![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
riverdressesSo, after the unexpected gap in serial recaps last week, I've returned with the next instalment of the great & mighty Troughton rewatch-athon! This week the recaps are for Tomb of the Cybermen, The Great Space Elevator (Victoria's Companion Chronicle) & The Abominable Snowmen, the last of which might be a bit messy because I was beyond exhausted when I listened to it - actually inching more toward dead, if you want specifics.
Tomb of the Cybermen
- So! This serial takes off immediately from Evil of the Daleks, with Two, Jamie, & now Victoria returning to the TARDIS as the city of Skaro is blown left, right, up, down, sideways & all around their ears.
& I fucking adore Victoria's 'it's bigger on the inside' moment so much:
Victoria (studying the console): 'What are all these knobs?'
Jamie: 'Instruments. These are for controlling our flight.'
Victoria (rather sarcastically, yet ladylike): 'Flight?'
Jamie: 'Yes. You see, we travel around in here through time and space.'
Victoria (in a way that could only be described as terribly amused): ::laughs::
Two: 'Oh no, no no, don't laugh - it's true.'
I included this because not only do I love it, as I said before, but it actually begins a song by one of my favourite British electronic music groups (who, sadly, are no more!), Orbital who sampled this bit into their remix of the original Doctor Who theme when they played it live at Glastonbury one year. It's an incredible remix & the first time I'd ever heard a Classic!theme.
(in fact, I think they play two different ones - Tom Baker's opening & Patrick Troughton's opening, but I'm not too sure on that. But either way, it sounds great. & for all the years I've had it, I never knew what Doctor & companion were talking - I'd figured it was from the Colin Baker era, which I haven't seen anything of yet. So imagine my surprise when I hear this in the very beginning of such an awesome serial! If you're interested, by the by.)
- 'Try to give us a smooth takeoff Doctor. We don't want to frighten her.'
Aww. Already Jamie's looking out for his miss Victoria & inciting the indignation of Two on the way - 'A smooth takeoff? What a nerve!'
& also, more displays of early tactility between the two of them. ♥
-![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nentari & I talked very early on about how this serial, while being Victoria's second, is actually not her second adventure with Two & Jamie - that her meeting the Cybermen is one of her early ones, but not her second one. A reason we speculated is because a) she goes from her very long crinoline & Victorian-styled fashion to a much shorter & less confining dress, & b) in Pyramids of Mars (a Four & Sarah serial, but it has relevance here), when Sarah comes out in a long white-cream coloured Edwardian-styled dress, Four says to her 'Hello Vicki' & then explains 'that dress used to belong to Victoria when she travelled with me.' (though why he would call Victoria 'Vicki' is completely beyond either of us - we've assumed it's because he was so distracted in that bit, or that Robert Holmes was thinking of One's companion Vicki at the time. You'll see why later on.)
(though in my opinion, I think Sarah & Victoria do look somewhat alike. When I saw the cover of Victoria's Companion Chronicle, I thought she was Sarah for a moment. It's the hair & face, I think. So it would be an easy mistake to make if you're distracted & thinking about one & not the other at that moment.)
- Okay, so we're on Telos now, home of the (Telosian) Cybermen. (don't confuse them for the Mondasian Cybermen One, Polly & Ben met in The Tenth Planet - those are a totally different breed!) & is it just me, or is this the first time that any character on Doctor Who sported a (terrible) American accent?
- O, lookrocks a pair of doors!
- Random fashion note number one: I ♥ Kaftan's hair! I've worn my hair exactly like that before, so I was a bit gleeful to see someone in Doctor Who wearing it. (I was wearing mine as an Amy Winehouse style then)
- HAHA TWO JUST IGNORES EVERYONE'S DEMANDS FOR AN EXPLANATION & JUST GOES TO LOOK AT A CORPSE & THE DOORS. LOLZ. How very Two!
- Random notes: considering all of the Cybermen stories we've seen so far with One, then Two, the question of how the Cybermen know the Doctor is a bit confusing. The first two can be explained, but how the Telosian Cybermen know Two here, is much more confusing. Ow, head.
- How very Two of Two to have just the thing to open Cyber-doors with in his pockets! ::hugs Two's pockets::
- 'Well I've not had much exercise lately!'
'Quite.'
Aww, bickerbickerbicker. HOW SO CUTE TWO & JAMIE?
- O yes, it's all doubt & suspicion of the Doctor until he helps your sorry arses out, isn't it? ::sigh::
(& this serial reminds me of what Ten says in Silence in the Library - 'I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists.' Hmm. You might, Ten, but your second regeneration didn't seem to.::gives Ten the finger:: Some of my best muses are archaeologists, you twit.)
- O, THE HAND-HOLDING BETWEEN TWO & JAMIE! BEST SCENE EVER. Then the way they throw each other's hands off is SO CUTE.Clearly they weren't ready to show everyone else in the room that they were gay married IN SPACE just yet. ::giggle::
- 'You look very nice in that dress Victoria.'
'Thank you. Don't you think it's a bit -'
'A bit short? Oh I shouldn't worry about that; look at Jamie's.'
LOLZ! (& no, I'm not trying to compare the lengths of Jamie & Victoria's hems when they walk in together, of course not.)
- I love how Victoria, while totally overawed by the room she's just entered, is still excited & curious about everything she's surrounded by. Another reason that I would give for this not being her first adventure with Two & Jamie, myself.
- 'Oh I use my own special technique.'
'Oh really Doctor? And may we know what that is?'
'Keeping my eyes open and my mouth shut.'
Two's in ur archaeological expedition, pwnin ur noobs.
(& I like the way Pat says that bit. Sexy. ::giggle::)
- 'I'd think the women better remain here.'
'Rubbish! We can make a party!'
Yay Victoria! She's not about to be left behind just because she's in a skirt! I APPROVE.
- 'We'd better stick close together.'
'Um, I'm alright, thank you.'
I giggle at the way Kaftan grabs onto Victoria's hand & how Victoria's kind of all, 'HEY, DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?'
& it's kind of femmeslashy. Shh.
- 'Do you mind? You're getting in my way. Just go over there, will you?'
'Oh fiddle!'
iluvictoria. She's kind of cute when annoyed! & I love how irritated & yet ladylike she still manages to sound!
- Two with his notepad & pencil is AWESOME. Like, he could have just stood there, with no big lines, just the paper, pencil & cute smile & I'd just love it all. But Two showing off his smarts is mad fab & mad attractive. (o, come ON, I'm allowed to gush!)
- O GREAT, IDIOTS JUST WOKE UP ALL THE CYBERMEN.
- & Kaftan just locked Victoria in the giant . . . box thing! BITCH! ::kicks her:: If Jamie had saw that, he would have raised the alarm.
- BITCH QUIT FUCKING WITH SHIT YOU DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND! ::shoves her off a cliff::
- Ooo, Hypnotised!Jamie! & I rather like his shirt.
- Ah, Two doesn't seem to trust Kaftan either now. Good!
- ::hugs poor Victoria:: O, the poor girl could have suffocated in there! I'm glad she's alright.
- WELL, YEAH, DO YOU REALLY THINK TWO WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU IDIOTS A COMPLETE CODE TO REVIVE THE CYBERMEN? You must be dumber than you look!
- Also, I know Clive Merrison is in this serial, but I KEEP FORGETTING TO LOOK FOR HIM! Damn!
- I love how the first Cyberman we see at the end of the first serial is just a dummy & not a real threat to anyone. (it's the gun, not the Cyberman!) It was a pretty good feint & did get me the first time!
- O, come now. If it was a Cyberman, it would have killed ALL of you in the room, then moved out & killed everyone else before reactivating the OTHER Cybermen! USE YOUR FANCY SCHOOLING PLZ.
- More touching & feeling of Jamie by Two, whee!
- 'Now there is a distinct element of risk in what I'm asking you all to do so if there's anyone wishes to leave, they must do so at once - not you, Jamie.'
brb dying of lolz. (& I love that even though Victoria's frightened, she doesn't leave! & Jamie, who's been told to operate the controls, is ready to run. LOLZ LOLZ LOLZ.)
- O, Two's got Cybermats noted in his five-hundred-year diary. That diary is pretty useful, I think.
- I keep wondering WHAT Victoria could have been carrying in her handbag. Seriously - what does she have in there?
- Hopper's accent makes my ears ache.
- Random fashion note two - Victoria's wearing a little watch on her bosom! That seems to be a bit awkward to me - how will she pull it up to look at the time?
- HEE! Victoria's totally up for staying with Two, leaving Jamie to have to stay, even though I do believe he'd like to return to the TARDIS.
'Everything yields to logic!'
Kaftan thinks a little like a Cyberman herself. & I don't like overly logical people. If you only see things by logic all the time, then it makes me a bit uncomfortable. (I can be logical, but I'm an emotional sort.)
- Two's sneaky, having Victoria stay with Kaftan. (though I would have left Jamie with her myself - just out of worry for Victoria & because Victoria wanted to go & see the tombs for herself.)
- TWO'S WEARING A CAPE OMFG! DUDE, HOW DOES HE PULL IT OFF? I thought you had to be One, Three, or the Master in order to pull a CAPE off, but no, Two wears it damn well himself!
- Teehee - Victoria's reaction to the little blocks of food.
