pubs
There have been rumors for a while; now it’s been publicized. A teaser trailer‘s even out.
Yes, the legendary and long-incomplete 1968 Patrick Troughton serial The Invasion has been completed — through modern flash-based animation, set to the original off-air soundtrack. It’s been done by Cosgrove Hall (Danger Mouse, Count Duckula) — the same people also behind the Scream of the Shalka webcast from a few years ago. This is supposed to be a good deal more sophisticated, though.
It’ll be out this November, in the UK; we’ll probably have to wait until next spring for the DVD. The remaining six episodes are getting the typical Restoration Team cleanup — which is welcome, considering the condition all existing consumer prints are in.
As it is, I find the story hard to take, as it’s drawn out and padded to a ludicrous degree. (It was conceived as six episodes, then cut down to four because there wasn’t enough story to sustain a six parter, then expanded to eight because another serial fell through at the last minute.) The whole middle part of the serial consists of the characters repeatedly breaking into the enemy compound, getting caught, escaping, then breaking back in again. And again and again and again. It’s impressive, on a certain level.
Even so: wow. The cleanup on its own should make the story far easier to watch. Interspersed with animation of this detail, this release perhaps wins out over The Beginning as the most ambitious and appealing classic series release to date.
Odd that there have been so few truly great Cyberman stories, considering how much potential the Cybermen hold.
Sam got “The Beginning” and we watched, back to back, the unaired pilot version of the first episode of “An Unearthly Child”, followed by “The Edge of Destruction”.
And. Man! What a creepy, envelope-pushing, experimental show Doctor Who was/could have been! William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford could both be scary people when they were allowed to be.
Wasn’t the original Susan so much more interesting than the final one? The Rorschach doodle was maybe sort of arbitrary. Still — hey! Apparently the main reason Carole Ann Ford left was that she felt she wasn’t really allowed to do anything with the character. I think her actorly impulses had the right idea.
I can see why they dialed down Hartnell’s performance, though. “YOU’RE COMING WITH ME NOW, MWAHAHAHA!”
There’s a really good documentary on the third disc. Actually, more than one. I’m talking specifically about the one that doesn’t have photographs coming apart at their seams then leaping at you in explody barf-o-vision.
The whole middle part of the serial consists of the characters repeatedly breaking into the enemy compound, getting caught, escaping, then breaking back in again. And again and again and again. It’s impressive, on a certain level.
I’m reminded of Monkey Island. Oh, that Lemonhead.
Man the Cybermen are scary looking. Especially in those shots.
Yeah, I like the old “doll face” style from The Invasion. The current ones have a nice, art deco face. Sort of halfway between Metropolis and The Rocketeer.
It’s less fun! At least, by normal standards. Fun can be found, in that drinking-game way.
There’s this one episode that revolves entirely around Zoe and Jamie slipping into the sewers to photograph the Cybermen so some upper brass would believe that they really exist. So they spend half an hour running around down there, and bring back the photographs, only for the Brigadier to say “hmm, these look fake.” And that’s it. Thread dismissed. On to a new piece of padding, to prevent the plot from going anywhere.