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davros42 · 10 months

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Rewatching Classic Doctor Who, some episodes I haven't seen in years, some of the animated reconstructions I haven't seen at all.

And some episodes I haven't seen since last week.

The Daleks (now in glorious Dalekolour™)

I'll warn you up front, I'm generally not a fan of colorizations/special editions/re-edits so expect a bit of a grumpy post. But I'll try to be fair, I promise.

The episode starts with some extremely dodgy animation instead of the original linking material. It also starts with the intro in color, switches to black and white (apart from the credits which are in color) and then fades in the color and... why? An unnecessary and distracting flourish. The Wizard of Oz did this better nearly 90 years ago.

The colorization itself is quite good, I assume they were working off production documents (the Daleks are in their original colors, of course) but regardless the whole palette is a good match for SciFi film and TV of the era, as opposed to something more muted, moody, or modern. Compare and contrast with Forbidden Planet (1956), Queen of Outer Space (1958), or Star Trek (1966). The upconversion to HD video (and 50FPS?) went as well as it could, some parts of the episode are soft focus with lots of film grain but so was the original.

The music and sound design however is terribly distracting. Not an improvement on the original in any way, it's wildly out of place both stylistically and technically, at points directly in competition with the dialogue. Also, the Daleks received extensive re-writes and in some cases were re-voiced by Nick Briggs which is.. odd. I do have to admit enjoying the inclusion of the cloister bell in the initial fluid link sabotage scene, however, even if was a retcon.

Some of the re-editing was ok, some was intrusive. Constant cutaways to b-roll as if you were likely to forget something that happened 5 to 10 minutes earlier (or just might get bored watching a take longer than a minute) were a major distraction. Some of the digital additions, for instance adding footage to the Daleks' screens, worked well. Others, like William Hartnell "dodging" a Dalek beam that hadn't been there 60 years ago were forced. The digitally animated TARDIS dematerialization is actually worse than the original analog video mix effect. The pace is extremely quick now, much of the tension and suspense of the original story is lost along with the "Dals" origin of the Daleks, for better or for worse. But all in all, it's all right I suppose. I wonder if I would have been easier on it if I hadn't just watched the original.

The "And then the story continues.. for 60 years" teaser was nicely done. A great mix of moments from the First Doctor's stories including some tidbits from missing or rarely seen stories. Hat's off to whoever got the clip of the Beatles from The Chase in there.

Next up: The Sensorites, for real this time.

#doctor who #classic doctor who #first doctor #ian chesterton #barbara wright #william hartnell #carole ann ford #jacqueline hill #susan foreman #william russell #doctor who rewatch #the daleks #serial B #Ted Turner must pay for his crimes #colourized #colorized

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thegirlwiththeblush · 14 days

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Nature Offers A Violence

First Doctor, Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright

Word Count: 1.9k

Fandom: Doctor Who (1963)

Loose Song Inspiration: Blood Upon the Snow by Hozier

Summary: While decluttering her grandfather's closet, Susan discovers an unusual creature, and chaos ensues.

a/n: Special thanks, as always, to my dearest @vorsdany for sharing the prompt with me and then proofreading my absolute chaos; thank you, my love! I hope this fic crosses some Classic Who fans' pages!

Susan liked to consider herself a fairly tidy person. It wasn’t often that she and her grandfather were home from their travels in the TARDIS, and she liked to use that time to ensure that everything was spick and span, as the place could become a bit of a mess over time. The Doctor did not seem to care much for cleanliness, preferring to work on the engineering of his vehicle, somewhat lazily leaving the organization to his attentive granddaughter.

One day, the TARDIS team had returned home for a break in their travels, and Ian and Barbara had gone out to pick up some groceries for a picnic. The Doctor was in the TARDIS fiddling with a joystick that was getting jammed in place when he heard Susan skipping into the console room, humming a merry tune.

“Grandfather!” she said cheerily, halting directly behind him.

“Yes, what is it, Susan? I’m rather busy at the moment,” he replied without looking up from the console. He grunted in frustration when the stick remained stubbornly in place.

“Oh, I don’t need your help or anything,” she assured him, a sweet smile on her face, even though he couldn’t see. “I was just wondering if maybe I could declutter your closet.”

This made the Doctor look up, blinking a few times in confusion. “My closet?” he echoed. “Whatever’s wrong with my wardrobe?”

“Oh, it’s horrendous, Grandfather,” Susan exclaimed, sheepishly wringing her hands in front of her. “You collect so much on your travels, and it just piles up! I’ve seen it in passing, and... goodness gracious, Grandfather, it’s such a mess!”

