Serial 64 – The Time Monster 2/2

And, once more, it’s spoiler time.

Episode 4:

The convoy is hit by the bomb, though there are survivors. A local shows up, saying that’s the exact spot, more or less, where “that doodlebug fell, back in ’44”. I’m guessing that same bomber is the one The Master pulled out of time just now.

The Master celebrates his victory, telling that the TARDIS cannot be destroyed, but people can.

The Doctor, Brig and Jo tend to Yates as the UNIT boys try to free the TARDIS.

Benton gets word that Yates is okay (seems like there weren’t much casualties, just injuries) and then interrupts Stuart and Ingram arguing. Benton is so cool and he gets a great line when he gets off the radio and hears them arguing – “Hey, hey, is this is a private fight or can anyone join in?”

When Benton hears what Ingram wants to do (go to the lab and try to get The Master), he says it’s a good idea. When Stuart protests, Ingram makes a crack about men being spineless, and Stuart gets a great retort.

“Lovey, I’m not men. I’m Stuart Hyde, registered card-carrying, paid-up coward!” He finally agrees to go with them.

The Master and Krasis go inside The Master’s TARDIS, and we get the classic companion/associate line, slightly differently: “So vast a space inside so small a box!”

The Master’s TARDIS has a different console – instead of the crystal column in the center, it has a silver spinning column.

Jo tells The Doctor that the time sensor is picking up activity; The Doctor realises that it’s too low to be actual activity, so he deduces The Master has to power up before his TARDIS can take off. He tells the Brig that he’ll have to use his TARDIS there. He plans on using the time sensor to lock his TARDIS to The Master’s.

When Jo and The Doctor enter the TARDIS, Jo notes that the TARDIS looks different; he says it’s a “spot of redecoration” and then warns her what he’s doing is going to be dangerous. There’s a cute bit of banter/dialogue between The Doctor and his companion as he explains the risks and she says it’s her job to tag along.

Benton, Stu and Ingram skulk about the campus, approaching the building where the laboratory is located.

The Doctor talks about the TARDIS’ mood. Her refers to the TARDIS as a “her”.

As the the TARDIS “comes in for a landing”, The Master’s TARDIS appears inside The Doctor’s. When he steps out the door, he enters the console room of The Master’s – both TARDISes are inside each other.

The Master and Krasis are back in the laboratory. Krasis sees “alien warriors” – UNIT trucks rolling up to the campus, but The Master puts them in the time field, slowing them down. He tells Krasis to go in the TARDIS.

Just after the priest does so, Stu and Ingram burst in, distracting The Master, while Benton comes up from behind. The Master manages to slip past them and runs into his TARDIS, where he discovers The Doctor’s TARDIS is waiting. He laughs and activates his TARDIS.

Ingram and Stu watch as the computer bank disappears.

After a rough transit, The Master contacts The Doctor and Jo over the external sensor.

Stu and Ingram and Benton argue about switching off the machinery, after they see the Brig and troops are stuck in the time field. However, even with the machine off, they’re still stuck!

The Master and The Doctor banter and penis-wave at each other about who has whom trapped. The Master turns off the sound, telling Krasis that The Doctor cannot bear not to have the last word.

This is, of course, so very true.

The Doctor finally realises that The Master isn’t listening, but still wants to persuade him of the folly of his plan. The Doctor begins fiddling about with components.

Ingram says that TOMTIT must have created a permanent gap and she begins flipping circuitry in the hopes that it will do the trick. They run it up and back down, and it has no effect on the troops. Benton, who was standing nearby, is accidentally reverted into a baby.

The Master finds a way around the way The Doctor found around the lack of communication, forcing The Doctor to step out. He explains to Jo that the TARDISes are telepathic (I think this is the first time this is blatantly established, though it has been hinted at before.)

The Doctor steps out, where he is introduced to Krasis. “Any friend of The Master’s is an enemy of mine.”

The Doctor accuses The Master of being mad, paranoid. The Master’s reply is gold – “Who isn’t? The only difference is that I’m a little more honest than the rest.”

The Master unleashes Kronos, commanding him to devour The Doctor. The chronovore engulfs The Doctor and then The Master compels him back to the crystal. The Master tells Jo that The Doctor is the time vortex, trapped for all eternity.

The Master then says he is getting rid of Jo and The Doctor’s TARDIS; when Jo says she doesn’t care, just get it done with, The Master says, “Your wish is my command,” and presses a button. Jo is shown rocking back and forth and we hear the TARDIS dematerialise as The Master laughs… and the credits roll.

I’m not really sure this is a great cliffhanger. I think having it end where Kronos appeared would have been much better.

 

 

Episode 5:

The two TARDISes seperate in the time vortex. Jo, collapsed on the floor, wakes, hearing The Doctor, who is in the time vortex. The TARDIS is relaying his thoughts to her. He tells her that the TARDIS can help free him, and he directs her in what to do. She does so and he appears in the console room.

In ancient Atlantis, trumpeters sound their horns as the King and Queen enter the… throne room? Though I think it’s meant to be outside. One of his courtiers, Hippias, is instructed to speak plainly, and does so, criticising the king over the lack of crops.

The Master works out the exact landing coordinates, planning to arrive in the temple.

The king says he will speak plainly. He tells them that the power of Kronos was a curse, not a blessing. He says that with the good came much evil.

