Let's just dive straight in where we left off, shall we?
Dalek?
It's only for a fraction of a second that we believe it might be an
active Dalek - the huge plaque catches the eye almost immediately - but
that is enough to shock. Instead, though, it is - as the ninth Doctor
later said of a different foe - "the stuff of nightmares, reduced to an
exhibit."
I've been to the Doctor Who Exhibition in Cardiff. I went to the Doctor
Who Experience when it was in London. Heck, I've even visited a little
museum that had one of the model dinos from Invasion of the Dinosaurs!
So this sort of thing seems commonplace to me now. However, this was
broadcast at a time when the Daleks - and the show - were still new;
certainly not the subject of museum displays. Oh, there had been a few
publicity outings where props were present, but nothing long-term.
So this is something that jars, just as much as all the
lack-of-interaction stuff. And when Vicki says that it doesn't look
scary, and Ian says it's unlikely she'll meet the Daleks, it becomes
obvious that what this is doing is commenting on the TV show. Which fits
with the asides about splitting up and (lack of) peripheral vision.
Then, of course, there's the concept of the space museum itself:
somewhere you go to see Science Fiction Stuff. Kind of like the show,
but without the action. And the whole episode so far is like a static
museum exhibit, because our heroes have been unable to interact with the
world at all, just observe. Totally bizarre, and quite fascinating.
So, having taken a break in the middle of the tour to point out what is
going on behind the scenes, we need to make our way back to the exit -
and I'll move faster, so I can still get out before the place closes.
Silence
What happens next is, of course, the appearance of, and animated
discussion between, the black-garbed young Xerons. Having just made the
connections above, their silence makes perfect sense.
We get some more wandering through featureless corridors (and although I
forgot to mention it, at one point they discussed the lack of windows -
so even this has become part of the meta-commentary). I was amused to
spot that most future space equipment is built for rack-mounting! 4U,
mainly, unless my eyes or memory deceive me.
Vicki's Hand
Still, this isn't really holding Vicki's attention; perhaps industrial
design isn't one of her interests. So she decides to take advantage of
the lack of guards and touch an odd-looking device of tubes and glass. I
think she's made the right choice: it's certainly the most unusual of
the displays we've seen (other than the Dalek).
And unlike most museum exhibits I've touched, her hand goes right
through it. It's a great effect, and once again it shifts the ground
under our feet - because it's not the way in which we were expecting the
interaction to fail. Are they ghosts? Or... what? The Doctor expresses
it well when he says that it's just a matter of putting 2 and 2 together
to make 3.
Unseen
More Xerons, then, and the confirmation that our heroes really can't be
seen. It's the Doctor who puts his finger on it again, when he says (in
closeup) that "we're not really here" - though that's not really an
explanation, of course.
Fade then to black, to show that time passes as our footsore travellers
explore the museum, unseen by us. "How can we find the answer in here?"
they moan.
Exhibits
But they do find something. The TARDIS. Now, this is the least
successful effect of the episode, technically: it doesn't look as if the
familiar blue box is there, in the world of the museum, when it should
be. Still, I'm already invested in the mystery, so although it plays a
wrong note - or rather, the wrong sort of wrong note - it's not too harmful.
And fortunately things are moving now, as the mists are beginning to
clear slightly. We see the TARDIS crew, turned into exhibits themselves.
This reveal is spot on in so many ways, but particularly the timing.
The pacing of this episode has been slow even for 1965, but deliberately
so; and things are speeding up as we approach the end.
Frozen
Even as the action has sped up, there is much stillness in evidence: the
actors, camera and set as well as the frozen exhibits. Vicki - who grew
up in the future - explains the nature of time, firmly taking over from
the Doctor as the one who understands such things; while he still has
more knowledge of the practical side, and figures out that the TARDIS
has jumped a time track. Whatever that means. And we still have comedy
here, in the Doctor's explanation to Barbara.
Then the actors freeze, in exactly the same position as they were at the
beginning of the episode, in the ship - and then the director chooses
to use a montage of still shots to represent time catching up. It's odd,
and doesn't quite work, but fortunately it doesn't last long.
Footprints
The glass breaks, irrevocably. Morok guards find the travellers'
footprints as they appear in the dust. The figures in the cases
disappear. And the four wake, just as they did when we joined them.
"They've gone!" declares Barbara.
"Yes, my dear," replies the Doctor; "and we've arrived."
The story has begun.
Introduction
The Space Museum is based on an awesomely brilliant idea; the
phrase timey-wimey could have been invented for it. The audience thought
so too: the AI is the highest since World's End, before Susan
left. Aaand I would love to write more, but that's well over 2,000 words
on one episode. Hopefully I'll find some space to add more thoughts as I
tackle the next three...
Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 24th April 1965
Viewers: 10.5 million
Chart Position: 16
Appreciation Index: 61
Rating:
8.5/10.
Next Time:
The Dimensions of Time.
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