Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me... what? You missed it? Darn. When this episode went out I was a little over a day old. My birth wasn't exactly a race against death, despite what my mother might have thought. As I mentioned right at the start of this marathon, she had suffered a number of miscarriages and was nervous; as a result my baby teeth were rubbish, but otherwise this pregnancy had gone very smoothly. As did the labour itself. I was a very big baby, and continued to grow rapidly - the phrase "Sumo Baby" could have been invented for me, if old photos showing rolls of fat are to believed. I was probably still in hospital when this episode went out, because I had a suspected heart murmur, which fortunately turned out to be a false alarm. It's going to be a while before the biographical stuff makes much of an impact on these reviews, but from here on I'm at least out in the world.
One arrival, and one departure. It's Jacqueline Hill's turn for a fortnight off this time. She'll be back for the finale, though to be honest there's been very little sign of her flagging - she's weathered the grueling schedule best of all.
I thought William Russell might have had a chance to take it easy this time, too, but considering he spends most of the episode lying down Ian's presence is surprisingly important. As I said during The Aztecs he is at his most interesting when vulnerable, and while no actor can do much with unconsciousness Russell makes a good showing the rest of the time. Susan continues to be written as a stronger character, which is satisfying even if she is still placed into the traditional female role of 'nurse'. Just like Carol, in fact, the only other woman in the episode (though I suppose we can't tell with the Sensorites).
My mother was a nurse. She was 18 when the Second World War began for Britain, and - while it provided her an opportunity she would not have had otherwise - she saw and dealt with some shocking things. Even the child-friendly anecdotes she used to tell of that time had an edge to them, and by the end of the war she had decided to give up nursing. Then a colleague and friend pointed out a post that combined her two favourite parts of the job, and she became a casualty nurse in a children's hospital. She rose in rank, but stayed in children's casualty until about the time of The Aztecs, when she gave up full-time nursing to concentrate on me. Afterwards she did some bank work and plenty of voluntary activities, but that was pretty much it for her nursing career.
I'm writing this on November 6th. I always think about my mum's work at this time of year, because she was not a fan of Guy Fawkes Night. There were fewer safety regulations in those days, and no leave was allowed for the nursing staff - there were always plenty of children who were badly burned or lost an eye, on the department's busiest night of the year. We have an eight-week-old puppy this time around, too, so with a frightened dog and a frightened cat the effect was doubly noticeable.
Meanwhile, back on the Sense-Sphere, water is pouring on to the Second Elder's head. Or so it seems in one shot, though he then moves to reveal a little fountain behind him that I hadn't noticed earlier. This is just the funniest symptom of the careless direction in this episode, which is generally competent, but with a severe lack of imagination. Most of the cuts are good, but too often the shot is framed with people standing around in a boring way. Combine this with a general lack of urgency, the slow, deliberate speech of the Sensorites (and their lack of expression) and we have a recipe for a dull episode. Which this is. The trite music doesn't help, though I applaud the fact that there is more use made of sound than usual.
The plot ambles along; we don't learn much more about the Sensorites but there continues to be lots of talk. Still, last episode's exposition stands us in good stead, and when the City Administrator learns the art of using someone else's sash to pretend to be them, there's enough of a sense of alienness that I don't quite disbelieve it. Which is an impressive achievement. It's the Doctor who makes most of the running this time, though, and William Hartnell does a good job of keeping things moving. He also gets to visit the only interesting scenery (other than that fountain): the aqueduct, which provides a strong contrast to the main palace. Once again the story's final few minutes are the strongest, and the lighting for the last scene with Hartnell is great. It ends with another strong cliffhanger, with the closeup on the Doctor's face that won't become boring for several regenerations yet.
Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 18th July 1964
Viewers: 5.5 million
Chart Position: 58
Appreciation Index: 60
Rating:
4/10.
Next Time:
Kidnap.
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