The Queen says she hears strange music – it is the warbling of the TARDIS, which appears, still a computer bank. The Master exits and says he is an emissary of the gods. Krasis steps out after him, testifying that he has seen Kronos. The king says the must speak privately with them and they leave, but The Queen and The Master make eyes at each other. She seems rather smitten.

The Doctor is again using the time sensor to follow The Master. They arrive at the temple, where Krasis awaits, with guards.

The Master tries to use his force of will on King Dalios, who is too strong and wise to succumb. He tells The Master that he knows he is no emissary and denies him the true crystal. He tells The Master, “When you find the true word to speak, I shall listen.”

The Master storms out, as The Doctor and Jo are brought to the king. The look of complete shock on The Master’s face is priceless.

The Doctor and Jo meet with the king. Jo is taken to meet the Queen while The Doctor and Dalios meet.

The Queen talks to her handmaiden; she seems quite smitten with The Master. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Hippias, who has brought Jo to her. The Queen has Jo taken to change her garb. It seems that Hippias was used by the Queen to make his challenge in open counsel today.

The king explains that they tried to destroy the crystal of Kronos, but it is indestructible. He asks The Doctor for help in saving Atlantis from destruction.

Meanwhile, the Queen has invited The Master to come to her, using the word “Kronos” to entice him to come.

Jo finds out that The Master is in counsel with the Queen and she endeavours to overhear their talk. She and the handmaiden hear the Queen tell The Master that Krasis has a key to where the true crystal is kept, but there’s a guardian.

The king tells The Doctor about the guardian – a minotaur (though the king knows not that name.) It seems that once, the minotaur was a man, a friend of the king’s. He was transformed by Kronos into the creature he is now.

Jo sees Krasis taking Hippias to where the crystal is, and she follows trying to stop them. Krasis throws her in the chamber, and we hear the roar of the creature… and the credits roll.

Definitely a better paced cliffhanger than last episode’s.

 

Episode 6:

The Queen’s handmaiden interrupts Dalios and The Doctor’s conference, telling them about Jo and Hippias and Krasis.

Jo runs from the minotaur.

The Doctor finds Krasis and takes the key.

Hippias challenges the minotaur as it chases Jo. The minotaur throws Hippias through tin foil, which is supposed to be a mirror or mirrored metal. No, really.

The Doctor plays matador with his jacket/cape. No, really. He sidesteps the minotaur when it charges, breaking down the wall to the crystal of Kronos (which doesn’t look that much bigger than the ‘shard’.)

After The Doctor says that the game is over, Krasis arrives to say that it has only begun. When The Doctor demands to be taken to the king, he is brought before The Master, who, along with the Queen, inform them that there has been a palace coup.

The Master foolishly pisses off the Queen, though, telling her to do as she is told, basically. Really rather stupid of him.

Locked in the dungeon, The Doctor relates a story from his childhood, about living on a mountain, and about a hermit who lived there, too. On the “blackest day” of his life, the young Doctor went to see the man, to seek his help during his black time. The story is rather daft and not worth repeating here.

The king is brought into the cell, all but thrown in there by the guard, not treated as honourably as said. The guard strikes down Dalios and they leave. Dalios says The Doctor is “the only one” to save Atlantis, and then dies.. or may just passes out, I’m not sure.

In the temple, court is held. Queen Galleia addresses the council, saying they no longer fret beneath the hand of an old king and introduces his holiness, the venerable Lord Master. The Doctor, tied near by, makes a snarky comment, but is yelled at to keep his tongue.

The Master promises that Kronos, the most terrible, will be brought before them. Jo and The Doctor tell the Queen that Dalios is dead, which she did not know. She demands to know if this is true, and The Master admits to this. She has the guards seize The Master, but Krasis throws the switch, and Kronos comes forth.

Everyone screams and runs. The Master realises that he cannot control Kronos and grabs the true crystal and runs for his TARDIS; Jo leaps on his back and is dragged in. The Doctor is freed and runs into his TARDIS, giving chase.

Atlantis is left to ruin after the destruction at the hands of Kronos.

The Master gloats, believing The Doctor dead in the rubble of Atlantis. As he rants and gloats, The Doctor contacts The Master’s TARDIS and threatens to “time ram” The Master’s TARDIS.

The Master calls The Doctor’s bluff. “Do you think I’m going to dance to The Doctor’s tune, like some performing poodle?” The Doctor can’t do it, but Jo reaches over and toggles a switch, forcing time ram?

There’s a… something. The two TARDISes arrive… nowhere? Nowhen? Jo wakes, The Master unconscious on the floor. She rushes out to The Doctor’s TARDIS and wakes him. She believes they’re all dead and in Heaven, “…or somewhere.”

The Doctor exits and says he doesn’t think they’re in Heaven. A woman’s face, larger than all of them, appears and speaks to them. She is Kronos. She says she was released from the crystal at the moment of impact and will grant them what they wish.

Jo says she wants to go home, The Doctor qualfies, “in the TARDIS,” and Kronos agrees. She says that The Master will stay and suffer torment for what she has suffered at his hands. The Master comes out, begging The Doctor for his help.

The Doctor asks Kronos to spare The Master, to free him. She does not understand, but agrees to it. The Doctor says that he is taking The Master back to Earth, but The Master manages to escape – Kronos does not stop him as The Doctor had asked for his freedom.