- NO NO VICTORIA DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON HER - NO! ::sighs::
- Jamie looks kind of lulzy in his huge anorak. & he's practically drowning in all of that fabric!Quick, crawl inside Two's cape for better warmth, love!
(also, the anoraks they've all got on look almost exactly like the spacesuits Ben, Jamie, Polly & Two wore in The Moonbase. Is most future fashion made out of boring quilted material? I was hoping for functional minidresses & boots instead! ::sighs::)
- Bitch just gave Victoria a mickey. (or - & Victoria do forgive me for this, please - Vicki just got a mickey.) Okay, where's Jamie's knife, I'm planning on cutting that bitch. (Jamie, give that girl a knife of her own to protect herself with!)
- I'm slightly amused that Two already knows Klieg is defrosting the Cybermen, but no one else does. WHY ARE YOU ALL SUCH IDIOTS?!
- The Cybermen have been defrosted . . . & they're moving now. Not good.
- DON'T YOU BE PULLING A GUN ON JAMIE YOU MADMAN!
- You want to see what happens? I'll tell you what happens, psycho - YOU JUST WOKE UP A KILLER RACE FROM THEIR HIBERNATION & NOW THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE YOU ALL INTO CYBERMEN, THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
- Victoria is MASSIVELY brave when dealing with Kaftan - even when she's got a gun on her.
- Why do people always think they can bloody bargain with a Cyberman? YOU CAN'T! It's impossible! They will KILL you before they bargain with you & even if they were to bargain with you, they'd still kill you afterwards!
- O, whoa. While not as chilling as seeing the Cybermen walking all over London in The Invasion, seeing all of those Cybermen climbing out of their tombs is considerably frightening. They look like giant bugs, in a way. Very deadly, large bugs.
- VICTORIA'S GOT A GUN! & SHE SHOT A CYBERMAT! Call her a screamer in my presence & you will get a beatdown. THIS GIRL'S NO WIMP!
- The Cybercontroller unfurling itself like that . . . okay, that is really scary. Like a spider in a way. & I am terrified of spiders!
- The, um . . . ice on the Cybercontroller's face . . . doesn't look like ice. But that's because I have a perverted mind. Um, yes, end of that, moving on now . . .
- O, the Cybercontroller was played by Michael Kilgariff! He was the robot in Tom Baker's debut story Robot & I think he was in another story, but I don't remember which it was - I think it was an earlier one of Patrick Troughton's stories, but I'm not sure.
- God.fucking.dammit. Cybermen fucking freak me out & I don't care how childish or silly it makes me sound. Humanoid robots, or anything like the Cybermen just scare the absolute hell out of me. (I was terrified of Robocop when I was three. This should tell you something. & no, I still won't watch it, even now.) & their voices are definitely part of it - that deep, emotionless mechanical sound they have - it's a little like how a Dalek sounds, I think, but much lower in pitch & even more menacing.
Why? With a Dalek, it's simple - you follow orders or you die, but you'll probably die anyway, but it'll be a quick death. You won't know when it's coming, but you can guarantee it'll come. With a Cyberman, they don't want to kill you, always - they want to convert you. To make you into what they already are - emotionless, unfeeling, expert killing shells. That to me, is far worse a fate than what the Daleks can do to you. They'll just kill you. The Cybermen will recreate you. & yes, it will hurt. A lot. A Dalek's shot is instantaneous. You just know you've been hit & then you're dead. With conversion, you won't even remember who you were before you became one of them. & to me, between the two, I'd rather be shot by a Dalek than live as a Cyberman.
(hmm, that would make an interesting poll - death by Dalek weaponry or being converted into a Cyberman.)
- Okay, so Victoria's got Captain Hopper who is a bit annoying, but at least she's not alone anymore! & I do love how feisty she's getting with them! She's not being afraid to speak her mind to a man, or anyone older than her. ::smiles:: Hardly a helpless little Victorian girl, don't you think?
- 'Then why close the hatch on them? Doesn't make sense, Vic!'
'I didn't! And please, stop calling me 'Vic!'
Now you see why it would be odd for the Doctor, years later, to be thinking of her & to call her 'Vicki'?
- Okay, so the Cybercontroller explains how they know of the Doctor by linking up The Tenth Planet & The Moonbase, but I don't think it would still account for how the Cybermen in The Invasion would know the Doctor then, as that takes place nearly a century before The Moonbase OR Tomb of the Cybermen. & the Cybermen in The Tenth Planet are not Telosian, as I mentioned earlier, nor does it take place any time near The Invasion. ::sigh:: I do wonder if there IS an answer to this puzzle.
- HA! Victoria's screaming was a diversion!
- 'You scream real good Vic! Thanks a lot!'
'Please, the hatch!'
Victoria looks so pissed off right there, like she's really suppressing the urge to slap Hopper, & even more so when he calls her 'honey', which just pisses her off more - 'Is he always like that?'
'Uh, most of the time, Vic, yeah.'
Ooo, how I can share her frustration! I would be just the same if someone kept addressing me as 'Lizzie' - I do NOT like being called that - it's Betsy, Elizabeth, Saffron or Leigh, thankyouverymuch!
- I'm not surprised that the Cybermen would have perfected the science of cryogenics, not at all. But such a deadly race having that level of technology & being able to improve on it is a frightening thought. Imagine how easy it would be for them to make as many Cybermen as they needed if they could do that - they could just freeze living beings until their conversion.
- AGH THEY'VE GOT TWO'S LEG! BUT IT'S VICTORIA WATERFIELD TO THE RESCUE MOTHERFUCKERS!
& Jamie's the one to have been trying to pull her away from the Cybermen. & to comfort her afterwards. ♥
- Klieg's desire to bargain with the Cybermen, for his own gain, is very much like Tobias Vaughn's own bargain with the Cybermen in The Invasion, I think. They both just want power & think the Cybermen can be used to achieve that. Though I don't think Klieg & Kaftan would have tried to kill them after achieving their ends.
- Okay, Klieg's clearly insane. So is Kaftan, but he's far more gone than she is.
- O, my favourite scene is coming up - one of the best scenes between a Doctor & companion since Susan & One's final goodbye. As such, a transcription.
'Are you happy with us, Victoria?'
'Yes, I am. At least, I would be, if my father were here.'
'Yes, I know.'
'I wonder what he have thought, if he could see me now.'
'You miss him very much, don't you?'
'It's only when I close my eyes, I can still see him standing there, before those horrible Dalek creatures came to the house. He was a very kind man. I shall never forget him, ever.
'No, of course you won't. But, you know, the memory of him won't always be a sad one.'
'I think it will. You can't understand, being so ancient.'
'Eh?'
'I mean old.'
'Oh.'
'You probably can't remember your family.'
'Oh yes I can, if I want to. But that's the point, really - I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes; the rest of the time, they sleep inside my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes you will. You'll find there's so much else to think about, to remember. Our lives are different to anybody's else's - that's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing.'
While it may not be the same as the final scene between One & Susan, the very first time I saw it, I cried a bit. It's just such a beautiful, quiet moment between the two of them & Pat & Deborah play it so well that it really does make me cry a bit whenever I watch it - even just to transcribe it, it makes me cry. I think it's just stunning. & it's one of my favourite moments of Two's era, possibly out of all of the Doctor's different lives. & I think it is almost equal to Susan & One's last scene in ways. (well, both have me crying when I watch them & they both touch me very deeply, anyway.)
& also, I think, in the context of what they're surrounded by - psychotics & unfeeling, emotionless killing machines, it's a very strong contrast. It shows how different they are to the Cybermen, no matter how painful the loss. That even after such horrific events, they can still feel. & they want to feel. That they're going on with life, being amazing & travelling everywhere they can, even though there are many losses for them. I like that as a contrast to the cold & unemotional Cybermen. It's a very warm moment in this serial which highlights other points in the story, I think.
- Cybermats? Okay, they're cute. I'd love to have one as a pet!
- Saw Clive Merrison finally, as a random note.
- & once again, Two is awesome & confuses the cute little demons with a different electrical field!
- 'The power cable generated an electrical field and confused their tiny metal minds! You might almost say they've had a complete metal breakdown.'
- 'Oooh.'
- 'I'm sorry, Jamie.'
(& hee, I think poor Pat had a bit of a trouble not laughing at that moment - he looked like he was going to crack up right there!)
- FUCKER JUST TRIED TO SHOOT TWO! ::Leela!snarl:: At least he's a lousy shot! & I love how Victoria wants to help the poor injured thing on the floor. ::hugs:: JAMIE, WHERE IS YOUR KNIFE. THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME SCARY KNIFE-IN-TEETH-ACTION RIGHT ABOUT NOW.
- Okay, Klieg has one up on the Cybermen, but for how long, exactly? & I'm with Jamie - if you really think they Cybermen will listen to you, you ARE dafter than he thought.
- O, come now, I'm sure even a child would know not to trust a Cyberman! But apparently, adults never do.
- I don't like this 'Victoria as a hostage nonsense!' But this girl can be surprising, mind you . . .
- Is it weird that while I'm scared of the Cybermen, I feel a bit bad for the Cybercontroller sounding so . . . well, sick? It's like, I'm scared of them, but I'd like to help them feel better.
- I love how miss Victoria, not even having met a Cyberman before, knows better than to trust one!
