Phew. The quality of the picture is much better this time around. In fact, the whole thing looks fantastic! A large part of the improvement probably comes from the location of the shoot, because - for the first time ever - the cast and crew had been released from the confines of the small, antiquated, Lime Grove Studio D and let loose in Television Centre Studio 3.
Studio D was due to be out of action soon and production was reassigned mainly to Studio G, with some episodes recorded at Television Centre. Studio G was an even worse venue than Who's original home, and Verity Lambert complained bitterly. Sydney Newman - who, with Lambert, had already been campaigning to get production moved out of Lime Grove altogether - increased the pressure, claiming that the planned follow-up to The Daleks could not be done there, and that it would be better for the show to end rather than continue in such difficult circumstances. Fortunately, the BBC agreed to the move; but the change would not take place immediately.
Director John Crockett - who knew the period in which this story was set, and so was an obvious choice - makes excellent use of the possibilities afforded by the relatively palatial TC3. From the initial fade between the closeup of Tlotoxl and Yetaxa's bracelet to the broad, sweeping camera movement of the scene where the high priest of sacrifice confronts Barbara, ending with a smooth pan around the two antagonists, the sheer variety of shots and moods is impressive. The direction here is almost as good as The Velvet Web.
Which makes me think. What is it with directors' second episodes in serials? Waris Hussein with the broadcast version of An Unearthly Child, Richard Martin with The Ordeal, John Gorrie with The Velvet Web, this - all big steps up, and in most cases my favourite episodes of the serials. It's not even that it's necessarily the directors' second experience with the show, because John Crockett did one episode of Marco Polo as well.
Anyway, good direction here is married to a good script, good acting and good use of music. The Hartnell/Hill team hits it out of the park again with their big argument near the beginning, as Barbara faces up to the results of her failed intervention. These people have come so far in their relationship that they can now have a close, tender moment at the end as comrades in adversity without it feeling forced.
Unfortunately this is also the start of Ian as the no-holds-barred action hero, which annoys me because he is much more interesting when he is allowed to be vulnerable. He gets into two fights with Ixta, both more effective than last episode's, and the science teacher completely outclasses the guy who's been training as a warrior all his life and beaten all comers! I'm sure Ian did his National Service, but this is ridiculous. The judo leverage bit I can just about take, but a Vulcan nerve pinch? Come off it!
I've focused on the regulars, but there are no bad performances. John Ringham has toned it down just a little to fit in with everyone else, Ian Cullen as Ixta and Margot Van de Burgh as Cameca get more of a chance to show what they can do, and even the extras hit their marks and do their part to make it all look real.
The idea of the Doctor's scheming messing things up for Ian is great. In fact, the best thing about the script is that the characters are all stirring up trouble while doing what they think is best - even Tlotoxl.
Where Were They Then?, part 2: Why is she still here?
Serial F was Carole Ann Ford's turn to take a couple of weeks off, and this is the first of those. But wait - here she is, learning to be a dutiful housewife (and, if we're honest, getting better lines and opportunities than anything on offer last time). So how did that happen, when she was abroad with her family?
The answer lies at Ealing Studios. You can tell from the look of it that her scene wasn't recorded in the same way as the surrounding scenes, and this is because it was on film. It was shot on 13th April at Ealing Studios, during rehearsals for Sentence of Death, then played in during the (videotape) recording of The Warriors of Death. With no location shoots, this was how early Who got around the problem of scenes that had to be recorded in advance, including model shots and much of the fighting. I'll come back to the different look and feel of film and videotape in a later instalment.
Poor Ford, though - her holiday coincides with the two weeks at TC3, and she returns just in time for the return to Studio D...
Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 30th May 1964
Viewers: 7.4 million
Chart Position: 34
Appreciation Index: 62
Rating:
9/10. Loses half a mark for Action Hero Ian.
Next Time:
The Bride of Sacrifice.
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