Stuart and Ingram run the TOMTIT again, freeing the Brig and troops from the time field. The Doctor and Jo arrive in the TARDIS as this happens, and the TOMTIT explodes. The Brig and crew burst in, demanding to know what’s going on and where Benton is, who stands up, having returned to his adult age, completely naked, asking if anyone will tell him what’s going on.

Everyone has a good laugh… and the credits roll.

A few too many silly plot devices and such for me to really have enjoyed this. Even with The Master, this one falls flat for me. It wasn’t bad, just not very good.  

Serial 64 – The Time Monster 1/2

Another six episode serial, two days of three a piece. Another one I don’t know the first thing about, so very excited.

Episode 1:

We open with what appears to be a dream sequence; first with start with explosions and lava, quite reminiscient of INFERNO. Then, in an ornate temple, The Doctor lays on a couch. He wakes and looks around and sees a glowing crystal artifact.

A giant form of The Master looms over him, up high, reaching towards him, shouting, “Welcome! Welcome to your new master,” and laughs then fades into mist. The Doctor wakes to find Jo shaking him, concerned about him. Spurred on by his dream, he asks Jo if there have been any earthquakes or volcanic activity. She chastises him for not listening to a story she had read him the night before.

The Master is seen handling a piece of crystal, much like the one from The Doctor’s dream. He’s in a lab, attended by two humans who know him as Professor Thascalos. He tells them he has to meet with some important people but gives them instructions go ahead with the experiment, saying a test run isn’t important.

Dr. Ingram, one of the people assisting him, gets very upset when he takes a patronising tone with her, but he apologises (although not horribly convincingly) before departing.

Jo gets Mike Yates to bring maps of the Greek isles. When Jo mentions Atlantis, The Doctor suddenly becomes urgently upset about things and calls the Brig to tell him about his dream.

At the Newton Institute (Cambridge), we see The Master walking to his meeting.

The Brig informs that Priority A-1 of UNIT’s standing orders is to keep an eye out for The Master. He tells The Doctor they need to go to the Newton Institute to observe the test run of TOMTIT (Transmission Of Matter Through Inter-stitial Time), a form of transmat, but The Doctor says he’s too busy. Benton gets drafted to assist the Brig in attending.

The Master is confronted by the director, who has determined that The Master is not who he claimed to be. The Master uses the force of his mind to force the man to do as he commands.

Dr. Ingram and the other guy are working with their equipment, running checks. She complains about not doing a test run, and he talks her into doing one.

The Doctor is working on a time sensor, a device to detect any time machines, TARDIS or otherwise. We see the scientists testing their machine and then, back at UNIT, the time sensor becomes active.

The Master, in the director’s office, notices the tolling of the clock tower is altered, and realises they must be testing the machine. He curses under his breath and rushes out.

In the lab, Stu (the male assistant) and Dr. Ingram dance around, celebrating, until The Master returns.

The Doctor tries to narrow down the location of the time activity, but isn’t able to. He and Jo head to Bessie, hoping to be mobile should it happen again.

The Master consults with Dr. Ingram over a power surge during the test run. He comes to a conclusion on what must be done and sets Ingram with instructions as Stu notes that the VIPs are arriving (he’s looking out the window.) When Stu mentions a UNIT jeep is part of the VIPs coming in, The Master is suitably concerned. He asks Dr. Ingram to go in his stead, claiming that he’s a pacifist and has no desire to be around the military men.

Benton and the Brig find a window washer (who had been watching the experiment through the window and fell) laying on the ground outside the Newton Institute.

The Doctor and Jo are driving in Bessie, when the device activates again. They narrow it down to a town, Wooten. Jo says that’s where the Brig went, and The Doctor worries that The Master might be behind TOMTIT. The Doctor drives quickly, hoping to get there before the 2pm demonstration.

The VIPs (professors, govt men and the Brig and Benton) are brought to the lab by Dr. Ingram, who wonders at the absence of the professor. Stuart says he was there a few minutes ago, but isn’t sure where he went off to. Dr. Ingram begins explaining to everyone the theories behind their machine.

The Doctor and Jo rush, pushing Bessie’s super-fast speed, but still have not arrived.

Professor Thascalos arrives in the lab, dressed in full radiation gear, obscuring his identity from the Brigadier and Benton. They begin the process, but this time, The Master increases the power, much to Ingram’s concern. Stuart says he’s getting too much power, but The Master ignores them, calling out, “Come, Kronos, come!”… and the credits roll.

The Master, pretending to be someone he’s not, meddling with time. You know it’s going to turn against him eventually, but it’s a great serial so far.

Episode 2:

Stuart clutches his head and collapses in the chamber. The Master seems to have disappeared when everyone was looking at Stuart. Ingram moves to the controls and starts flipping switches.

Bessie pulls up outside, but Jo is in a sort of trance-like state. He rushes out, almost in slow motion and enters the building, as The Master watches from a hiding spot.

The Doctor makes it into the lab and tells Ingram to reverse the temporal polarity! (Woo hoo, we’re reversing the polarity again!) After the levels are reduced, they go in to find that Stuart has been aged to a near terminal age.

When Dr. Ingram mentions the name of Professor Thascalos, The Doctor and Jo realise that ‘thascalos’ is Greek for ‘master’.