- 'Jamie, I hope you made those ropes secure.'
'Aye, the king of the beasties couldn't get out of that one!'
::the Cybercontroller breaks through the door like cardboard::
'Jamie, remind me to give you a lesson in tying knots sometime.'
. . . o, come on. Do I even have to say it?
- Okay, back to being scared by the Cybermen now.
- 'Cybermen do not promise. Such ideas have no value.'
A simple concept & not one person ever seems to get it when they're a) crazy & b) in touch with a Cyberman!
- & now crazy bitch is dead! Ding dong, crazy bitch is dead.
- Ooo, Jamie's packing Cybermen weaponry.
- Gah, watching a Cyberman get tossed around like that is also a little spooky - I don't feel bad, just slightly scared. Does that make sense?
- YAY, JAMIE SHOT A CYBERMAN! Nice shot!
- & he shoots some more! (& no, I don't keep staring at his kilt pin, what kind of lady do you think I am?) KILL BB, KILL!
- KLIEG I THOUGHT WE KILLED YOU! Dammit, whoever shot you can't shoot right!
- . . . Absolute intelligence? BOLLOCKS.
- JAMIE! You followed Two into the tombs! ::hugs him::
- LOLZ, TWO IS BAITING KLIEG. I LOVE IT. Shake that banter, bb! (sorry, couldn't help it! ::laughs::) & yes, he was quite mad, but it never hurts to be sure!
(I wonder - could we consider Klieg as much of a headcase as Salamander? They both wanted the world, more or less! Er . . . actually, let's not. I like Salamander. Klieg gives me the fear.)
- 'I've been down there once and I don't reckon to go again.'
'That's alright, Captain. It's comforting to know that we have your superior strength to call on, should we need it.'
::gives Victoria flowers for pwning Hopper so fabulously & without sacrificing a bit of dignity::
- 'And so you have forfeited your right to survival. I shall make an example out of you, to all who question my intelligence and the supreme power of the Cybermen!'
'You know, I've heard this all before somewhere.'
'You know your trouble, you talk too much.'
- OOPS, LOOK WHO JUST GOT KILLED BY THE CYBERMEN. Ding-dong, madman & crazy bitch are dead!
- . . . why does it look like foam or soap is pouring out of the dead Cyberman?
- Random - my 'exanimate' mood picture is of the frozen Cybermen tomb. & I never knew that until I saw this serial.
- Awww, Jamie wants to stay with Two. & I like that little moment when he tells her he'll stay with the Doctor & she's just like, 'Oh, all right.'
- O my. Is it just me or when Pat does the 'when I say run, run' line, he rolls his R's a bit?
O, the hell with it - HE BLOODY ROLLED HIS R'S! DO YOU KNOW HOW SEXY THAT IS?! R ROLLING IS ALWAYS SEXY! ON ANYONE! UMF.
- Well . . . that's one fried Cyberman. & poor Toberman.
-'We have our own flying machine.'
'Flying machine?'
'At least it works.'
Victoria gets him TWICE. ::kisses her::
- that final shot of the Cybermat is just . . . foreboding, man.
-----
Okay, saying I merely liked this serial would be a huge understatement. I. FUCKING. LOVED. IT. Not only because it had the Cybermen, but because of how awesome Two's Team TARDIS 2.2 was, at every opportunity, especially Victoria. She can hardly be called a wimp or a useless screamer in this - she's fierce! She fights back, she shows her curiosity & interest in everything around her & even saves her friends when they're in trouble.
Another thing I really liked about this serial was how it had two totally different, yet proactive female lead characters in it. There was Kaftan, who was stone-cold crazy, but clearly very intelligent & cunning when it came to her plans in dealing with the Cybermen & the Doctor & his companions. (hey, I do have to give her credit there, even if she was one nutty bitch!)
Then, there was Victoria, who was very new to travelling through time & space, but she wasn't going to run away when things got deadly or incredibly terrifying. Instead, she stayed with her friends & did everything she could to help them & to get them out of the tombs when the Cybermen awoke. & she showed that she can be sassy & angry, but without losing dignity at the same time.
& of course, she flat-out attacked a Cyberman! With a coffee can! Now THAT is awesome.
When I was deciding how I would do the rewatch-athon overall, I decided, since not a lot of Two's stories survived, to include the Companion Chronicles for Jamie, Zoe & Victoria. (I don't have Polly's, or I would have added that as well - POLLY!) So this is Victoria's, The Great Space Elevator.
& as a fun sidebar, Jamie's is right after Victoria's in my iTunes, & is only twenty-nine seconds longer than hers is, leaving us with a just about even running time for both at 1:19, with twenty-nine extra seconds for Jamie.
The Great Space Elevator
- It's amazing, how just hearing the opening of the Patrick Troughton years immediately gives me the visuals of his opening titles, complete with the story name at the end.
- The opening of almost all the Companion Chronicles I've heard are always lovely, I think. How each companion is remembering their days with the Doctor. Victoria's seems so wistful & sad, like she's writing down her stories with the Doctor, or as her memoirs. Wistful & sad at once, I think.
- 'We've been away. On . . . Telos. It's a Greek island.'
::points upward:: Exactly why I set this after Tomb of the Cybermen.
- About twelve minutes in, & two well-known lines (or at least, I think they're well-known!) from the Troughton era have been said:
'Look at the size of that thing!' (Jamie, on seeing the space elevator when they arrive)
'I'm not sure, but without power, they only have a limited sectional air supply. If it isn't restored soon, they'll suffocate.' (Two on the sky station)
- 'There's always a way, you see. All you need is an imagination, and a piece of paper.'
O, PERFECT Two!
- Hee, still a bit of married bickering between Two & Jamie, even in Victoria's story!
- 'Jamie reminded the Doctor that he needed someone to look out for him in case of trouble. And I reminded the Doctor that I wasn't prepared to stay behind, missing out on all the adventure just because I was a 'mere girl'.'
Great continuity with The Tomb of the Cybermen, as well with Victoria's overall enthusiasm in her early days!
- Now I had listened to part of this story before, up to their arrival in outer space, & I just loved this part. It's very Victoria & very Two I think. & plus, it's very much like something from Two's era & quite thrilling to listen to!
- 'The Doctor smiled at me and for a brief moment, I was reminded of my father. It was at times like this when I missed him most. When I wished he were here to share the wonders of the universe with me.'
♥♥
- 'Victoria.' said the Doctor gently. 'I hope you never forget your time with me and Jamie, because our memories are important. They're the most precious things we can ever have.'
I loved this bit because it was a bit reminiscent of the scene Two & Victoria shared in The Tomb of the Cybermen (the one I transcribed) & it's also a bit of a sad contrast to what Victoria says in the beginning of the story - 'All I have left are my memories. And even those are starting to fade.'
& of course, knowing what will happen to Jamie & eventually Zoe . . . yeah, that's a punch right there.
I find their fates even sadder, when I realise that only Victoria has her memories of her travels with the Doctor intact. Ben & Polly do too, of course, but as this is Victoria-centric, I'm just thinking of her. It is quite sad that she's the only one who will really remember all of her adventures, & that she's the only one who will remember Jamie & all the wonderful things he did.
- Aww, Two's playing his recorder to pass the time. ♥
- THERE'S EVEN FOAM! Just like a true Troughton era serial! ::beams::
- 'Hey, listen to the Doctor! He knows a thing or two.'
We had to wait for DECADES for someone to say something like that, but yes! someone finally told someone in authority to bin it & listen to the Doctor! (that someone being Jamie, which is lovely. ::grins::)
- I was about to join them when the Doctor looked at me apologetically.
'Ah, no. Not you, Victoria. Not this time.'
'And why not?' I asked.
' I think it would be better if you waited for us here,' he said. 'Please?'
'Oh, all right.' I said, and I watched the Doctor and Jamie leave, while fighting the urge to scream. The Doctor could be so infuriating at times! I know he felt responsible for me, but if he had his way, I would never have any adventures at all!
So, I waited until they had disappeared, before making my own way out of the capsule, heading down the opposite corridor.
THIS IS HOW YOU FUCKING WRITE A COMPANION, PEOPLE, & HOW ANY CLASSIC ERA COMPANION SHOULD BE WRITTEN IF THEY'RE BEING WRITTEN NOWADAYS. THIS IS NOT DEBATABLE.
♥ ♥ ♥
- & as a result of her own bravery, she's the one who leads Two & Jamie to the first major evidence of what's happening on the sky station. It was miss Victoria who brought them to what they needed to see, not Two & Jamie. & I approve perfectly.
- I pouted at him for being so condescending.
'Well, if they think I'm one of them, surely, I can go into the control room!'
'Oh, no!' said the Doctor, horrified. 'No, no, we couldn't ask you to do that!'
'Aye,' said Jamie, hands tucked into his belt. 'It's far too dangerous for a wee girl. You'll only need rescuing again.'
'A 'wee girl'?' I resisted the urge to scream. 'Really, Jamie, if it's the only way we can find out what's going on I - I'm not going to let you stop me!'
'Now, Victoria -' the Doctor began, but I was having none of it.
'No, Doctor,' I said firmly. 'I'm going. And that's the end of it!'
& I quite like the scene where Victoria has to change into her insulation suit to blend in with the rest of the crew:
'Very well,' I said. 'Now I want all of you to stand and face that wall and not to turn around until I tell you.'
