STORY PLACEMENT THIS STORY TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE AUDIO BOOK "THE TIME VAMPIRE" AND THE
AUDIO DRAMA "THE
PRODUCTION CODE 4Z
WRITTEN BY 'DAVID AGNEW' (ANTHONY READ & GRAHAM WILLIAMS)
DIRECTED BY GERALD BLAKE
RATINGS 10.5 MILLION
RECOMMENDED PURCHASE EITHER 'THE INVASION OF TIME' DVD (BBCDVD 2586) RELEASED IN MAY 2008;
OR 'BRED FOR WAR' DVD BOX SET (BBCDVD2617) RELEASED IN MAY 2008.
BLURB THE DOCTOR IS BEHAVING VERY ODDLY. AFTER SIGNING A TREATY WITH ENEMY ALIENS, HE RETURNS TO HIS HOME PLANET, GALLIFREY, AND DEMANDS THE PRESIDENCY OF THE HIGH COUNCIL OF TIME LORDS. HIS FIRST ACT OF RULE IS TO BANISH LEELA TO THE WASTELANDS ON PAIN OF DEATH. HIS SECOND IS TO SABOTAGE THE PLANET'S DEFENCE BARRIERS ENABLING FULL SCALE INVASION.
WHY HAS THE DOCTOR JOINED FORCES WITH THE MILITARISTIC VARDANS? IS HE OUT FOR REVENGE AGAINST THE TIME LORDS? OR DOES HE HAVE A HIDDEN AGENDA? BUT HIS ALLIES ARE ALSO HIDING A DARK SECRET, FOR BEHIND THEM IS A FAMILIAR ENEMY WAITING FOR THE RIGHT MOMENT TO ATTACK... |
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The Invasion of Time 4th february 1978 - 11th march 1978 (6 EPISODES)
It is rumoured that when David Weir’s scripts for the 1977/78 season finale “The Killer Cats of Geng Singh” landed on his desk, then-Doctor Who producer Graham Williams almost had a heart attack. Weir’s ambitious six-parter was set on Gallifrey and told of a battle between the Time Lords and a race of powerful Cat-People that would have been quite impossible to realise on the series’ meagre budget. And so with time running out, it fell to Williams and his script editor Anthony Read to bash out a replacement story by themselves.
Now for the most part I think that they did a remarkable job. Whilst I would not go so far as to claim that “The Invasion of Time” is one of my favourite stories, the first four episodes stand out as being very, very good indeed. The first part especially is built upon tension beyond compare – just what is the Doctor up to? Why does he want complete control of the Time Lords? And who are his alien paymasters? Tom Baker’s performance simply exudes intense stress. His fits of rage are terrifying; one could be forgiven for thinking that this time, the Doctor really has gone bad…
“The Invasion of Time” is also a delightfully indulgent Gallifrey story. The Doctor / Borusa relationship is portrayed brilliantly. Despite all the Doctor’s travels and all the things that he has done, he still appears to have a great deal of reverence for his former mentor; it seems to mean a hell of a lot to the Doctor when Borusa is able to learn something from him. There are some new and remarkable Gallifreyan characters featured too – I really like the treacherous and obsequious Castellan Kelnar (Milton Johns) as well as the first Time Lady that we ever meet, Rodan (Hilary Ryan). As just prior to “The Invasion of Time” going before the cameras Louise Jameson had announced that she would be leaving the show, with hindsight I wonder if Rodan was the production team’s ‘Romana’ prototype?
Above: The Vardans are given a CG makeover for 2008 (just one of many CG improvements)
What is more, the Vardans are a wonderful creation… at least on paper. I love the idea that they can travel along any wavelength – even brainwaves – and materialise at the other end. To be able to credibly pose a threat to the Time Lords’ hegemony, any invaders would have to have some sort of unique ability like this. All the same, any menace that the Vardans should have had on screen was formerly let down by their unspeakably atrocious ‘tin foil’ realisation. Thankfully though this DVD release has fixed the Vardans’ fatal flaw. The Restoration Team’s new CGI Vardans are simply magnificent; exactly as I had always pictured them in my mind’s eye. It is just a pity that the Restoration Team’s revisionist powers have their limits - there is no getting around the fact that when the Vardans finally materialise in human form, they look like a pair of South American policeman and talk like a pair of Scots. The script says it all:- “they’re just human… disappointing aren’t they?” Needless to say, yes they are - overwhelmingly so!
“I’ll miss you too savage.”