Stuart wakes, muttering about seeing seeing him, seeing Kronos, and then collapses. The Doctor seems to recognise the name and orders Dr. Ingram to come tell him about the machine; he says he has a job for the Brig and leaves Jo to watch over Stuart, with orders to ring him if he wakes and talks again.

The Brig calls in to Yates, telling him to bring a bunch of men and weaponry there, as soon as possible, as well as The Doctor’s TARDIS.

The govt man tells the director that there will be a Whitehall investigation. The Brig overhears this and asserts that there will be no such thing as he is taking over here as it is now a UNIT matter. The govt man takes off in a rush. The Brig approaches the director, informing him he wants the location evacuated by three o’clock.

The Doctor and Ingram arrive at the lab, where Benton is keeping watch. She shows him the crystal, which is, in fact, the one from his dream – the Crystal of Kronos. He explains to Ingram that he’s been outside of space-time, it’s a dangerous placed filled with chronovores, time eaters. Kronos is the most fearsome of the lot.

The director (Dr. Percival) returns to his office, to find The Master waiting for him.

The Doctor informs Ingram and Benton that The Master is trying to use the crystal to capture Kronos, which would be a threat to all of existence.

The Master, once more, forces his will into Percival’s mind. He tells the director to attend to his telephone while he tries to sort out why the massive power build up happened.

The Doctor realises that one of the computer banks in the lab is The Master’s TARDIS. As he works out some figures in his head, he comes to the same conclusion that The Master did – logically, that power build up should not have happened. (Both of them use the same quote in the seperate scenes.) The Doctor says that the only thing to do is switch on the apparatus and see what happens. (Because, that’s what I’d do with a machine that was trying to capture a chronovore and bring it to the space-time continuum.)

Benton is instructed to move the crystal, but he can’t. The Doctor realises that the crystal has swapped places with its self in ancient Atlantis.

We see a hazy view of Atlantis. We see a young boy run to a priest, telling him that the crystal is afire. The priest sees this and praises Kronos as another man looks on.

The phone rings in the lab, and Benton answers. Jo has called to let The Doctor know that Stuart has woken and is in a bit of a state. When he wakes, he discovers that he’s become old and is, obviously, quite upset. The Doctor and Ingram arrive and he describes what it felt like, what happened to him. He explains he “just knew” about Kronos.

Benton receives a call from the director, saying that the Brig wants him to lock up and come attend him. When Benton questions it, The Master orders the director to tell him to call another line. Benton hangs up and does so, and The Master answers, disguising his voice as the Brig’s, telling him to do exactly that.

They watch as Benton leaves, but he circles back, having left the window open, not trusting the phone call. He reenters the lab and waits, his gun at the ready. The Master and Percival enter and Benton steps out from his hiding spot, ordering them to put their hands in the air. However, The Master manages to overcome the sergeant.

Benton taken out, The Master tells Percival he’s bringing someone who can help him harness the power to take over the Earth.

Back in ancient Atlantis, we see the priest praying to Kronos, calling out for power and strength. The priest is surrounded in a nimbus of light and brought to the modern day… and the credits roll.

Episode 3:

The Master enters and greets Krasis, who introduces himself as high priest of the temple of Poseidon in Atlantis. The Master introduces himself as “The Master, Lord of Time and ruler of Kronos,” which offends the priest. The Master says that with the assistance of Krasis, they can bring Kronos there and get him to obey them.

Benton, who has recovered, escapes, but The Master says it is of no import. He gets Krasis to hand over the seal of of the high priest, from which The Master says he can figure out the formula to summon and bind Kronos.

Jo, Ingram, the Brig and The Doctor escort Stuart out to a waiting ambulance. Benton shows up to inform them that The Master has gained access to the laboratory.

The Master uses Krasis’ amulet to know the proper settings and adjusts the apparatus accordingly. He activates the machine, again calling out for Kronos to come. A winged human form appears, glowing white and absorbing Percival. The Master calls out that he is Kronos’ friend, but Krasis only carries on that Kronos is The Destroyer.

Holding forth Krasis’ amulet, The Master manages to get Kronos to calm down a little, and closes the door on him. (Okay, so the chronovore can eat time, but a simple door will keep him penned in?)

The Brig and others rush on, but are caught in a time field. The Doctor is able to rush in and bring them out one by one – he is not affected by the time effect. Stuart has become young again.

In the lab, Kronos flies around the one room as The Master reverses some interstitial effect or another. Kronos is forced into the crystal. The Master bullies Krasis into serving him, demanding to know why he could not control Kronos. Krasis says that the crystal The Master has is only a part of the true crystal of Kronos.

Back in time, in Atlantis, the young man who was watching has brought his King, telling him that Krasis and the crystal disappeared. The king fears that Kronos will return, and says the world is in great danger. He leads the young man down into lower levels of the temple. The king says that when he was a boy, some five centuries before, he saw the raising of the temple of Poseidon. He shows the youth the true crystal of Kronos, hidden in a secret lair.

He tells the youth that the crystal is guarded by a creature, half man, half beast, after they hear it roar.

Back at Stuart’s apartment, The Doctor asks for tea. The Brig gives him a hard time for this, but The Doctor goes on to explain the time slowing was a side effect of the apparatus creating a crack in time between the now and now.

The Master drains the temporal energy from the crystal, preparing it to be moved.

