Doctor Who's Tragical History TourDoctor Who's Tragical History Tour
  • Nu-Who
    • Ncuti Gatwa
    • Jodie Whittaker
    • Peter Capaldi
    • Matt Smith
    • David Tennant
    • Christopher Eccleston
  • Tweeners
    • John Hurt
    • Paul McGann
    • The Master List
    • Regeneration X
    • The Mystery Guest
    • The Hand of Fear
  • Colo(u)r
    • Sylvester McCoy
    • Colin Baker
    • Peter Davison
    • Tom Baker
    • Jon Pertwee
  • Monochrome
    • Patrick Troughton
    • William Hartnell
  • Tour du Jour
    • On This Day
    • The House of Holmes
    • 50 for 50
    • The Randomizer
    • THT Rand-o-pix of the Day
    • The Feast of Steven
    • Tour Notz
    • The Watcher
    • Contact the Tour
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Doctor Who's Tragical History Tour
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  • Nu-Who
    1. Ncuti Gatwa
    2. Jodie Whittaker
    3. Peter Capaldi
    4. Matt Smith
    5. David Tennant
    6. Christopher Eccleston
    7. View All

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    The Next-iest of Doctors

    May 29, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    B-Bye Bradley

    October 6, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    Now You Sea Devil, No You Don’t

    April 24, 2022

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    E-Spaced

    August 4, 2023

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    The Dark Jacket Dimension

    November 13, 2021

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    E-Spaced

    August 4, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    The Next-iest of Doctors

    May 29, 2022

    The Dark Jacket Dimension

    November 13, 2021

    The (W)hole Ruth

    January 31, 2020

    Ten Days Till the Tenthiversary of the Tenting of the Tenth

    December 22, 2019

    The Last ‘Last Christmas’ Specials Rankings #3

    December 24, 2018

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Tweeners
    1. John Hurt
    2. Paul McGann
    3. The Master List
    4. Regeneration X
    5. The Mystery Guest
    6. The Hand of Fear
    7. View All

    Hurt So Good: A Doctor and His Umbrella

    April 27, 2023

    Who Told You There Wouldn’t Be Any Math?

    December 5, 2022

    Svelte 16

    May 8, 2022

    Ten’ll Get You Five

    September 4, 2020

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    McGann Before McGann

    May 26, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    Fivey at Forty: The First Companion Death of 1982

    March 16, 2022

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    Ghost Re-Write

    November 16, 2021

    The (W)hole Ruth

    January 31, 2020

    Dup-topia

    January 29, 2020

    The Glue Guy

    June 24, 2018

    Doctor on Doctor ACTION!

    November 19, 2017

    The Wheel in Cheese

    August 10, 2014

    The Hurt Locker

    May 25, 2013

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Colo(u)r
    1. Sylvester McCoy
    2. Colin Baker
    3. Peter Davison
    4. Tom Baker
    5. Jon Pertwee
    6. View All

    A Studio Film (or rather a film in the studio)

    June 9, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    Fivey at Forty: The First Companion Death of 1982

    March 16, 2022

    Roomba With a Prenumbra

    March 1, 2022

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    Hurt So Good: A Doctor and His Umbrella

    April 27, 2023

    … And All That Yaz

    November 16, 2022

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    The Inevitable Adric

    July 14, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    Destiny of the Costume Closet

    September 1, 2023

    The Inevitable Adric

    July 14, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    McGann Before McGann

    May 26, 2023

    The Warrior Before Time

    May 19, 2023

    Purple Shag Carpet

    May 11, 2023

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Monochrome
    1. Patrick Troughton
    2. William Hartnell
    3. View All

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (60→55)

    September 15, 2023

    When Patrick (almost) Met Ian

    August 25, 2023

    When Patrick Met Verity

    August 11, 2023

    More For Letts

    July 25, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023

    When Patrick Met Verity

    August 11, 2023

    The TARDIS whirled on it’s way again…

    December 23, 2022

    Stotz v. Stotz: A Love Story

    October 1, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (48→43)

    September 28, 2023

    Toyz in the Good

    September 24, 2023

    60 for 60 — The Greatest Stories in Doctor Who History — (54→49)

    September 20, 2023
  • Tour du Jour
    • On This Day
    • The House of Holmes
    • 50 for 50
    • The Randomizer
    • THT Rand-o-pix of the Day
    • The Feast of Steven
    • Tour Notz
    • The Watcher
    • Contact the Tour
Doctor Who's Tragical History TourDoctor Who's Tragical History Tour
Tour Updates HD Re-classic-ation Patrick Troughton

A Hill Not Worth Dying On

By -- DSWAugust 16, 202003 Mins Read
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Sometimes eras of Doctor Who production turn on sharp and pointed elbows, easily seen by fan and casual viewer alike.  The change from black and white to color is an obvious example of this,  Not only was Season 7 a noted departure in visual quality, but tone as well, from Patrick Troughton’s last go-round, and was more austere as an entirely earth-bound series inevitably had to be.