The rushed writing of this story coupled with Williams’ dislike for Leela’s character meant that Jameson’s departure was never going to be the most auspicious that any companion had ever seen. Even so, marrying her off to Andred - a Gallifreyan guard commander that I reckon looks a bit like Batman Begins’ Christian Bale – is cringeworthy not only in concept but also in how it actually plays out on the screen. Over the course of the six episodes there is little or no flirting; no build-up; no romance. The whole matter is dealt with almost as an afterthought; it is literally handled within the last forty seconds of Part Six. It was inexcusable really, especially considering how popular Leela was amongst fans. And, of course, the Dads…
As I have intimated earlier, I hold the first four episodes of “The Invasion of Time” in high regard. This of course begs the question, ‘what about the last two episodes?’ Well, the truth is somewhat bizarre. Although the series came close it on several occasions, I cannot recall another occasion where a story is wrapped up so completely at the end of Part Four only to be dragged out for a further two episodes, “dog-leg” style. Part Four ends with the Vardans time-looped and Gallifrey saved. The Doctor is on his way back to the TARDIS, basking in the glory of saving his own world (again), when he walks straight into some Sontaran stormtroopers pointing a weapon at him. It seems that whilst the transduction barriers were down, the Sontarans had snuck in and invaded. In itself, this would not be fatal to the story, however the quality of the last two episodes most certainly is. Parts Five and Six show the Doctor and his friends being chased through the labyrinthine TARDIS interior – and that is about it. Worse still, the TARDIS interior does not even look passable. There is barely a roundel in site – just brick walls that look suspiciously like a basement somewhere close to BBC Television Centre. And do not even get me started on the atrocious ‘demat gun’ resolution and the Doctor’s amnesia…
In fairness though, the only thing about this serial that is truly awful is the glut of silliness that Williams infused the script with. In small doses, Williams’ penchant for humour suits the series quite well, however in a story like “The Invasion of Time” where the stakes are so high, the Doctor’s levity is just not commensurate with the gravity of the situation. It is not surprising that after this serial was broadcast the production team were given a bit of a roasting by their superiors about this serial’s gratuitously frivolous content. The DVD release’s various special features tend to dwell quite heavily on such aspects of the story, particularly the commentary included on the first disc which sees Jameson and Read together with John Leeson (K-9) and Mat Irvine (Visual Effects Designer) discuss their far from deferential views of the production in a fittingly blithe manner. Leeson even recounts the infamous anecdote about the convention where he won runner-up in a K-9 sound-alike competition!
The rest of the bonus material on offer is to be found on the second disc. “The Elusive David Agnew” featurette is a rather fanciful but nonetheless amusing diversion, and the six minutes worth’ of deleted scenes are interesting to watch just the once. The most substantial feature is entitled “Out of Time” and looks back on the troubled production of the serial. At just over sixteen minutes, the documentary is succinct and informative, although as was the case with the commentary on the first disc, Tom Baker is a notable absentee.
“The Rise and Fall of Gallifrey” clocks in at ten minutes dead and, at least from the perspective of somebody who loves the myths and legends of the Doctor’s ill-fated homeworld, is much more pleasing than the disc’s flagship documentary. Former Doctor Who Magazine editors Alan Barnes and Gary Russell join former script editors Terrance Dicks and Anthony Read to discuss the corruption, de-deifying and ultimate destruction of the Time Lords. Unfortunately, save for a fleeting nod to Dicks’ “Eight Doctors” novel, this featurette limits itself to Gallifrey as seen on television, meaning that the infinitely more interesting Time Lord stories told in the various spin-off media are not so much as mentioned. This feature could quite easily have been ten times as long and would probably have been all the more compelling for it had they been. At the very least it would have benefited from the input of Marc Platt, or Lance Parkin.
Prior to this DVD release, “The Invasion of Time” was a serial that I had seen countless times and enjoyed a good deal. In its original form, it had more flaws than cheese has holes, but even then, when it was good, it was quite simply fantastic. And now, by virtue of the Restoration Team’s most substantial CGI work to date, we can enjoy an “Invasion of Time” that is far nearer to the makers’ original intentions and all the more convincing for it. The Matrix coronet, the Sontarans’ laser beams, even the ‘magic’ TARDIS key – on this DVD, they are each born again. Of course, that is not to say that “The Invasion of Time” is now perfect because it is not, but even so I would urge you to bear with it. It really is worth the effort.
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Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2007, 2008
E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. |
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