. . . . as I started to unbutton my jacket, I noticed Jamie sneaking a glance in my direction.
'And that includes you, Jamie McCrimmon!'
::giggles & hugs Victoria::
- I keep expecting Cybermen to explode into the story at any moment; the electrical . . . thing is so much like them. It's like an advancement on a Cybermat, but so much more terrifying!
- Possessed!Tara's voice is literally giving me goose pimples. Not even joking.
- I love how many chances Victoria has to show off her own scientific knowledge. It's awesome!
- This story is a lot more frightening than I thought it would be originally. It actually scares me more than Liz Shaw's did, & hers had very real, very scary Cybermen in them!
- & indeed, our lady Victoria shows that even a 'wee girl' can save the day - with foam!
- No shit the Doctor betrayed you, love. That's what happens when you underestimate the funny man in the baggy trousers!
-----
Now that was quite a thrilling story & I think, a very aptly written story both for Victoria & for an audio set during the Two era. It just sounded so much like one of his stories, dialogue & all. Even the premise of the story was one that was well-used (& with variation) in his era. (not the bit about the space lift; but more somewhere being under attack by something alien)
I remember, very early on, when I got this story, I toldnentari that I was a bit nervous about listening to it, because I'd never seen any of Victoria's serials & I didn't want to be spoiled for any. She reassured me that the only vaguely spoilery thing was Victoria mentioning Telos as the last place they'd been to & that it was an incredibly good story for Victoria. & indeed it is! I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes Two's era & his companions.
& our final serial for the week - The Abominable Snowmen! Only one part of it survives, but what doesn't, I have the audio for, luckily!
The Abominable Snowmen
Audio - Episode One
- This is the first appearance of Edward Travers, I believe. He'll return in The Web of Fear, if I remember right.
- O, go Victoria showing her smarts off! ::hugs her:: & aww, Jamie having no clue where the hell he is.
- OMG JAMIE FOUND A PAIR OF BAGPIPES! & Two's all 'Yes, I was afraid of that.' ::pokes Two::
- O, first appearance of the giant fur coat!
- Victoria's working the TARDIS controls! & Jamie's playing with a scimitar!
- LOLZ, MISTAKING TWO FOR A SCARY HAIRY CREATURE. ::giggles madly::
- I ♥ Victoria's enthusiasm. She doesn't seem marked by her experience with the Cybermen too badly.
- 'I really think you ought to wear something warmer!'
'I tell you, I'm a Highlander! The cold doesn't affect me!'
'There's a great deal of difference between the Highlands and the Himalayas, Jamie!'
- Two discovering the footprints in the snow reminds me a lot of Barbara & Susan finding the tracks in the snow at the end of The Edge of Destruction quite a bit.
- Victoria . . . Two did say you should both stay in the TARDIS! But alas, Victorian adventuresses & Highlanders are never put off by rules, are they?
- 'Because the Doctor said - well if you must know, I am cold!'
::giggle::
- & Victoria has quite a curious mind, as well as a strong sense of bravery. But I'm still glad Jamie has a weapon, & I would rather they went back to the TARDIS, actually . . . just so that they're safe!
- O, poor Two! ::hugs him:: That must be a horrid little place to be locked in.
- . . . I'm not sure if I would go with Victoria or stay with Jamie & go back to the TARDIS - & now it sounds like even Victoria's not sure of what she wants to do!
- EEK, THERE IS SOMETHING IN THERE!
- You know, it's quite hard to recap this - I'd much prefer to listen to it & just recap the surviving serial!
- 'If you need me, just yell your head off.'
'Oh, don't worry; I will!'
Jamie & Victoria are quite cute, aren't they? ::hugs them::
& UMF JAMIE WITH A SWORD WHEE.
- Moving into the only surviving serial for part two - Jamie's quite literally just brought the roof down on the . . . yeti-thing that was about to attack him & Victoria. Um, how they'll be getting out could be interesting to see . . .
- Aww, no more sword for Jamie.
- I love Victoria's little explorer outfit; it's quite cute on her!
- EEEE, TWO'S PLAYING TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR ON HIS RECORDER. ♥♥♥ That's totally one of his space beatnik moments, I think.
- Two: ::is being awesome all over the place, as per usual::
- JESUS THEY'RE BEING CHASED BY A YETI. That's . . . not fun, man.
- Random fashion note: Love Two's great big fur coat with his trousers. I think they look quite nice together, or rather, his coat looks much better on him when he's standing up & we have a full view of him up & down. When he's sitting down in that coat, it looks a bit sloppy on him, I feel. But that's also part of his space beatnik chic, you must remember.
- Poor Two, tied to a gate, trapped in some fuzzy monster of a coat . . . that's got to be no fun either! ::hugs him::
- I love Two's reaction to being asked if he really had brought the bell back - not smug or angry, just politeness. It's quite sweet. ::snugs him::
- WHAT THE HELL IS TWO WEARING AROUND HIS SHOULDERS?
- 'Hey, Doctor, if you really want to capture one of these beasties, I think I have an idea that just might work!'
'Uh, Victoria (pulling her away), I think this is one of those instances where discretion is the better part of valour - Jamie has an idea.'
It's rather cute, but that wasn't too nice of Two, was it? ::chews on lip::
- O, but Jamie's putting his idea into action anyway, isn't he? & yay, he succeeded! ::pinches Two for doubting him::
- I always get confused about what the yeti are supposed to be when I watch this. I suppose that's because I've never heard the full story, but I suppose I will now.
- I just thought of something - the idea of Two coming back to a place he's been before, to return or get back something from there, is very much like what Seven & Ace do in Remembrance of the Daleks - they're attempting to get something back that the Doctor left years before at 77 Totter's Lane when Susan was at Coal Hill School. I think it was called the Hand of Glory, possibly? It was something he'd taken when he'd left Gallifrey with Susan, I believe, that the Daleks were also after by then.
Audio - Episodes three through six
- So the spheres are . . . attracted to each other, in a way? Like magnets? Hmm.
- I quite like listening to the monks speak. They're calming, I think.
- O dear . . . I don't like the idea of where that errant sphere could be heading. I really don't.
- While I would say that some of Victoria's actions in this story so far have been a bit reckless, I still think she's being quite lovely in it. & I like her sense of curiosity very much.
- & really, Victoria could be called rather unpredictable, I think! A bit reckless, yes, but quite brave & not quite what she seems, I think. O, dear Victoria. ♥
- O DEAR. I . . . I knew that's where it might have gone. ::bites nails::
- & NOW THERE'S A LIVE YETI IN THE MONASTERY. O MY WORD.
- & WHAT could a yeti want with the TARDIS? Robot or not, I don't think it would be smart enough to know how to operate it!
- LOLZ TWO'S CLEVER PLAN IS TOSSING ROCKS AT A YETI. ::giggle::
- I don't like how . . . easy it was for Two to get the sphere out of the yeti's chest . . . I'm a bit worried that it was a trap.
- When Jamie's being pulled toward the yeti, I couldn't help imagining how crazygrabby the two of them must have been at that moment! & IT WAS BURNT, WHAT THE HELL. ::glares::
- THEY POISONED VICTORIA - WAIT. OMG. ::grins:: Victoria Waterfield, you are truly an unpredictable girl! (or, as I would ordinarily say, quite badass!)
- 'A devil-woman'? Hmm, I wonder what she'd say of that!
- Aaaaaah, headstrong! Yes, Jamie, you're rather right, I think.
- Please, stop calling Victoria a 'she-devil'!
- ::shakes Hypnotised!Victoria:: Please, please, wake up! Victoria, please!
- Jamie says he's been quite worried about Victoria. & it's quite clear that he has been. It's quite . . . . quite loving, I think.
- O, yay, Victoria's back to herself again! ::hugs her::
- 'Doctor, you're not going to send me away with the monks?'
'Yes, Victoria, I think it would be for the best.'
'Well I won't go, you know.'
'I thought you wouldn't.'
♥♥♥
- Two included Victoria in his plan. He could have sent her away, but he let her stay to fight. ♥
(besides, she probably would have come back to help them of her own accord. ::grins:: She's lovely like that.)
- GOOD GOD, TWO IS A FIERCE MOTHERFUCKER. ::fangirls like mad::
- O MY! They saw a real yeti! ::giggles:: & Jamie's poor blue knees! ::giggles harder:: Aww, bless.
-----
I'm actually just finishing this up at a few minutes to midnight, so if I'm rather incoherent, please forgive me.
Anyway, I quite liked the later half of the story, when it became more action-filled & of course, when Victoria got to be . . . well, I'm not sure what to call it, but she played an important part in the last half of the story I think, which made it much more enjoyable, even though I was quite fearful for her! But she was very strong & I loved it. Admittedly, I felt like it was a bit long & drawn-out at times, but that could be because I'm so exhausted, but I wanted to get it up early Saturday morning.
(& I'm going to be over here quietly waving my Jamie/Victoria flag now - it was quite a good serial for them! ::squeals::)
& that's this week's instalment of the great & mighty Troughton rewatch-athon! Next week I'll be recapping the audios of The Ice Warriors, watching the third serial of, as well as listening to the audio of The Enemy of the World (YES YES YES! ::squeals like the silly bunny she is::) & The Web of Fear, which will also include one serial.