The Doctor works with a wine bottle and various household implements, creating a “time flow analog”, something that will somehow put a fly in the Master’s ointment, so to speak. The Doctor is disappointed that he doesn’t work, but when handed a cup of tea, realises tea leaves are the missing component. He places the drained cup atop his device and it works!

Just as The Master gets Krasis to believe the crystal is safe to touch, because of The Doctor’s device, it begins to glow. The Master runs some feedback through the TOMTIT apparatus, frying out The Doctor’s device. As he and Krasis begin to move the crystal, The Master overhears the UNIT troops coming in with The Doctor’s TARDIS.

He sets an ambush, bringing a knight on horseback out of time to charge the UNIT trucks. They move off the road, and end up stuck in the mud, and the knight disappears. As Yates orders his men to get the truck(s) out of the mud, they find themselves under attack by roundheads with a cannon.

The Doctor realises that The Master is using the crystal to bring them out of time. He, Jo and the Brig head off to help Yates and his men. The roundhead forces disappear and The Master brings in a B1 bomber from WW2. The convoy has freed itself from the mud and the Brig tries to radio Yates to warn him. The signal is weak and they see the convoy driving down the road, entering a wooded area. The plane drops a bomb and there’s an explosion from the woods… and the credits roll.

Great cliffhanger, that one. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happens next!

Serial 32 – The Underwater Menace

Another partially lost serial, the first, second and last episode (of four) only exist in stills and fragments. I’m watching the Loose Cannon recon of the lost episodes.

Episode 1:

 The episode opens with a prologue, introduction filmed with Joseph Furst (who plays the bad guy in the serial, apparently.) We learn that this serial was originally “Doctor Who Under The Sea”, but was shelved for budget concerns. After the replacement serial “The Imps” fell through due to the writer becoming ill, they pulled out this serial, which was now under the working title “The Fish People”. It had to be majorly retooled – to cut down the budget costs and to work in the new companion, Jamie McCrimmon. Eventually it became “The Underwater Menace” and here we are.

 Since we have a new companion, we have to start with Jamie being confused, gazing around the TARDIS control room in slack-jawed bewilderment. (I’m not complaining, I like this particular trope of the show a whole lot.) Ben and Polly explain to Jamie that they don’t know where they’re going. (Which, if you think about it, it was awfully irresponsible for them to bring him along…)

 Jamie doesn’t believe them about the time-travelling; he’s not even sure what to believe. The Doctor announces they’re about to land and tells everyone to “hold on” – that’s a first. Polly hopes for Chelsea, 1966. Ben grumbles it’s probably going to be Daleks. The Doctor is hoping for “pre-historic monsters” and Jamie wonders, “What have I come upon?”

 The TARDIS appears on a rocky area, and after checking the readings, The Doctor and companions depart. Polly guesses they’re in Cornwall. After examining a rock, The Doctor proclaims they’re not in the British Isles, as it’s a volcanic rock. They see a nearby volcano shortly thereafter. The Doctor lays back to take a nap while his companions explore.

 Shortly after they depart, he lifts his head, checks his watch and consults the sky, as if making some calculations.

 Polly gets nervous, thinking she’s seen something moving in the distance, but Ben and Jamie push ahead, and she watches them climb up the rocks. She checks out some nearby caves and finds a bracelet. Exploring further, she comes across some robed figures and screams.

 Ben and Jamie rush down and head to the cave entrance, calling her name.

 The Doctor is sitting by a pool and finds a shard of pottery. He gets up and heads in the direction his companions went.

 Ben and Jamie are attacked and captured and thrown in a cell with Polly. Shortly afterwards, The Doctor is thrust in as well. The entire room begins to descend, like an elevator. It goes very far down, and The Doctor speculates they’re below sea level already.

 They have trouble breathing and all four pass out.

 We next see them four of them in a different room, laying on slabs, all in a row. Ben wakes up and looks around. He wakes everyone else up. The Doctor is rumbling about troglodytes, speculating about cavemen, trying to determine what time period they’re in.

 Polly says she knows they’re somewhere about 1970. She produces the bracelet she found, which is stamped with the Mexico Olympiad, which was in the year 1968, so it has to be later than that. This only perplexes Jamie even more, but before any more can be said, an armed guard enters.

 Polly tries several languages, to no avail. The guard gestures with his spear, which as The Doctor says, is clear in any language. They’re marched down a winding corridor, ending in a room with a table where a girl is setting out some food. The guard is rough with her, but The Doctor “stumbles” in between the guard and the girl to prevent him from hurting her.

 The Doctor sits down and starts pigging out, making a big deal out of how good it is. The companions hesitantly taste the strange food, asking what it is. The Doctor says it’s plankton. Polly is turned off at the idea.

 Men arrive, announcing they’ve been expecting them. “The Living Goddess knows and sees all” and had informed them to expect the arrival of strangers in time for their Festival of the Vernal Equinox. The man, Rano, says they have “an important part to play in the ceremony”, and by his tone, The Doctor takes that they’re meant to be a sacrifice.

 The Doctor says he has something important to impart, but his companions are taken away. The Doctor says he has to say something about Professor Zaroff, and Rano seems to know the name. The Doctor claims that he knew through the food – Zaroff is well known for making food from plankton, apparently. The Doctor writes a note, but Rano refuses to take it to Zaroff; The Doctor hands it off to Ara, the girl he interfered on the behalf of earlier, instructing her to take it to Professor Zaroff.

