From: jogulin@pub_one.fia.dmg.ml.com (Joseph Ogulin)
Subject: ARCHIVE: Review of the JN-T Era of Doctor Who, Part 3
Organization: The Rift from Here to There
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 13:07:41 GMT

Continuting with the archive...

************************* CUT HERE *************************
Oh Lord, we're still here....
 
Wow, what a mourning...
 
 
Season 20!  The Anniversary!
 
 
Arc of Infinity -
 
     The return of Omega! (didn't he contact matter 10 years
ago?  10  years ago today, even!)  Anyway, the Doctor's body
is to be the template for Omega's return to  this  universe.
Councillor  Hedin  turns  out  to  be the one in league with
Omega, explaining why he tried so hard to  keep  the  Doctor
alive,  despite the high council's decision.  Unfortunately,
for Tegan and her cousin, yes, she's back (bare, too ;-)  ),
Omega intends to convert the water source near Amsterdam and
guess who to his power supply.  However, you know Who  stops
you  know  what  from happening, and sends Omega back to the
universe of anti-matter.
 
     Louis:  the most redundant episode of the entire era is
number  4...  come on...you can't tell me that this wasn't 3
episodes long.
 
     Joe:  why can the Doctor defeat him here  on  his  own,
while JP needed PT and WH to help?
 
     On the whole, this is actually quite entertaining.
 
 
Snakedance -
 
     Tegan's having bad dreams.  (JLOTB!)  The Doctor  makes
a device that inhibits dreaming.  Unfortunately, this leaves
Tegan in a walking-sleeping state.  Of course, she gets into
trouble  (as  is usual with any companion), and this big-asp
snake tries to take over her and  the  prince...the  big-asp
snake's  name?  The Mara (remember it?).  The Doctor enlists
the help of Dojjen to help him fight the Mara.  As is usual,
he succeeds.  Tegan is returned to her big-mouth state.
 
     Louis:  everything in this is just reasonable  -  plot,
cliffhangers,  characters,  etc.  Solid, but nothing near as
good as what everyone thinks.
 
     Joe:  *YAWN*...a bit better than his earlier attempt at
this story, but not worth my time.
 
 
Mawdryn Undead -
 
     Hello, Brigadier! :-)
 
     You know Who materializes aboard a space ship in a warp
ellipse.   (The  odds against this happening are, of course,
7G:1 (G don't mean grand here...try Giga)).   You  know  Who
goes  you know where to find a way out of it.  He travels in
an overgrown eggbeater, where he runs into  Mr.  Dunderhead.
(See above)  Here, he also meets a guy working for some dude
with a chicken on his head. (you'd  better  know  who  we're
talking   about  here....in  both  cases)  Dunderhead  can't
remember him because of something  that  happened,  er  will
happen,  er  happened,  er...well, you get the picture.  You
know Who can't get the you know WHAT to get you know  where.
Tegan  and  Nyssa  meet Mr. Dunderhead, when he should be in
UNIT, but is actually working in a boys'  school,  where  he
can  actually remember the Doctor.  Of course, $#!T happens,
and you know Who has to give up guess how many of guess what
to  allow the $#!T that happened to die.  Of course, there's
a reason why Dunderhead couldn't, er won't be  able  to,  er
can't,  er...oh  heck  with it, remember you know Who.  Ever
wonder what it's like to  meet  yourself?   (we  avoid  this
because  of the damage it might cause to the immediate area)
Well, that saves you know Who and Dunderhead.
 
     In fact, in spite of everything we've written, this is,
actually, dramatically, the best story of the season.
 
 
Terminus -
 
     Again, the guy with the chicken on  his  head  appears,
and  tries  to  get the guy working for him to kill you know
Who.  Unfortunately, the guy working for him gets a pang  of
conscience (what's that?).  Meanwhile, Nyssa contracts space
leprosy (Lazar's disease, for those who want to get  techni-
cal)  and  has  to be cured in an intergalactic leper colony
which happens to be a  ship  in  the  exact  center  of  the
universe  (see  it  brewing  already?)  and  it will cause a
second big bang (not that kind)  if  it's  jettison  program
continues  to  run.   Guess  what!   You  know Who saves the
universe, and the guy  with  the  chicken  on  his  head  is
miffed.   Nyssa  (undressed,  *PANT* *PANT* ;-) ) decides to
become a spacey Florence Nightingale and remain on  Terminus
to help the lepers.
 
     Flat acting, rushed  production,  but  a  good  overall
story.
 