Previous recaps
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Time Meddler
The War Machines
The Smugglers
The Tenth Planet
The Power of the Daleks
The Highlanders
The Underwater Menace
The Moonbase
The Macra Terror
The Faceless Ones
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks - audio version
Tomb of the Cybermen
- So! This serial takes off immediately from Evil of the Daleks, with Two, Jamie, & now Victoria returning to the TARDIS as the city of Skaro is blown left, right, up, down, sideways & all around their ears.
& I fucking adore Victoria's 'it's bigger on the inside' moment so much:
Victoria (studying the console): 'What are all these knobs?'
Jamie: 'Instruments. These are for controlling our flight.'
Victoria (rather sarcastically, yet ladylike): 'Flight?'
Jamie: 'Yes. You see, we travel around in here through time and space.'
Victoria (in a way that could only be described as terribly amused): ::laughs::
Two: 'Oh no, no no, don't laugh - it's true.'
I included this because not only do I love it, as I said before, but it actually begins a song by one of my favourite British electronic music groups (who, sadly, are no more!), Orbital who sampled this bit into their remix of the original Doctor Who theme when they played it live at Glastonbury one year. It's an incredible remix & the first time I'd ever heard a Classic!theme.
(in fact, I think they play two different ones - Tom Baker's opening & Patrick Troughton's opening, but I'm not too sure on that. But either way, it sounds great. & for all the years I've had it, I never knew what Doctor & companion were talking - I'd figured it was from the Colin Baker era, which I haven't seen anything of yet. So imagine my surprise when I hear this in the very beginning of such an awesome serial! If you're interested, by the by.)
- 'Try to give us a smooth takeoff Doctor. We don't want to frighten her.'
Aww. Already Jamie's looking out for his miss Victoria & inciting the indignation of Two on the way - 'A smooth takeoff? What a nerve!'
& also, more displays of early tactility between the two of them. ♥
-
nentari & I talked very early on about how this serial, while being Victoria's second, is actually not her second adventure with Two & Jamie - that her meeting the Cybermen is one of her early ones, but not her second one. A reason we speculated is because a) she goes from her very long crinoline & Victorian-styled fashion to a much shorter & less confining dress, & b) in Pyramids of Mars (a Four & Sarah serial, but it has relevance here), when Sarah comes out in a long white-cream coloured Edwardian-styled dress, Four says to her 'Hello Vicki' & then explains 'that dress used to belong to Victoria when she travelled with me.' (though why he would call Victoria 'Vicki' is completely beyond either of us - we've assumed it's because he was so distracted in that bit, or that Robert Holmes was thinking of One's companion Vicki at the time. You'll see why later on.)(though in my opinion, I think Sarah & Victoria do look somewhat alike. When I saw the cover of Victoria's Companion Chronicle, I thought she was Sarah for a moment. It's the hair & face, I think. So it would be an easy mistake to make if you're distracted & thinking about one & not the other at that moment.)
- Okay, so we're on Telos now, home of the (Telosian) Cybermen. (don't confuse them for the Mondasian Cybermen One, Polly & Ben met in The Tenth Planet - those are a totally different breed!) & is it just me, or is this the first time that any character on Doctor Who sported a (terrible) American accent?
- O, look
- Random fashion note number one: I ♥ Kaftan's hair! I've worn my hair exactly like that before, so I was a bit gleeful to see someone in Doctor Who wearing it. (I was wearing mine as an Amy Winehouse style then)
- HAHA TWO JUST IGNORES EVERYONE'S DEMANDS FOR AN EXPLANATION & JUST GOES TO LOOK AT A CORPSE & THE DOORS. LOLZ. How very Two!
- Random notes: considering all of the Cybermen stories we've seen so far with One, then Two, the question of how the Cybermen know the Doctor is a bit confusing. The first two can be explained, but how the Telosian Cybermen know Two here, is much more confusing. Ow, head.
- How very Two of Two to have just the thing to open Cyber-doors with in his pockets! ::hugs Two's pockets::
- 'Well I've not had much exercise lately!'
'Quite.'
Aww, bickerbickerbicker. HOW SO CUTE TWO & JAMIE?
- O yes, it's all doubt & suspicion of the Doctor until he helps your sorry arses out, isn't it? ::sigh::
(& this serial reminds me of what Ten says in Silence in the Library - 'I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists.' Hmm. You might, Ten, but your second regeneration didn't seem to.
- O, THE HAND-HOLDING BETWEEN TWO & JAMIE! BEST SCENE EVER. Then the way they throw each other's hands off is SO CUTE.
- 'You look very nice in that dress Victoria.'
'Thank you. Don't you think it's a bit -'
'A bit short? Oh I shouldn't worry about that; look at Jamie's.'
LOLZ! (& no, I'm not trying to compare the lengths of Jamie & Victoria's hems when they walk in together, of course not.)
- I love how Victoria, while totally overawed by the room she's just entered, is still excited & curious about everything she's surrounded by. Another reason that I would give for this not being her first adventure with Two & Jamie, myself.
- 'Oh I use my own special technique.'
'Oh really Doctor? And may we know what that is?'
'Keeping my eyes open and my mouth shut.'
Two's in ur archaeological expedition, pwnin ur noobs.
(& I like the way Pat says that bit. Sexy. ::giggle::)
- 'I'd think the women better remain here.'
'Rubbish! We can make a party!'
Yay Victoria! She's not about to be left behind just because she's in a skirt! I APPROVE.
- 'We'd better stick close together.'
'Um, I'm alright, thank you.'
I giggle at the way Kaftan grabs onto Victoria's hand & how Victoria's kind of all, 'HEY, DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?'
& it's kind of femmeslashy. Shh.
- 'Do you mind? You're getting in my way. Just go over there, will you?'
'Oh fiddle!'
iluvictoria. She's kind of cute when annoyed! & I love how irritated & yet ladylike she still manages to sound!
- Two with his notepad & pencil is AWESOME. Like, he could have just stood there, with no big lines, just the paper, pencil & cute smile & I'd just love it all. But Two showing off his smarts is mad fab & mad attractive. (o, come ON, I'm allowed to gush!)
- O GREAT, IDIOTS JUST WOKE UP ALL THE CYBERMEN.
- & Kaftan just locked Victoria in the giant . . . box thing! BITCH! ::kicks her:: If Jamie had saw that, he would have raised the alarm.
- BITCH QUIT FUCKING WITH SHIT YOU DON'T FULLY UNDERSTAND! ::shoves her off a cliff::
- Ooo, Hypnotised!Jamie! & I rather like his shirt.
- Ah, Two doesn't seem to trust Kaftan either now. Good!
- ::hugs poor Victoria:: O, the poor girl could have suffocated in there! I'm glad she's alright.
- WELL, YEAH, DO YOU REALLY THINK TWO WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU IDIOTS A COMPLETE CODE TO REVIVE THE CYBERMEN? You must be dumber than you look!
- Also, I know Clive Merrison is in this serial, but I KEEP FORGETTING TO LOOK FOR HIM! Damn!
- I love how the first Cyberman we see at the end of the first serial is just a dummy & not a real threat to anyone. (it's the gun, not the Cyberman!) It was a pretty good feint & did get me the first time!
- O, come now. If it was a Cyberman, it would have killed ALL of you in the room, then moved out & killed everyone else before reactivating the OTHER Cybermen! USE YOUR FANCY SCHOOLING PLZ.
- More touching & feeling of Jamie by Two, whee!
- 'Now there is a distinct element of risk in what I'm asking you all to do so if there's anyone wishes to leave, they must do so at once - not you, Jamie.'
brb dying of lolz. (& I love that even though Victoria's frightened, she doesn't leave! & Jamie, who's been told to operate the controls, is ready to run. LOLZ LOLZ LOLZ.)
- O, Two's got Cybermats noted in his five-hundred-year diary. That diary is pretty useful, I think.
- I keep wondering WHAT Victoria could have been carrying in her handbag. Seriously - what does she have in there?
- Hopper's accent makes my ears ache.
- Random fashion note two - Victoria's wearing a little watch on her bosom! That seems to be a bit awkward to me - how will she pull it up to look at the time?
- HEE! Victoria's totally up for staying with Two, leaving Jamie to have to stay, even though I do believe he'd like to return to the TARDIS.
'Everything yields to logic!'
Kaftan thinks a little like a Cyberman herself. & I don't like overly logical people. If you only see things by logic all the time, then it makes me a bit uncomfortable. (I can be logical, but I'm an emotional sort.)
- Two's sneaky, having Victoria stay with Kaftan. (though I would have left Jamie with her myself - just out of worry for Victoria & because Victoria wanted to go & see the tombs for herself.)
- TWO'S WEARING A CAPE OMFG! DUDE, HOW DOES HE PULL IT OFF? I thought you had to be One, Three, or the Master in order to pull a CAPE off, but no, Two wears it damn well himself!
- Teehee - Victoria's reaction to the little blocks of food.
- NO NO VICTORIA DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON HER - NO! ::sighs::
- Jamie looks kind of lulzy in his huge anorak. & he's practically drowning in all of that fabric!