More often though changes in the production team, and therefore the overall product, are more subtle.  The Tour doubts that even most hard-core fans can delineate the differences between Verity Lambert’s sensibilities and those of Innes Lloyd later on.  For Tom Baker the move from Barry Letts to Philip Hinchcliffe was noticeable with the buffer story Robot serving as a bridge, but not really all that profound tonally.  The Tour would argue that the ‘Hinchcliffe era’ lingered on past Season 14 before sputtering out in Image of the Fendahl.  That’s down to Robert Holmes’ influence as much as anything else, but the notice that change was on its way was served with The Invisible Enemy.

As mentioned last time, but often enough by the Tour to be sure, the shift to John Nathan-Turner from Graham Williams producership was one of these more purposeful and abrupt turns in the classic canon, indeed it was, probably given JN-T’s very long tenure with Doctor Who, the last such tonal shift for the classic series, but that didn’t mean embers from the previous regime had been fully excised.  That last gasp was manifested in Meglos.

There’s no sugarcoating this.  Meglos is a mess.  A talking cactus, a strangely bizarre three-piece suited gent, a coat-obsessed vandal in Frederick Treves’ Brotadac, and the third leg of the Doctor Who all-CSO trilogy along with The Claws of Axos and Underworld.  Just as with The Leisure Hive, even with generous overruns between episodes, overall underruns it’s allotted time and yet manages to overstay it’s welcome at the same time. Not even the presence of Jacqueline Hill can rescue it.

There’s a neat little game for the Anglophilic to spot when watching British TV, especially long-running series, to see someone from the 60’s or 70’s popping up 30 or 40 years later in something else entirely.  For Doctor Who this means catching classic series actors in nu-Who such as Lynda Baron going from The Gunfighters all the way to Closing Time or Mark Eden from Marco Polo to An Adventure in Space and Time.  Within the bounds of the classic series only Nick Courtney had a longer run to be sure, and if you don’t count Jean Marsh (and the Tour doesn’t) in the ‘companion class’ then Jacqueline Hill holds the record, at 15 years, between being a companion and appearing elsewhere in the series (or vice-versa).

It’s a nice curiosity, but not enough to save Meglos even for long-term fans.  Not even close.

Any story with this much CSO in it never caps well, and the HD Re-classic-ation of Meglos only magnifies this, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth looking at, does it?

Short Hops:
  • When Patrick Met Verity
    When Patrick Met Verity
  • The Differences of Minor Narcissism
    The Differences of Minor Narcissism
  • The Beginnings of Colour ... In Glorious Black and White!
    The Beginnings of Colour ... In Glorious Black and White!
Tour Updates Nick Courtney HD Re-classic-ation The Invisible Enemy Closing Time Jacqueline Hill Image of the Fendahl The Leisure Hive Meglos The Claws of Axos Underworld The Gunfighters An Adventure in Space and Time Marco Polo Robot Patrick Troughton
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On This Day in Doctor Who History
  • October 4
    • 2014: Kill the Moon
    • 1975: Planet of Evil [2]
    • 1980: Meglos [2]
    • 1986: Mindwarp [1]
    • 1989: Ghost Light [1]
  • October 5
    • 1987: Paradise Towers [1]
    • 1968: The Mind Robber [4]
    • 1988: Remembrance of the Daleks [1]
  • October 6
    • 1979: City of Death [2]
  • October 7
    • 2018: The Woman Who Fell to Earth
    • 1978: The Pirate Planet [2]
    • 1967: The Abominable Snowmen [2]
  • October 8
    • 1977: The Invisible Enemy [2]
    • 1966: The Tenth Planet [1]
  • October 9
    • 1976: The Hand of Fear [2]
    • 1965: Mission to the Unknown

Random Thoughts
New Series, New Look for the Tour
By -- DSWSeptember 19, 2015 Tour Updates 2 Mins Read
The Preacher From the Spit
By -- DSWJuly 24, 2016 Tour Updates 2 Mins Read
These are a WHO of my Favorite Things
By -- DSWDecember 20, 2012 Roundel Roundabouts 1 Min Read

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