Doctor Who and the Silurians [TV/1970.1.31 ~ 3.14]
★★★★☆
More adventures with titles beginning with 'Doctor Who', please? Thank you.
When you ask me what I think is a very good example of Dr. Who purposefully being political and making a flawless piece of television, I will most often circle back to Malcolm Hulke's masterpiece, Dr. Who and the Silurians. As long as your ears aren't too bothered by the loud and repetitive Silurian sound effects (in particular the door opening/closing sound and the attack/hypnosis lull from their third eye), you'll find the seven-parter a hugely enthralling experience. Rarely does a Who story contain an ensemble of incredibly fascinating and strong characters, each one of them defined so vividly by the writing and embodied to the hilt by the performers. No one is truly good in this story, and almost everyone is pretty darn evil in their intent to wipe out the other; here is a serial reveling in its characters' grey morality and actively stepping on murky waters. What is the answer when the previous owners of the Earth come back from the dead to reclaim their own? Do we extend our hand in good faith and risk betrayal and slaughter -- or do we prevent such possibiltiies by wiping out a species of intelligent beings without remorse?
The world's answer to this question, much to the Doctor's disgust, is the latter. The trusty Brigadier orders the extinction of the Silurians, and the viewers are left with a surprisingly adult and bleak ending. Humanity, for all its praises and fanfare from the show, is capable of such cruelty. It's a testament to the dedication of everyone involved that the serial works so well; remember, this is on paper a seven-part runaround with monsters in caves, but everyone from writer Hulke to director Timothy Combe to lead star Jon Pertwee is determined to make this the most grounded and groundbreaking television known to television, and so their ambitions uplift everything -- even the wonky dinosaur prop! Season 7 is one of Dr. Who's most adult ventures, and Silurians sets the tone for the season so strongly. There are no definite good-or-bad situations, only people in a world vying for their own greater good. Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier here is almost a completely different man from the warm uncle character of the later Pertwee years, and his serious and grounded performance is indicative of how cold and brutish UNIT is portrayed this early in their lifespan within the show's mythos. It's what such a story as Silurians calls for, and boy, do they deliver.
Pertwee's Third Doctor era rarely gets better than this serial, and than Season 7 as a whole. Dr. Who and the Silurians is a tense, chilling and bleak thriller and ominous observation on humanity, and what it means to be human in its moments of first contact with another species. There are bloodshed, kidnapping, government-sanctioned massacres and pandemics. Most importantly, though, there is the will to put humanity above all other species... no matter the cost. The Silurians are one of the most interesting additions to the Who mythos, and they're rarely as good as portrayed here. I love this serial to bits.
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More adventures with titles beginning with 'Doctor Who', please? Thank you.
When you ask me what I think is a very good example of Dr. Who purposefully being political and making a flawless piece of television, I will most often circle back to Malcolm Hulke's masterpiece, Dr. Who and the Silurians. As long as your ears aren't too bothered by the loud and repetitive Silurian sound effects (in particular the door opening/closing sound and the attack/hypnosis lull from their third eye), you'll find the seven-parter a hugely enthralling experience. Rarely does a Who story contain an ensemble of incredibly fascinating and strong characters, each one of them defined so vividly by the writing and embodied to the hilt by the performers. No one is truly good in this story, and almost everyone is pretty darn evil in their intent to wipe out the other; here is a serial reveling in its characters' grey morality and actively stepping on murky waters. What is the answer when the previous owners of the Earth come back from the dead to reclaim their own? Do we extend our hand in good faith and risk betrayal and slaughter -- or do we prevent such possibiltiies by wiping out a species of intelligent beings without remorse?
The world's answer to this question, much to the Doctor's disgust, is the latter. The trusty Brigadier orders the extinction of the Silurians, and the viewers are left with a surprisingly adult and bleak ending. Humanity, for all its praises and fanfare from the show, is capable of such cruelty. It's a testament to the dedication of everyone involved that the serial works so well; remember, this is on paper a seven-part runaround with monsters in caves, but everyone from writer Hulke to director Timothy Combe to lead star Jon Pertwee is determined to make this the most grounded and groundbreaking television known to television, and so their ambitions uplift everything -- even the wonky dinosaur prop! Season 7 is one of Dr. Who's most adult ventures, and Silurians sets the tone for the season so strongly. There are no definite good-or-bad situations, only people in a world vying for their own greater good. Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier here is almost a completely different man from the warm uncle character of the later Pertwee years, and his serious and grounded performance is indicative of how cold and brutish UNIT is portrayed this early in their lifespan within the show's mythos. It's what such a story as Silurians calls for, and boy, do they deliver.
Pertwee's Third Doctor era rarely gets better than this serial, and than Season 7 as a whole. Dr. Who and the Silurians is a tense, chilling and bleak thriller and ominous observation on humanity, and what it means to be human in its moments of first contact with another species. There are bloodshed, kidnapping, government-sanctioned massacres and pandemics. Most importantly, though, there is the will to put humanity above all other species... no matter the cost. The Silurians are one of the most interesting additions to the Who mythos, and they're rarely as good as portrayed here. I love this serial to bits.
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