(also, the anoraks they've all got on look almost exactly like the spacesuits Ben, Jamie, Polly & Two wore in The Moonbase. Is most future fashion made out of boring quilted material? I was hoping for functional minidresses & boots instead! ::sighs::)
- Bitch just gave Victoria a mickey. (or - & Victoria do forgive me for this, please - Vicki just got a mickey.) Okay, where's Jamie's knife, I'm planning on cutting that bitch. (Jamie, give that girl a knife of her own to protect herself with!)
- I'm slightly amused that Two already knows Klieg is defrosting the Cybermen, but no one else does. WHY ARE YOU ALL SUCH IDIOTS?!
- The Cybermen have been defrosted . . . & they're moving now. Not good.
- DON'T YOU BE PULLING A GUN ON JAMIE YOU MADMAN!
- You want to see what happens? I'll tell you what happens, psycho - YOU JUST WOKE UP A KILLER RACE FROM THEIR HIBERNATION & NOW THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE YOU ALL INTO CYBERMEN, THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
- Victoria is MASSIVELY brave when dealing with Kaftan - even when she's got a gun on her.
- Why do people always think they can bloody bargain with a Cyberman? YOU CAN'T! It's impossible! They will KILL you before they bargain with you & even if they were to bargain with you, they'd still kill you afterwards!
- O, whoa. While not as chilling as seeing the Cybermen walking all over London in The Invasion, seeing all of those Cybermen climbing out of their tombs is considerably frightening. They look like giant bugs, in a way. Very deadly, large bugs.
- VICTORIA'S GOT A GUN! & SHE SHOT A CYBERMAT! Call her a screamer in my presence & you will get a beatdown. THIS GIRL'S NO WIMP!
- The Cybercontroller unfurling itself like that . . . okay, that is really scary. Like a spider in a way. & I am terrified of spiders!
- The, um . . . ice on the Cybercontroller's face . . . doesn't look like ice. But that's because I have a perverted mind. Um, yes, end of that, moving on now . . .
- O, the Cybercontroller was played by Michael Kilgariff! He was the robot in Tom Baker's debut story Robot & I think he was in another story, but I don't remember which it was - I think it was an earlier one of Patrick Troughton's stories, but I'm not sure.
- God.fucking.dammit. Cybermen fucking freak me out & I don't care how childish or silly it makes me sound. Humanoid robots, or anything like the Cybermen just scare the absolute hell out of me. (I was terrified of Robocop when I was three. This should tell you something. & no, I still won't watch it, even now.) & their voices are definitely part of it - that deep, emotionless mechanical sound they have - it's a little like how a Dalek sounds, I think, but much lower in pitch & even more menacing.
Why? With a Dalek, it's simple - you follow orders or you die, but you'll probably die anyway, but it'll be a quick death. You won't know when it's coming, but you can guarantee it'll come. With a Cyberman, they don't want to kill you, always - they want to convert you. To make you into what they already are - emotionless, unfeeling, expert killing shells. That to me, is far worse a fate than what the Daleks can do to you. They'll just kill you. The Cybermen will recreate you. & yes, it will hurt. A lot. A Dalek's shot is instantaneous. You just know you've been hit & then you're dead. With conversion, you won't even remember who you were before you became one of them. & to me, between the two, I'd rather be shot by a Dalek than live as a Cyberman.
(hmm, that would make an interesting poll - death by Dalek weaponry or being converted into a Cyberman.)
- Okay, so Victoria's got Captain Hopper who is a bit annoying, but at least she's not alone anymore! & I do love how feisty she's getting with them! She's not being afraid to speak her mind to a man, or anyone older than her. ::smiles:: Hardly a helpless little Victorian girl, don't you think?
- 'Then why close the hatch on them? Doesn't make sense, Vic!'
'I didn't! And please, stop calling me 'Vic!'
Now you see why it would be odd for the Doctor, years later, to be thinking of her & to call her 'Vicki'?
- Okay, so the Cybercontroller explains how they know of the Doctor by linking up The Tenth Planet & The Moonbase, but I don't think it would still account for how the Cybermen in The Invasion would know the Doctor then, as that takes place nearly a century before The Moonbase OR Tomb of the Cybermen. & the Cybermen in The Tenth Planet are not Telosian, as I mentioned earlier, nor does it take place any time near The Invasion. ::sigh:: I do wonder if there IS an answer to this puzzle.
- HA! Victoria's screaming was a diversion!
- 'You scream real good Vic! Thanks a lot!'
'Please, the hatch!'
Victoria looks so pissed off right there, like she's really suppressing the urge to slap Hopper, & even more so when he calls her 'honey', which just pisses her off more - 'Is he always like that?'
'Uh, most of the time, Vic, yeah.'
Ooo, how I can share her frustration! I would be just the same if someone kept addressing me as 'Lizzie' - I do NOT like being called that - it's Betsy, Elizabeth, Saffron or Leigh, thankyouverymuch!
- I'm not surprised that the Cybermen would have perfected the science of cryogenics, not at all. But such a deadly race having that level of technology & being able to improve on it is a frightening thought. Imagine how easy it would be for them to make as many Cybermen as they needed if they could do that - they could just freeze living beings until their conversion.
- AGH THEY'VE GOT TWO'S LEG! BUT IT'S VICTORIA WATERFIELD TO THE RESCUE MOTHERFUCKERS!
& Jamie's the one to have been trying to pull her away from the Cybermen. & to comfort her afterwards. ♥
- Klieg's desire to bargain with the Cybermen, for his own gain, is very much like Tobias Vaughn's own bargain with the Cybermen in The Invasion, I think. They both just want power & think the Cybermen can be used to achieve that. Though I don't think Klieg & Kaftan would have tried to kill them after achieving their ends.
- Okay, Klieg's clearly insane. So is Kaftan, but he's far more gone than she is.
- O, my favourite scene is coming up - one of the best scenes between a Doctor & companion since Susan & One's final goodbye. As such, a transcription.
'Are you happy with us, Victoria?'
'Yes, I am. At least, I would be, if my father were here.'
'Yes, I know.'
'I wonder what he have thought, if he could see me now.'
'You miss him very much, don't you?'
'It's only when I close my eyes, I can still see him standing there, before those horrible Dalek creatures came to the house. He was a very kind man. I shall never forget him, ever.
'No, of course you won't. But, you know, the memory of him won't always be a sad one.'
'I think it will. You can't understand, being so ancient.'
'Eh?'
'I mean old.'
'Oh.'
'You probably can't remember your family.'
'Oh yes I can, if I want to. But that's the point, really - I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes; the rest of the time, they sleep inside my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes you will. You'll find there's so much else to think about, to remember. Our lives are different to anybody's else's - that's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing.'
While it may not be the same as the final scene between One & Susan, the very first time I saw it, I cried a bit. It's just such a beautiful, quiet moment between the two of them & Pat & Deborah play it so well that it really does make me cry a bit whenever I watch it - even just to transcribe it, it makes me cry. I think it's just stunning. & it's one of my favourite moments of Two's era, possibly out of all of the Doctor's different lives. & I think it is almost equal to Susan & One's last scene in ways. (well, both have me crying when I watch them & they both touch me very deeply, anyway.)
& also, I think, in the context of what they're surrounded by - psychotics & unfeeling, emotionless killing machines, it's a very strong contrast. It shows how different they are to the Cybermen, no matter how painful the loss. That even after such horrific events, they can still feel. & they want to feel. That they're going on with life, being amazing & travelling everywhere they can, even though there are many losses for them. I like that as a contrast to the cold & unemotional Cybermen. It's a very warm moment in this serial which highlights other points in the story, I think.
- Cybermats? Okay, they're cute. I'd love to have one as a pet!
- Saw Clive Merrison finally, as a random note.
- & once again, Two is awesome & confuses the cute little demons with a different electrical field!
- 'The power cable generated an electrical field and confused their tiny metal minds! You might almost say they've had a complete metal breakdown.'
- 'Oooh.'
- 'I'm sorry, Jamie.'
(& hee, I think poor Pat had a bit of a trouble not laughing at that moment - he looked like he was going to crack up right there!)
- FUCKER JUST TRIED TO SHOOT TWO! ::Leela!snarl:: At least he's a lousy shot! & I love how Victoria wants to help the poor injured thing on the floor. ::hugs:: JAMIE, WHERE IS YOUR KNIFE. THERE NEEDS TO BE SOME SCARY KNIFE-IN-TEETH-ACTION RIGHT ABOUT NOW.
- Okay, Klieg has one up on the Cybermen, but for how long, exactly? & I'm with Jamie - if you really think they Cybermen will listen to you, you ARE dafter than he thought.
- O, come now, I'm sure even a child would know not to trust a Cyberman! But apparently, adults never do.
- I don't like this 'Victoria as a hostage nonsense!' But this girl can be surprising, mind you . . .
- Is it weird that while I'm scared of the Cybermen, I feel a bit bad for the Cybercontroller sounding so . . . well, sick? It's like, I'm scared of them, but I'd like to help them feel better.
- I love how miss Victoria, not even having met a Cyberman before, knows better than to trust one!
- 'Jamie, I hope you made those ropes secure.'
'Aye, the king of the beasties couldn't get out of that one!'
::the Cybercontroller breaks through the door like cardboard::
'Jamie, remind me to give you a lesson in tying knots sometime.'
. . . o, come on. Do I even have to say it?