The Doctor shook his head slightly before relenting. “Well, all right,” he said, “but I see nothing wrong with having such a large collection.”

“Oh, I won’t be throwing anything away, I promise,” she replied, “not unless I have to. I’m just tidying it up a bit!”

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively as she scampered off, before returning to work on his beloved console.

As Susan entered her grandfather’s expansive closet aboard the TARDIS, she fought not to turn up her nose at the mixed stench of dust, grime, sweat, and... some other unpleasant odour that she couldn’t quite identify. The room, like much of the TARDIS, seemed bigger than the deceptive narrow doorway, extending past the coat rail in the entrance, a large hexagonal space with fluorescent light panels across the ceiling. She carefully stepped around scattered stacks of costumes from all different planets and time periods, glancing around at the musty walls and ceiling with the occasional hook pinned here and there, each holding far more coats and jackets than they should’ve been.

As she sidestepped a pair of extra-large astronaut pants, she heard a muffled squelching sound to her left. She nearly tripped over her own feet trying to scramble away from the source, a pink kimono thrown in a corner; with all the mess around her, she hadn’t noticed an oddly shaped mass shifting underneath it, emitting the strange noises. Tilting her head in confusion, she picked up a discarded coat hanger and tentatively poked the fabric.

Suddenly, a large caterpillar-like creature scrambled out from underneath the kimono, ten or so legs clambering helter-skelter as it continued making the wet, sucking sounds she’d heard. She shrieked and leapt back, collapsing against the wall behind her, yelping once more when what appeared to be its head seemed to turn and face her. “Grandfather!” she squealed, keeping her eyes on the animal. “Grandfather, come quick!”

Moments later, too long for her liking, the Doctor stepped into the room, ducking underneath the coat rail. “What is it, Barbara, didn’t I tell you I’m-” He caught sight of the creature mid-sentence, his eyes widening and posture straightening. “Oh, yes, I see you’ve found the nestrix. It must have escaped from my lab.”

“The nestrix?” Susan asked. Her eyes remained fixed on the creature as she took quick shallow breaths to compose herself.

“Yes, a creature I found on a deserted planet some time ago,” he explained. “I brought it back to my lab to study it, and it must have gotten out of its holding chamber. Perhaps it preferred the warmer climate of the closet here.”

“What are we going to do with it, Grandfather?” Susan cried.

The Doctor’s eyebrows furrowed. “Do with it?” he repeated. “The creature’s entirely harmless, my dear, couldn’t even prick you, there’s no need to do anything about it.”

During this banter, the nestrix had made its way towards the pair, its long, slick back glistening with a sticky substance under the lights. Its skin was a mesmerizing ripple of colour, different shades of purple, blue, and green undulating from its head to its rear. Its short, spindly legs drummed across the floor as it shifted slowly forward. The substance that gave it sheen seemed to be leaking out at an increasing rate.

“The nestrix prefers solitude in humid or warm climates, and is typically hermaphroditic,” the Doctor continued, tugging slightly on his coat as he stood like a proud orator. “There were no other creatures of any kind left on its planet, so I do wonder how it would’ve interacted with-”

A forceful jet of murky sludge burst out of the nestrix, narrowly missing Susan and hitting the wall beside her. Shrieking in fright, Susan turned to see a gaping burned hole in the wall, sizzling as it rapidly corroded.

“... Well, it appears my studies were not entirely thorough, and I think it best we leave now,” the Doctor amended, before quickly pulling Susan up off the floor by the hand and dragging her back under the coat rail, soon followed by another burst of the sludge that came dangerously close to her legs.

They dashed out of the closet and backed up against the opposite wall, Susan struggling to catch her breath. As they stared at the doorway, waiting for the nestrix to follow, the TARDIS door opened and closed, and the familiar voices of Ian and Barbara drifted towards them.

“Ian!” the Doctor yelled upon hearing them. “Quick, grab the fire extinguisher! It’s behind the panel under the console!”

The chatter from the TARDIS entrance ceased. “You got it, Doctor!” Ian called. They could only just hear Barbara murmuring something about wondering what was going on.

“A fire extinguisher?” Susan questioned in panic, still watching the closet doorway.

“Yes, well, we don’t have many other options right now,” the Doctor responded, his eyes widening as the nestrix finally appeared. “If you have any suggestions, they’d be much appreciated!”

The Doctor’s companions raced into the room, Ian brandishing the fire extinguisher like a holy grail while Barbara watched in confusion. “Here you are, Doctor!”

“Yes, thank you for your haste, Ian!” the Doctor replied, taking the extinguisher with slightly shaky hands.