 We switch to a temple scene, dominated by a large idol. In the center of the temple is a pool or tank with sharks in it. There is a great ceremony going on, one of pomp and circumstance, and the companions are ushered into the temple. They are bound tightly with ropes and placed on slabs, their heads pointing towards the shark tank.

 Polly whines about The Doctor not coming, and Ben tries to reassure her, “As long as he’s not here, there’s still hope,” but as he says that, The Doctor is brought in by another guard.

 Ara delivers The Doctor’s note to Damon, another scientist, after being turned away by a guard from seeing Zaroff.

 The Doctor is tied and placed on the fourth slab. The high priest begins his prayer to Ando, their god. The slabs tilt and slowly the four travelers slide down head first towards the sharks.

 Damon brings the note to Zaroff. “Vital Secret will die with me. (signed) Dr. W.”

 At the last minute, Zaroff arrives, demanding to speak to The Doctor. The Doctor demands his companions be released before he imparts his information to Zaroff; strangely, Zaroff accepts this at face value and insists to the others that this happen.

 The Doctor and Zaroff talk; apparently, the world believes Zaroff dead some twenty years prior. His disappearance led to “the East blaming the West, the West blaming the East”. The Doctor calls him the greatest scientific genuis since Leonardo.

 The Doctor confesses that he doesn’t have a vital secret, but Zaroff decides he likes The Doctor’s sense of humour, and thus will allow them to be spared.

 The companions are brought before Damon, who decides that Ben and Jamie will work in the mines. He keeps Polly with him and takes her to a viewing window. Outside is undersea scene, where people are swimming undersea. Damon explains they have been given plastic gills to breathe underwater. Damon informs Polly she will undergo “the operation”.

 The Doctor and Zaroff are talking, and The Doctor discovers they are in the ancient kingdom of Atlantis. A guard summons Zaroff away, and Ara comes to The Doctor to tell him that Polly is going to be operated upon to make her a fish-person.

 Polly struggles in the med lab as they prepare to operate on her. She’s given a sedative and the credits roll.

 Interesting concept, so far. I’m enjoying Jamie’s confusion with the TARDIS and time travel and Ben and Polly’s amusement with him.

 Not the best serial, not the worst.

Episode 2:

 Zaroff is showing The Doctor around his laboratory; The Doctor swipes a pair of wire cutters and starts cutting wires (discreetly). This causes the lights in the operating room to dim, putting a halt to the operation on Polly.

 Damon arrives in Zaroff’s lab, accusing Zaroff of hogging all the power. Zaroff tells Damon, “I made you, I can break you!” He’s quite the megalomaniac.

 The assistants leave Ara in charge of watching Polly. Once they’re gone, Ara leads Polly away to safety.

 Zaroff and Damon confront The Doctor about the wires; he feigns ignorance, claiming that he must have ‘bumped into it’. Damon doesn’t buy it, and seemingly, neither does Zaroff, but the latter is pleased having someone to boast to. (Megalomaniac, remember?) Damon leaves, promising The Doctor that this will not save “the girl”.

 Zaroff tells The Doctor that he plans to “lower the water”, since Atlantis cannot be raised to the surface. When The Doctor points out that his plan will crack the crust of the Earth and potentially blow up the world. Zaroff is not turned off by it, but gloats that it is his dream – to blow up the world, the scientist’s ultimate dream. (Yup, total whack job.)

 Ben and Jamie arrive in the mine. As they’re brought before the overseer, another miner is accused of hiding something on his body. When a guard is called over, the item is passed several times, eventually to Jamie. It turns out to be a compass.

 The Doctor manufactures an escape while Zaroff is busy with one of his technicians.

 Ara leaves Polly in the temple, where she hides behind the idol.

 Ben and Jamie are taking a break, talking to the other workers – two shipwrecked sailors (Sean and Jacko), who seem to be planning a breakout. The miners have found another shaft, but they don’t know where it leads – it’s a bit of a last resort. Before too much can be said, the overseer arrives to assign men to a special detail. The conspirators feel this is an opportune time to make their break – if they’re on the detail they won’t be missed right away.

 I’m a bit confused, as the overseer refuses to pick them for the duty… but they seem pleased nonetheless.

 Guards search for The Doctor, who is on the run. He finds Ara and asks her where he can find the chief of state. The Doctor takes some of the clothing she has and steps into the shadows when others come near. From the shadows, The Doctor hears Ramo and Damon speaking – Ramo does not trust Zaroff and says so freely; The Doctor tells Ara he needs to speak to him. Ara steps forward and tells Damon she may have seen Polly at the market. She leads him off, and The Doctor approaches Ramo.

 Ben, Jamie, Jacko and Sean reach a fork in the tunnel (they’ve made their break, obviously.) They split up to go fifty paces up each fork to see where they go.

 Polly is asleep in the temple. Ramo leads The Doctor there, so that they may talk discreetly. The Doctor tells Ramo about Zaroff’s plan and what will happen should he succeed. Ramo leaves The Doctor there, to go talk to the Atlantean King. The Doctor pulls out his recorder and begins to play.