- Okay, back to being scared by the Cybermen now.
- 'Cybermen do not promise. Such ideas have no value.'
A simple concept & not one person ever seems to get it when they're a) crazy & b) in touch with a Cyberman!
- & now crazy bitch is dead! Ding dong, crazy bitch is dead.
- Ooo, Jamie's packing Cybermen weaponry.
- Gah, watching a Cyberman get tossed around like that is also a little spooky - I don't feel bad, just slightly scared. Does that make sense?
- YAY, JAMIE SHOT A CYBERMAN! Nice shot!
- & he shoots some more! (& no, I don't keep staring at his kilt pin, what kind of lady do you think I am?) KILL BB, KILL!
- KLIEG I THOUGHT WE KILLED YOU! Dammit, whoever shot you can't shoot right!
- . . . Absolute intelligence? BOLLOCKS.
- JAMIE! You followed Two into the tombs! ::hugs him::
- LOLZ, TWO IS BAITING KLIEG. I LOVE IT. Shake that banter, bb! (sorry, couldn't help it! ::laughs::) & yes, he was quite mad, but it never hurts to be sure!
(I wonder - could we consider Klieg as much of a headcase as Salamander? They both wanted the world, more or less! Er . . . actually, let's not. I like Salamander. Klieg gives me the fear.)
- 'I've been down there once and I don't reckon to go again.'
'That's alright, Captain. It's comforting to know that we have your superior strength to call on, should we need it.'
::gives Victoria flowers for pwning Hopper so fabulously & without sacrificing a bit of dignity::
- 'And so you have forfeited your right to survival. I shall make an example out of you, to all who question my intelligence and the supreme power of the Cybermen!'
'You know, I've heard this all before somewhere.'
'You know your trouble, you talk too much.'
- OOPS, LOOK WHO JUST GOT KILLED BY THE CYBERMEN. Ding-dong, madman & crazy bitch are dead!
- . . . why does it look like foam or soap is pouring out of the dead Cyberman?
- Random - my 'exanimate' mood picture is of the frozen Cybermen tomb. & I never knew that until I saw this serial.
- Awww, Jamie wants to stay with Two. & I like that little moment when he tells her he'll stay with the Doctor & she's just like, 'Oh, all right.'
- O my. Is it just me or when Pat does the 'when I say run, run' line, he rolls his R's a bit?
O, the hell with it - HE BLOODY ROLLED HIS R'S! DO YOU KNOW HOW SEXY THAT IS?! R ROLLING IS ALWAYS SEXY! ON ANYONE! UMF.
- Well . . . that's one fried Cyberman. & poor Toberman.
-'We have our own flying machine.'
'Flying machine?'
'At least it works.'
Victoria gets him TWICE. ::kisses her::
- that final shot of the Cybermat is just . . . foreboding, man.
-----
Okay, saying I merely liked this serial would be a huge understatement. I. FUCKING. LOVED. IT. Not only because it had the Cybermen, but because of how awesome Two's Team TARDIS 2.2 was, at every opportunity, especially Victoria. She can hardly be called a wimp or a useless screamer in this - she's fierce! She fights back, she shows her curiosity & interest in everything around her & even saves her friends when they're in trouble.
Another thing I really liked about this serial was how it had two totally different, yet proactive female lead characters in it. There was Kaftan, who was stone-cold crazy, but clearly very intelligent & cunning when it came to her plans in dealing with the Cybermen & the Doctor & his companions. (hey, I do have to give her credit there, even if she was one nutty bitch!)
Then, there was Victoria, who was very new to travelling through time & space, but she wasn't going to run away when things got deadly or incredibly terrifying. Instead, she stayed with her friends & did everything she could to help them & to get them out of the tombs when the Cybermen awoke. & she showed that she can be sassy & angry, but without losing dignity at the same time.
& of course, she flat-out attacked a Cyberman! With a coffee can! Now THAT is awesome.
When I was deciding how I would do the rewatch-athon overall, I decided, since not a lot of Two's stories survived, to include the Companion Chronicles for Jamie, Zoe & Victoria. (I don't have Polly's, or I would have added that as well - POLLY!) So this is Victoria's, The Great Space Elevator.
& as a fun sidebar, Jamie's is right after Victoria's in my iTunes, & is only twenty-nine seconds longer than hers is, leaving us with a just about even running time for both at 1:19, with twenty-nine extra seconds for Jamie.
The Great Space Elevator
- It's amazing, how just hearing the opening of the Patrick Troughton years immediately gives me the visuals of his opening titles, complete with the story name at the end.
- The opening of almost all the Companion Chronicles I've heard are always lovely, I think. How each companion is remembering their days with the Doctor. Victoria's seems so wistful & sad, like she's writing down her stories with the Doctor, or as her memoirs. Wistful & sad at once, I think.
- 'We've been away. On . . . Telos. It's a Greek island.'
::points upward:: Exactly why I set this after Tomb of the Cybermen.
- About twelve minutes in, & two well-known lines (or at least, I think they're well-known!) from the Troughton era have been said:
'Look at the size of that thing!' (Jamie, on seeing the space elevator when they arrive)
'I'm not sure, but without power, they only have a limited sectional air supply. If it isn't restored soon, they'll suffocate.' (Two on the sky station)
- 'There's always a way, you see. All you need is an imagination, and a piece of paper.'
O, PERFECT Two!
- Hee, still a bit of married bickering between Two & Jamie, even in Victoria's story!
- 'Jamie reminded the Doctor that he needed someone to look out for him in case of trouble. And I reminded the Doctor that I wasn't prepared to stay behind, missing out on all the adventure just because I was a 'mere girl'.'
Great continuity with The Tomb of the Cybermen, as well with Victoria's overall enthusiasm in her early days!
- Now I had listened to part of this story before, up to their arrival in outer space, & I just loved this part. It's very Victoria & very Two I think. & plus, it's very much like something from Two's era & quite thrilling to listen to!
- 'The Doctor smiled at me and for a brief moment, I was reminded of my father. It was at times like this when I missed him most. When I wished he were here to share the wonders of the universe with me.'
♥♥
- 'Victoria.' said the Doctor gently. 'I hope you never forget your time with me and Jamie, because our memories are important. They're the most precious things we can ever have.'
I loved this bit because it was a bit reminiscent of the scene Two & Victoria shared in The Tomb of the Cybermen (the one I transcribed) & it's also a bit of a sad contrast to what Victoria says in the beginning of the story - 'All I have left are my memories. And even those are starting to fade.'
& of course, knowing what will happen to Jamie & eventually Zoe . . . yeah, that's a punch right there.
I find their fates even sadder, when I realise that only Victoria has her memories of her travels with the Doctor intact. Ben & Polly do too, of course, but as this is Victoria-centric, I'm just thinking of her. It is quite sad that she's the only one who will really remember all of her adventures, & that she's the only one who will remember Jamie & all the wonderful things he did.
- Aww, Two's playing his recorder to pass the time. ♥
- THERE'S EVEN FOAM! Just like a true Troughton era serial! ::beams::
- 'Hey, listen to the Doctor! He knows a thing or two.'
We had to wait for DECADES for someone to say something like that, but yes! someone finally told someone in authority to bin it & listen to the Doctor! (that someone being Jamie, which is lovely. ::grins::)
- I was about to join them when the Doctor looked at me apologetically.
'Ah, no. Not you, Victoria. Not this time.'
'And why not?' I asked.
' I think it would be better if you waited for us here,' he said. 'Please?'
'Oh, all right.' I said, and I watched the Doctor and Jamie leave, while fighting the urge to scream. The Doctor could be so infuriating at times! I know he felt responsible for me, but if he had his way, I would never have any adventures at all!
So, I waited until they had disappeared, before making my own way out of the capsule, heading down the opposite corridor.
THIS IS HOW YOU FUCKING WRITE A COMPANION, PEOPLE, & HOW ANY CLASSIC ERA COMPANION SHOULD BE WRITTEN IF THEY'RE BEING WRITTEN NOWADAYS. THIS IS NOT DEBATABLE.
♥ ♥ ♥
- & as a result of her own bravery, she's the one who leads Two & Jamie to the first major evidence of what's happening on the sky station. It was miss Victoria who brought them to what they needed to see, not Two & Jamie. & I approve perfectly.
- I pouted at him for being so condescending.
'Well, if they think I'm one of them, surely, I can go into the control room!'
'Oh, no!' said the Doctor, horrified. 'No, no, we couldn't ask you to do that!'
'Aye,' said Jamie, hands tucked into his belt. 'It's far too dangerous for a wee girl. You'll only need rescuing again.'
'A 'wee girl'?' I resisted the urge to scream. 'Really, Jamie, if it's the only way we can find out what's going on I - I'm not going to let you stop me!'
'Now, Victoria -' the Doctor began, but I was having none of it.
'No, Doctor,' I said firmly. 'I'm going. And that's the end of it!'
& I quite like the scene where Victoria has to change into her insulation suit to blend in with the rest of the crew:
'Very well,' I said. 'Now I want all of you to stand and face that wall and not to turn around until I tell you.'
. . . . as I started to unbutton my jacket, I noticed Jamie sneaking a glance in my direction.
'And that includes you, Jamie McCrimmon!'
