fulton Mackay, Geoffrey Palmer and Paul Darrow.

10/10

[Larry]

apart from it's length I can't really find fault with it.

[Stuart Wallis]

There's no answer to that!

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

Plus, if you fast forward through the title credits it's shorter than Avatar!

No!!!!! This is simply not acceptable!
I feel it's my duty to personally destroy anyone that fast forwards any title or end credit sequences. This is a heinous crime!

Oksana gets so annoyed with me as I won't switch any TV show off until the last credit has rolled. As far as I'm concerned if someone has taken the time to compose and perform theme music and to create credits on the screen then I want to listen to the music and read the names!!!
I know; I must be pretty unbearable at times!!

Oh, oh yes, Doctor Who and the Silurians - erm ......well I like it!

[Andrew Curnow]

I absolutely agree, Andrew - and it drives Zel mad as well!!!

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I absolutely agree, Andrew - and it drives Zel mad as well!!!

My word; are we agreeing again?
It shouldn't be allowed you know!

[Stuart Wallis]

I know; I must be pretty unbearable at times!!

There's no answer to that!

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

There's no answer to that!

Watch it Wallis!

[duncan]

Better than Spearhead but I'm still not overly keen. I've voted 7/10 but meant to click on 6/10. I just have a downer on the entire season and none of the stories here will score highly with me. I don't remember seeing any of these on first transmission, I was only 4 years old at the time. Maybe I should get the VHS tapes out and watch them in order to see if my view changes.