 Jacko comes back and finds Sean and Ben; he says Jamie has gone on. Sean agrees to meet them in ten minutes at the fork. When they find him, he’s stuck somewhere, and Ben has to help him out. (Even with the good recons, it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on at times…)

 In the temple, Polly has woken and come out from behind the idol. Ben, Jamie, Sean and Jacko emerge from the tunnel into the temple and are reunited with Polly. She tells them The Doctor went off with Ramo.

 The Doctor and Ramo wait to see the king. The Doctor is wearing a silly headdress (just like Ramo.) The king, Thous, comes in and The Doctor asks to speak to him. He tells the king that Zaroff is “mad as a hatter”. The king says he will take their words under consideration and dismisses them.

 Ara has brought food to those hiding in the temple. They hear music and the sound of others approaching and head back into the tunnel, leaving Ara there.

 The king announces he has given much thought to their words, and gestures to the doors. The doors open and Zaroff walks in. “There is your answer!” Zaroff gives a sinister smile and the credits roll.

Episode 3:

 (Yay, video! This is the earliest video of Patrick Troughton as The Doctor I’ve ever seen, outside of a few fragments from the first two Second Doctor serials.)

 Zaroff has the guards take away Ramo and The Doctor. He then tries to reassure the King, but the King can’t help but gaze into his eyes (which The Doctor had mentioned while appealing to the king – he said Zaroff’s eyes showed his madness.)

 Ramo and The Doctor are brought to be sacrificed, but instead of the sharks, it looks to be a beheading. Just as the executioner lifts his sword (not the best weapon for beheading, mind you), there’s a scream from the idol of Amdo and a voice booms out, “This is the voice of Amdo! Fear me! Bow down your heads that Amdo might accept your sacrifice!”

 Ben peeks out from behind the idol and waves The Doctor forward. The Doctor brings Ramo with him, and they escape. There’s a happy reunion and introductions to Sean and Jacko.

 The high priest runs to the king to tell him of the miracle, but Zaroff obviously doesn’t believe that Amdo took the sacrifices. Zaroff rants about Amdo, oblivious to the damage he’s doing to his credibility with the Atlanteans.

 The Doctor and his associates conspire; The Doctor suggests that they cause chaos by getting the fish people to stop harvesting food for the Atlanteans. Sean and Jacko go off to do that, while The Doctor and his companions plan to kidnap Zaroff.

 We see a market scene full of many Atlanteans, buying and selling trinkets and food and the like. The Doctor is disguised (I guess disguises are one of the Second Doctor’s things) as a musician or something. Polly (also in disguise) and Ara meander through the market and make contact with him. The girls panic when guards start searching through, and Polly hides under some carpets.

 Ben and Jamie are disguised as guards (wonder where they go their gear) and take places. Zaroff storms in and demands to know where the musician is, apparently he knows he’s The Doctor. He orders the two nearest guards, Ben and Jamie as it happens, to assist him. The Doctor runs by and they give chase. Polly joins in as they leave the market.

 The Doctor meets up with Ramo at the temple, who distracts Zaroff until The Doctor can blow some powder in the scientist’s face and they take him prisoner.

 Sean and Jacko starts riling up the fish people, first by mocking them and insulting them, and then giving them the idea to start a ‘blockade’.

 We see underwater ‘swimming’ scenes (apparently done by wire-fu and slow motion to simulate swimming in water) with different fish people apparently spreading the word? They don’t talk normally, but through odd sounds, and we get an annoying musical soundtrack behind it all, so who the hell knows.

 Zaroff, while ranting on (like a megalomaniac), seems to have an attack/seizure of some sort. The Doctor, Ben and Jamie head off while Polly and Ramo stay behind to watch over Zaroff. While they’re gone, Zaroff uses chicanery and bests Ramo in combat, stabbing him with a spear.

 Outside in the temple, The Doctor and companions are delayed by worshippers. The Doctor sends Jamie back to switch places with Ramo, but Ramo staggers out to let them know, with his dying breath, that Zaroff has escaped.

 Jamie catches up to Zaroff and Polly, and with Sean and Jacko’s help, they free her from him, but the mad scientist escapes.

 Damon is reporting to King Thous the revolt by the fish people; Thous wishes Zaroff were there to tell him what to do, but Damon insists that Thous must take charge. (What a spineless king.)

 Zaroff returns and through his megalomaniacal rants, the king sees what The Doctor said was true. The two men turn against each other, and Zaroff pulls out a gun and shoots the king dead… and the credits roll after he declares the following:

 “Nothing in the world can stop me now!” – Zaroff, gleefully. He’s very, very, VERY over the top. Almost to the point of painfully so. Almost.

Episode 4:

 (Back to reconstruction, sadly.)

 Ben and The Doctor enter the throne room and discover that the king’s been shot but isn’t dead.

 Jacko and Sean are with Ara, waiting at the idol, when The Doctor and Ben bring King Thous there. Ara tells The Doctor that Polly and Jamie went to the laboratory, looking for The Doctor. The Doctor has a plan – to break the sea wall and flood the lab.

 A scientist with a heavily receeding hairline is taking notes as Zaroff receives a report from the generation station. He gives them orders that they don’t like – his lack of security concerns his men. He then receives a report that the workers in another station have walked out, looking for food.

 Ben and The Doctor have made it to the generation station, but stop when they see an armed guard. Ben is still wearing the guard’s outfit and they try to bluff their way past. Even though Ben doesn’t know the password, they manage to convince him to let them in.