::giggles & hugs Victoria::
- I keep expecting Cybermen to explode into the story at any moment; the electrical . . . thing is so much like them. It's like an advancement on a Cybermat, but so much more terrifying!
- Possessed!Tara's voice is literally giving me goose pimples. Not even joking.
- I love how many chances Victoria has to show off her own scientific knowledge. It's awesome!
- This story is a lot more frightening than I thought it would be originally. It actually scares me more than Liz Shaw's did, & hers had very real, very scary Cybermen in them!
- & indeed, our lady Victoria shows that even a 'wee girl' can save the day - with foam!
- No shit the Doctor betrayed you, love. That's what happens when you underestimate the funny man in the baggy trousers!
-----
Now that was quite a thrilling story & I think, a very aptly written story both for Victoria & for an audio set during the Two era. It just sounded so much like one of his stories, dialogue & all. Even the premise of the story was one that was well-used (& with variation) in his era. (not the bit about the space lift; but more somewhere being under attack by something alien)
I remember, very early on, when I got this story, I told
nentari that I was a bit nervous about listening to it, because I'd never seen any of Victoria's serials & I didn't want to be spoiled for any. She reassured me that the only vaguely spoilery thing was Victoria mentioning Telos as the last place they'd been to & that it was an incredibly good story for Victoria. & indeed it is! I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes Two's era & his companions.& our final serial for the week - The Abominable Snowmen! Only one part of it survives, but what doesn't, I have the audio for, luckily!
The Abominable Snowmen
Audio - Episode One
- This is the first appearance of Edward Travers, I believe. He'll return in The Web of Fear, if I remember right.
- O, go Victoria showing her smarts off! ::hugs her:: & aww, Jamie having no clue where the hell he is.
- OMG JAMIE FOUND A PAIR OF BAGPIPES! & Two's all 'Yes, I was afraid of that.' ::pokes Two::
- O, first appearance of the giant fur coat!
- Victoria's working the TARDIS controls! & Jamie's playing with a scimitar!
- LOLZ, MISTAKING TWO FOR A SCARY HAIRY CREATURE. ::giggles madly::
- I ♥ Victoria's enthusiasm. She doesn't seem marked by her experience with the Cybermen too badly.
- 'I really think you ought to wear something warmer!'
'I tell you, I'm a Highlander! The cold doesn't affect me!'
'There's a great deal of difference between the Highlands and the Himalayas, Jamie!'
- Two discovering the footprints in the snow reminds me a lot of Barbara & Susan finding the tracks in the snow at the end of The Edge of Destruction quite a bit.
- Victoria . . . Two did say you should both stay in the TARDIS! But alas, Victorian adventuresses & Highlanders are never put off by rules, are they?
- 'Because the Doctor said - well if you must know, I am cold!'
::giggle::
- & Victoria has quite a curious mind, as well as a strong sense of bravery. But I'm still glad Jamie has a weapon, & I would rather they went back to the TARDIS, actually . . . just so that they're safe!
- O, poor Two! ::hugs him:: That must be a horrid little place to be locked in.
- . . . I'm not sure if I would go with Victoria or stay with Jamie & go back to the TARDIS - & now it sounds like even Victoria's not sure of what she wants to do!
- EEK, THERE IS SOMETHING IN THERE!
- You know, it's quite hard to recap this - I'd much prefer to listen to it & just recap the surviving serial!
- 'If you need me, just yell your head off.'
'Oh, don't worry; I will!'
Jamie & Victoria are quite cute, aren't they? ::hugs them::
& UMF JAMIE WITH A SWORD WHEE.
- Moving into the only surviving serial for part two - Jamie's quite literally just brought the roof down on the . . . yeti-thing that was about to attack him & Victoria. Um, how they'll be getting out could be interesting to see . . .
- Aww, no more sword for Jamie.
- I love Victoria's little explorer outfit; it's quite cute on her!
- EEEE, TWO'S PLAYING TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR ON HIS RECORDER. ♥♥♥ That's totally one of his space beatnik moments, I think.
- Two: ::is being awesome all over the place, as per usual::
- JESUS THEY'RE BEING CHASED BY A YETI. That's . . . not fun, man.
- Random fashion note: Love Two's great big fur coat with his trousers. I think they look quite nice together, or rather, his coat looks much better on him when he's standing up & we have a full view of him up & down. When he's sitting down in that coat, it looks a bit sloppy on him, I feel. But that's also part of his space beatnik chic, you must remember.
- Poor Two, tied to a gate, trapped in some fuzzy monster of a coat . . . that's got to be no fun either! ::hugs him::
- I love Two's reaction to being asked if he really had brought the bell back - not smug or angry, just politeness. It's quite sweet. ::snugs him::
- WHAT THE HELL IS TWO WEARING AROUND HIS SHOULDERS?
- 'Hey, Doctor, if you really want to capture one of these beasties, I think I have an idea that just might work!'
'Uh, Victoria (pulling her away), I think this is one of those instances where discretion is the better part of valour - Jamie has an idea.'
It's rather cute, but that wasn't too nice of Two, was it? ::chews on lip::
- O, but Jamie's putting his idea into action anyway, isn't he? & yay, he succeeded! ::pinches Two for doubting him::
- I always get confused about what the yeti are supposed to be when I watch this. I suppose that's because I've never heard the full story, but I suppose I will now.
- I just thought of something - the idea of Two coming back to a place he's been before, to return or get back something from there, is very much like what Seven & Ace do in Remembrance of the Daleks - they're attempting to get something back that the Doctor left years before at 77 Totter's Lane when Susan was at Coal Hill School. I think it was called the Hand of Glory, possibly? It was something he'd taken when he'd left Gallifrey with Susan, I believe, that the Daleks were also after by then.
Audio - Episodes three through six
- So the spheres are . . . attracted to each other, in a way? Like magnets? Hmm.
- I quite like listening to the monks speak. They're calming, I think.
- O dear . . . I don't like the idea of where that errant sphere could be heading. I really don't.
- While I would say that some of Victoria's actions in this story so far have been a bit reckless, I still think she's being quite lovely in it. & I like her sense of curiosity very much.
- & really, Victoria could be called rather unpredictable, I think! A bit reckless, yes, but quite brave & not quite what she seems, I think. O, dear Victoria. ♥
- O DEAR. I . . . I knew that's where it might have gone. ::bites nails::
- & NOW THERE'S A LIVE YETI IN THE MONASTERY. O MY WORD.
- & WHAT could a yeti want with the TARDIS? Robot or not, I don't think it would be smart enough to know how to operate it!
- LOLZ TWO'S CLEVER PLAN IS TOSSING ROCKS AT A YETI. ::giggle::
- I don't like how . . . easy it was for Two to get the sphere out of the yeti's chest . . . I'm a bit worried that it was a trap.
- When Jamie's being pulled toward the yeti, I couldn't help imagining how crazygrabby the two of them must have been at that moment! & IT WAS BURNT, WHAT THE HELL. ::glares::
- THEY POISONED VICTORIA - WAIT. OMG. ::grins:: Victoria Waterfield, you are truly an unpredictable girl! (or, as I would ordinarily say, quite badass!)
- 'A devil-woman'? Hmm, I wonder what she'd say of that!
- Aaaaaah, headstrong! Yes, Jamie, you're rather right, I think.
- Please, stop calling Victoria a 'she-devil'!
- ::shakes Hypnotised!Victoria:: Please, please, wake up! Victoria, please!
- Jamie says he's been quite worried about Victoria. & it's quite clear that he has been. It's quite . . . . quite loving, I think.
- O, yay, Victoria's back to herself again! ::hugs her::
- 'Doctor, you're not going to send me away with the monks?'
'Yes, Victoria, I think it would be for the best.'
'Well I won't go, you know.'
'I thought you wouldn't.'
♥♥♥
- Two included Victoria in his plan. He could have sent her away, but he let her stay to fight. ♥
(besides, she probably would have come back to help them of her own accord. ::grins:: She's lovely like that.)
- GOOD GOD, TWO IS A FIERCE MOTHERFUCKER. ::fangirls like mad::
- O MY! They saw a real yeti! ::giggles:: & Jamie's poor blue knees! ::giggles harder:: Aww, bless.
-----
I'm actually just finishing this up at a few minutes to midnight, so if I'm rather incoherent, please forgive me.
Anyway, I quite liked the later half of the story, when it became more action-filled & of course, when Victoria got to be . . . well, I'm not sure what to call it, but she played an important part in the last half of the story I think, which made it much more enjoyable, even though I was quite fearful for her! But she was very strong & I loved it. Admittedly, I felt like it was a bit long & drawn-out at times, but that could be because I'm so exhausted, but I wanted to get it up early Saturday morning.
(& I'm going to be over here quietly waving my Jamie/Victoria flag now - it was quite a good serial for them! ::squeals::)
& that's this week's instalment of the great & mighty Troughton rewatch-athon! Next week I'll be recapping the audios of The Ice Warriors, watching the third serial of, as well as listening to the audio of The Enemy of the World (YES YES YES! ::squeals like the silly bunny she is::) & The Web of Fear, which will also include one serial.
Previous recaps
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Time Meddler
The War Machines
The Smugglers
The Tenth Planet
The Power of the Daleks
The Highlanders
The Underwater Menace
The Moonbase
The Macra Terror
The Faceless Ones
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks - audio version
