For once, I'll let my son have first say on how this serial went:
Isaac's Corner
It was good, but much too long - and the book was better, because it
explained more. The best moment was Barbara driving the truck through
the Daleks; the bit with Ian in the spaceship was fun too. The original
spaceship model looked rubbish but the CGI one was much better, and the
scenery worked well, particularly the mines and ruined London. They did a
very good job with Susan leaving.
The Book
Ah yes, the novelisation. I don't own any of the Target adaptations, but
my children do; and as a result I was able to read along. After each
episode (occasionally a day or two after) I'd turn to the corresponding
section of the book. This is the second novelisation I've read, and
they've both been written by Terrance Dicks based on other writers'
scripts. Elizabeth Sandifer has written at length
on Dicks' books, and from my more limited experience I have to agree
with her general opinion; so rather than repeat a lot I'll point you
there. I will say, though, that Dicks has an engaging, breezy style
which makes the books very easy to read; but they are short, and
adapting a six-parter doesn't offer a lot of leeway. So I agree with my
son that it explains more - or, more accurately, explains things better -
and some of the dialogue is sharper; but the necessarily sparse writing
means that we lose a lot of the nuances that come from the actors'
performances as well. And William Hartnell's famous speech at the end is
cut to shreds. There are some great passages, though, often conjuring
up a much better visual image than the TV serial could achieve; and
(although it's repeating an endorsement from the above-linked page) I
really do want to emphasise the brilliance of the opening line:
Through the ruin of a city stalked the ruin of a man.
Brr. It sends shivers down my spine.
Firsts and Lasts
Meanwhile, on TV this is a bit of a landmark. The final serial of the
first production block is also the original script editor's final story -
though we will be seeing much more of Whitaker wearing his writer's
hat, so I don't need to give him a proper farewell. I find it hard to
assess the contribution of the script editor without another to contrast
him with, so I'm not going to try at this point.
It's also the first story with extensive location shooting, the first to
use a quarry, and (as discussed already) the first shot in Riverside
studios. The list goes on - the first Earth invasion story, the first
return to England, the first future Earth setting... and, of course, the
first time a 'monster' returns. Indeed, the Daleks are the only
returnees in the entire Hartnell run, other than a certain monk who
appears for a couple of episodes alongside the pepperpot moneyspinners.
Its influence is hard to overrate, despite its flaws. Journey's End,
more than 40 years later, is a blatant tribute show - right down to
direct quotes and the "someone tried to move the Earth before, but that
was a long time ago" comment.
Another first, of course, is the departure of a regular - and I will
soon be devoting a whole post to Susan (and Carole Ann Ford). But there
are a few other matters to attend to first.
Rating:
Single Sitting: 2/10.
Episodic: 4.5/10. The average would be 5.5, but the weak episodes still drag it down further than that for me.
Novelisation: 5/10.
DWM Mighty 200: 79.21%, 44th.
2011 Gallifrey Base Non-Dynamic Rankings: 7.84, 50th out of 222.
Next Time:
Crossing the void once again, we revisit Pete's World on the big screen for an alternative take in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150AD!
No comments:
Post a Comment