 They come across another guard, but The Doctor had gotten the first guard to give up the password (really? REALLY?) so they use it to get past him. Once inside, they start cutting wires. (Hey, didn’t they do this scene before?)

 The reactor starts to overload. Ben asks The Doctor if he knows what he’s doing and his response is “Of course I don’t! There’s no harm in trying.” I think this is very telling about the Second Doctor.

 Jamie and Polly are meandering through tunnels; they’re a bit lost on their way to the laboratory. They see a nearby wall glowing and starting to crumble and know that the sea is on the other side. As they watch, the wall bursts open and water pours through.

 Sean and Jacko hear the sea breaking in. Ara tends to the king, who moans about raising Atlantis being the dream of a madmen. Water is flooding the temple as Damon enters. Damon is bemoaning the loss of a life’s work, that it’s all washed away. The king promises Damon they can start again, and he helps the others move the king.

 Jamie and Polly are trying to evade the water. She’s doing a lot of whining. This isn’t anything new.

 The temple begins to collapse. The idol crumbles under the power of the water. Damon asks the king how his wound is, and he replies “a little better”. Must be nice, regeneration. And here I thought that was for time lords only.

 Playing the typical nutjob card, Zaroff announces to his men that nobody shall leave their station. The Doctor and Ben arrive and when The Doctor informs Zaroff’s technicians and guards about Zaroff’s plans and the sea wall breaking, they all run. Zaroff presses a button and a barrier drops down between Zaroff and the heroes; he then announces, like a badly written comic book villain, exactly what he must do to detonate his bomb. (That’s up there with putting the hero in a death trap and then explaining it so they can figure how to break out.)

 Polly and Jamie are trying to find a way out. She almost drops her lantern and whines when Jamie snaps at her over it. This is gripping storytelling, let me tell you.

 Ben pretends to leave The Doctor, and Zaroff taunts him that his friends have left him, too. The Doctor has access to a power control and turns off the lights, which leads Zaroff to raise the barrier to restore them. Zaroff has his gun pointed at The Doctor. Ben has snuck by and lowers the barrier, keeping him away from his detonation controls. He fires his gun at them but they run off safely.

 After escaping, The Doctor feels bad about leaving Zaroff to drown and wants to go back. Ben insists they keep moving along, and apparently resorts to physicality to stop The Doctor from going to help Zaroff.

 Polly whines some more. And some more. Jamie argues with her and she whines EVEN MORE. Oh, dear god… what inconsistent characterisation with her – last serial she was all strong and making decisions, this one, whine and cry and cry and whine.

 Okay, I’m confused, because Ben and The Doctor are apparently going back to help Zaroff, when the tunnel collapses and their path is blocked. Ben is still arguing with The Doctor about leaving Zaroff behind.

 We see Zaroff, still struggling to reach through (though honestly, the bars look wide enough that he could easily squeeze through if he really tried) and reach the plunger on the detonation box. The water is waist deep now.

 Jamie and Polly make it to the surface. Does she whine some more? Do we even care? She wonders about Ben and The Doctor, but Jamie isn’t too confident about their chances of surviving.

 Zaroff is shown again, to his neck in water, then the power level drops and the water goes up past his head and he presumably drowns.

 Damon and Thous and Ara talk, believing The Doctor dead. King Thous proposes that a memorial be built in honour of The Doctor, but Damon, who suddenly got a dose of personality and character, goes on a speech how they need no more temples, no more religion – it was that which allowed them to follow Zaroff (a connection I’m not sure I follow). Instead, they need to build a new Atlantis.

 “Yes… that shall be his memorial.” – King Thous.

 Ben and The Doctor are climbing towards the surface. Ben asks about Polly, but The Doctor gives no answer. They come out of a cave, just feet from where Jamie and Polly are sitting – what are the chances? The four, happily reunited, head back to the TARDIS.

 Sean and Jacko are nearby and Sean says, “I can’t believe it… a flaming English policebox!”

 Back in the TARDIS, where Jamie and Benjamin (as Jamie called him) tease each other for smelling of fish. Jamie tellse everyone that he’s rather impressed with the TARDIS and feels safe there – “It’s just the things outside that are a wee bit alarming.”

 When questioned, The Doctor claims that he can control where the TARDIS goes. They all laugh, and he says he’ll show them, “Let’s go to Mars!” He sets the coordinates and the TARDIS begins to rock and lights flicker…

 The Doctor announces, “I’m sorry everybody, but I’m afraid the TARDIS is out of control,” and the credits roll.

 A mixed bag, this serial. I’ve seen talk online about this one and I think there are a lot of people who are trying too hard to like things about it that aren’t really that good. Like Joseph Furst’s performance as Zaroff. I’m sorry, but it was really bad. Not campy fun bad, just bad. Like, not acting, just reading lines bad. (I know we don’t like to talk ill of the dead, but I’m just talking about his performance.)

 The LOOSE CANNON edit ends with Joseph Furst (who has an eyepatch in the recording, which was filmed shortly before Furst’s death in 2005) pretending to be Zaroff, giving a “You thought I had drowned, Doctor” monologue thing… and it’s really not that impressive.

 Then there’s an interview with Furst, which honestly, I’m not terribly interested in.