“I’ve learned not to question your urgent requests,” Ian replied, his lips quirking up slightly, before glancing around the room. “What seems to be the trouble?” His eyes landed on the nestrix before the Doctor could answer, and he staggered back slightly. “Good heavens! Doctor, what is that thing?”

“It’s a nestrix, my boy,” the Doctor said, mustering as much calmness into his tone as possible. “There’s no time to explain further, but no need to worry, this should sort the creature out!”

“Why, it looks sort of beautiful, doesn’t it?” Barbara mentioned.

The Doctor shrugged as he undid the hose from the fire extinguisher, watching as the nestrix inched menacingly towards them. “Yes, well, I thought so too until about a minute ago.”

An elongated appendage slithered out from beneath the nestrix’s lower abdomen, coiling slightly as if in preparation to strike. The four of them stood agape.

Susan huddled closer to her grandfather. “Grandfather... is that...?”

Ian grimaced. “I think it’s...”

The Doctor, who’d hesitated in preparing the extinguisher, finally composed himself and hoisted it up to better his grasp on it. “Well, I suppose that’s why they’re hermaphroditic.”

“That’s what it fired at us with?!” Susan exclaimed, but the Doctor wasted no more time, blasting the nestrix with the extinguisher hose.

The white, powdery stream burst out, shrouding the overgrown caterpillar, and the four of them stood waiting breathlessly. Within seconds, another eruption of sludge launched at them, landing on the wall behind them as they dodged to either side.

“What in the world?!” Barbara cried.

“It looks like this creature can only be defeated by force,” the Doctor declared, wielding the extinguisher in front of him in a threatening manner. “Everyone stay back!” He advanced, trying to circle away from the nestrix’s appendage as it followed his movement.

“Doctor, be careful!” Ian followed, his arms held out in front of him in defence. “You’re bound to get hit! I’ll distract it!”

“Well, then, get to it!” the Doctor said, before slamming the extinguisher down on the nestrix’s head. He yelled in pain as the extinguisher practically bounced off of the nestrix’s apparently impenetrable exoskeleton. Ian hesitated, then began running at the creature while screaming and yelling. The nestrix turned to him, while the Doctor reared back, preparing to strike again.

Meanwhile, Susan tapped Barbara on the shoulder, gesturing to the console room. “Did you leave the groceries by the door?”

Barbara nodded. “Yes, but what does that-”

“Follow me!” With that, Susan grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the entrance.

The Doctor continued striking the nestrix with the extinguisher in vain, while Ian grabbed a coat hanger that lay in the closet doorway and attempted to pierce the creature with it, all this while the appendage continued to fire at them at random. Just as the Doctor was about to blast it with the fire extinguisher once more, Susan appeared behind him holding tightly to a popsicle. Taking a deep breath, she leaped forward, grabbed the nestrix’s member, and stuffed the popsicle in the hole.

A loud screeching pierced the air as the icy treat melted down into the appendage; the alien writhed and flailed in a desperate attempt to escape the cold. The four of them stepped back, Susan grinning in relief and glee; the nestrix’s legs gave way and it collapsed with a final heave.

“Susan, that was brilliant!” Ian said, patting her shoulder proudly. “How did you know to do that?”

“Grandfather said that the nestrix liked warm climates, so I knew only the cold could stop it!” Susan beamed up at him.

“Then why didn’t the cold of the extinguisher work?” Barbara asked.

“I suppose that’s the work of the exoskeleton,” the Doctor surmised. “That was very clever, Susan, attacking both its Achilles’ heel and its weapon!”

Susan allowed herself a small smirk. “I suppose decluttering the closet wasn’t such a bad idea after all, was it, Grandfather?”

Ian and Barbara laughed, and the Doctor rolled his eyes, although the corners of his mouth twitched a little. “Come along, now,” he said, “let’s make a pit stop at the nestrix’s home planet before it freezes to death. I suppose now we know why it was otherwise uninhabited. Fascinating creature, indeed.”

As the four made their way back to the console room, the Doctor remorsefully muttered something about wishing he’d had more time to study the alien caterpillar. Ian, Barbara, and Susan merely grinned at each other and giggled as they followed, leaving the powerless nestrix, the melting popsicle, and the utterly dishevelled closet behind.

#doctor who #doctor who fic #the doctor #classic who #classic doctor who #doctor who 1963 #susan foreman #ian chesterton #barbara wright #aliens #tardis #first doctor #william hartnell #william russell #carole ann ford #jacqueline hill #side note i love ian chesterton #fanfic

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