The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [TV/1988.12.14 ~ 1989.1.4]
★★★★★
While the serial of choice for many while discussing Season 25 is Remembrance of the Daleks, I find this to be an overall more rewarding experience. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is, like so many of the Doctor Who stories I give five stars to, incredibly fun and filled to the brim with brilliance. Not only is it stylistically unlike any televised Who story we'd seen before at the time (one could argue that this serial is truly when Who starts feeling like a 90s product, which was just around the corner, with Alan Wareing's more up-close-and-personal direction), it's also based on a script chock-full of obvious but nonetheless clever allegories. The show was practically dying at the time, and there's a sense of melancholy in the air. People of the circus, trapped in a troupe and lifestyle they don't find fun anymore, reminiscing the good old days when everything was sunny and amicable... tyrannical gods hungry for entertainment and serving out extreme punishments (death, which would be being axed to a TV show) to those who fail to entertain... and annoying megafans stalking the regulars... for the life of me, I can't think of what they're eluding to, hmm.
Already there's so much to chew on, but combine that with the full commitment of practically all the actors and you have a stone-cold classic. Sylvester McCoy is utterly comfortable as the midway point between Season 24's buffoon and Season 26's master manipulator, being this observant wanderer who still works wonders as a theatrical showman (dazzling the Gods of Ragnarok with a sequence of magic tricks), a walking homage to Buster Keaton's 1920s silent films and a careful and precise planner who never lets any possibility go under his nose. On the television at least, this may be one of McCoy's most impressive turns. With all these elements working together in perfect harmony (and with another killer showcase for Ace, who really was the perfect companion at the time), The Greatest Show in the Galaxy becomes utterly unique in the pantheon of popular classic serials. There's a somber tone, almost fatalistic in a way but less violent and more melancholy and reflective, that can't really be felt in any other serial. It's as if the show's on its last legs giving the shining past one last, longing look before setting its sights on the future. It's bloody great stuff, that's what it is. Mark Ayres' music is the veritable icing on the cake.
While the serial of choice for many while discussing Season 25 is Remembrance of the Daleks, I find this to be an overall more rewarding experience. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is, like so many of the Doctor Who stories I give five stars to, incredibly fun and filled to the brim with brilliance. Not only is it stylistically unlike any televised Who story we'd seen before at the time (one could argue that this serial is truly when Who starts feeling like a 90s product, which was just around the corner, with Alan Wareing's more up-close-and-personal direction), it's also based on a script chock-full of obvious but nonetheless clever allegories. The show was practically dying at the time, and there's a sense of melancholy in the air. People of the circus, trapped in a troupe and lifestyle they don't find fun anymore, reminiscing the good old days when everything was sunny and amicable... tyrannical gods hungry for entertainment and serving out extreme punishments (death, which would be being axed to a TV show) to those who fail to entertain... and annoying megafans stalking the regulars... for the life of me, I can't think of what they're eluding to, hmm.
Already there's so much to chew on, but combine that with the full commitment of practically all the actors and you have a stone-cold classic. Sylvester McCoy is utterly comfortable as the midway point between Season 24's buffoon and Season 26's master manipulator, being this observant wanderer who still works wonders as a theatrical showman (dazzling the Gods of Ragnarok with a sequence of magic tricks), a walking homage to Buster Keaton's 1920s silent films and a careful and precise planner who never lets any possibility go under his nose. On the television at least, this may be one of McCoy's most impressive turns. With all these elements working together in perfect harmony (and with another killer showcase for Ace, who really was the perfect companion at the time), The Greatest Show in the Galaxy becomes utterly unique in the pantheon of popular classic serials. There's a somber tone, almost fatalistic in a way but less violent and more melancholy and reflective, that can't really be felt in any other serial. It's as if the show's on its last legs giving the shining past one last, longing look before setting its sights on the future. It's bloody great stuff, that's what it is. Mark Ayres' music is the veritable icing on the cake.
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