 
Enlightenment -
 
     An  intergalactic  America's  cup,  and  the  prize  is
Enlightenment.  Anyway, the guy with the chicken on his head
is still at it and is after you know Who,  through  the  guy
working  for  him, who has, at this point, picked up a moral
or 3.  This, however, does not prevent him  from  trying  to
stab everyone else in the back.  He should've tried stabbing
Captain Wrack somewhere else with something else  (  ;-)  ).
However,  you know Who guides the winning ship into port and
wins the cup (no law suit!).  The guy working  for  the  guy
with  the  chicken  on  his  head is told by you know Who to
decide about you know what.  Guess what he does...  The  guy
with  the bun on his head (not me...can't be me either...all
I've got is fuzz) that you know what was in  fact  you  know
what, and the decision was, in fact, you know what (think we
can get any vaguer?)
 
     Another rush production (love those CSO's...).  *YAWN*,
but  for  some reason, it still holds your attention.  Maybe
it's just the cliffhangers, especially that of episode 1.
 
 
The King's Demons
 
     King John has somehow picked up singing. (recognize the
tune?)   Well, at least the guy with the chicken on his head
disappeared at the end of  the  last  one  (temporarily,  of
course),  but you know who is back, and is trying to get you
know Who.  He's using a brand new plot device:  K-9  mk  IV,
aka  the  robot  with  the funny voice who never seems to be
around.  This king is, in fact, a fake. (how did you  know?)
However, you know Who gets knighted while you know who tries
to ferment rebellion.  You know Who beats you know who  with
a classic battle of you know what.  The robot with the funny
voice is taken into you know WHAT.
 
     Too much of a barebones story.  It needs flesh - should
borrow some from Peri. ;-)
 
 
The Five Doctors -
 
     You know Whos are all brought  together  in  the  Death
Zone  -  an ancient place of our geriatrics.  Here, they are
to find the way to the castle in the center...well, 4 out of
5  of  them  are...the  other  is  trapped in a vortex where
things aren't  quite  complete  (read:  contract  problems).
Anyway,  one  of them gets out and back to the Capitol.  The
others have quite a good time  arguing  with  himselves  and
their  compatriot  trouble-makers.   Meanwhile,  back at the
ranch (read:  Capitol), you know Who is talking to you  know
Who's president and falls under his control.  Meanwhile, you
know Who is arguing with you know Who and ultimately  argues
with  you know Who.  You know who tries to kill off you know
Whos, but fails (of course) because Dunderhead (you remember
him)  punched  him.   You know who is not immune to bullets,
you remember.  Well, the prez and you know Who  arrive,  but
the  other  you  know  Whos  rescue  you  know  Who with the
pleasant open face from the prez.  Big daddy offers the prez
guess  what.  One of the you know Whos manages to figure out
that Big daddy's offer ain't what it's  cracked  up  to  be.
The prez is petrified about his discovery.  The whole lot of
them say their goodbyes, leaving only  pleasant,  open-faced
you  know  Who to deal with Chancellor Flavia.  You know Who
is now prez, but wants to take the scenic route back to  the
Capitol, mentioning that the old prez never was.
 
     This one was lots of fun.  A lot of  good  memories  in
the show, including appearances by Liz Shaw and Mike Yates -
companions you wouldn't really expect to see in an  anniver-
sary  show,  the  salt-and-pepper-shaker  exterminators, the
metal-heads, and the balled wonders.  Overall, a  very  good
story, despite the 90 minute bull$#!T Lionheart is trying to
pull by sending the US viewers a movie format that is  miss-
ing some parts.  If you want to see the full version seen in
the UK, watch for it in an episode format  -  unfortunately,
it is not meant for episode format.
 
 
 
Season Overall -
 
     JN-T's best.  EASILY!  This season  was  full  of  fun,
humor,  drama,  and  all  sorts of other good stuff.  Nobody
would expect the black guardian to  have  something  on  his
head  which  looks like a chicken, nor the white guardian to
have a bun on his head.  The Master was almost real in  this
season.   Unfortunately for Whovians all around, this is the
only really good season JN-T ever did.
 
 
 
Seasonal trivia -
 
-    What is Dunderhead's full name?
 
-    What scenes were cut from The Five Doctors?
 
-    What companion's husband appeared in Snakedance?
 
-    Name all the continuity problems with Mawdryn Undead.
 
 
 
 
                                             --Us
 
 
PS   You get a break for now...we have to get some  sleep...
     Parts 4-7 due out on Saturday and Sunday...


-- 
==> "You never f**king know the answer when it's important." --The Doctor <==
Joe Ogulin

jogulin@camelot.fia.dmg.ml.com		joe@monroe.pilot.dmg.ml.com
jogulin@apollo.stevens-tech.edu		gcs_jogulin@stevens.bitnet

Disclaimer:  The above article is solely my opinion and does not necessar-
ily reflect that of my employer.  The content is my responsibility alone.