Hello everyone and welcome to Sci-Fi Reflections. Come in, make yourselves comfortable. Before I get to talking about Snakedance, I want to bring to your attention a very original, funny, and interesting Doctor Who site I found. It's called Classic Whovian Problems and can be found at classicwhovianproblems.tumblr.com. Its whole purpose is to document the problems that come with being a classic Doctor Who fan. It can be any sort of problem ranging from finding out that the next serial you were going to watch is missing, to being a fan of an unpopular companion, to not having access to a steady supply of good Doctor Who novels. I think it's nearly impossible to understand all of them, just because there is so much classic Who material, but they are all pretty funny, and most of them I feel are true. It's amazing to think there could be miles, mountains, and oceans between myself and the person who submitted a problem, but yet we are able to relate with one another on a very personal level concerning a very specific topic.
Since I enjoyed the site so much when I visited, I decided to whip up a few ideas and submit them (which you can do at any time. There are hardly any guidelines to submitting a Whovian problem, and as long as it's interesting and original they'll take it!). I was very excited when he published some of them, so excited that I've decided to share them with you, my beloved readers. Although the author of Whovian Problems does not say who submitted the problems, I give you my word that I am the sole creator of these, and not just stealing random ones I found on the site, and claiming them as my own. Here are a few....
Since I enjoyed the site so much when I visited, I decided to whip up a few ideas and submit them (which you can do at any time. There are hardly any guidelines to submitting a Whovian problem, and as long as it's interesting and original they'll take it!). I was very excited when he published some of them, so excited that I've decided to share them with you, my beloved readers. Although the author of Whovian Problems does not say who submitted the problems, I give you my word that I am the sole creator of these, and not just stealing random ones I found on the site, and claiming them as my own. Here are a few....
Problem 247 is referring to the unseemly betrayal of Captain Yate's in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (the reason for this sudden change of attitude is never completely explained, at least, in my opinion), and problem 238 is referring of course to gorgeous Professor Jones in The Green Death. I had a lot of fun writing these up, and I would urge you to visit the site. It is becoming more difficult to think up problems because quite a few have been published already; as you can see my problems are in the mid-200's, so if you have a good idea spring into your head submit it as soon as possible. The submitting process is easy, and the author takes care of the clip art. All you need to do is submit the idea, and he will take care of the rest. It's that easy!
Now, onto Snakedance. I liked this serial quite a bit, more than the serial when the Mara was first introduced, Kinda. The production didn't wow me, and the sets were pretty straightforward, but the writing and story were superb, which if you are watching classic Doctor Who, is what you need to focus on. To sum things up, here are the three main points that I took away from Snakedance...
Now, onto Snakedance. I liked this serial quite a bit, more than the serial when the Mara was first introduced, Kinda. The production didn't wow me, and the sets were pretty straightforward, but the writing and story were superb, which if you are watching classic Doctor Who, is what you need to focus on. To sum things up, here are the three main points that I took away from Snakedance...
1) Janet Fielding does a pretty good job of acting possessed.
As I mentioned before, this story is driven by the dialogue and writing. There are relatively few special effects, and the sets are plain. Ergo, whether the story swims or sinks is based solely on the quality of the writing and the actors' acting ability. The actors who are most important to this story are the Doctor (of course), who is desperately trying to make people realize the danger that the return of the Mara represents, and Tegan, who plays the part of the antagonist being possessed by the Mara. Lon and Tanha his mother are necessary characters, but their performances are not as important in defining the story as the Doctor's and Tegan's. Ultimately, the drama of the story is wrapped around them.
Peter Davison does his normal superb job playing the Doctor. What I was more surprised and impressed with was Janet Fielding's acting performance as a possessed Tegan. In Snakedance Tegan is possessed for most of the story and acts entirely as the antagonist. This could easily have been a complete disaster; if the Mara's possession of Tegan was not convincing, then the whole story would fall apart. Not only does Fielding pull this challenging role off, she does a good job, even making a handful of pretty decent evil laughs. Fielding is genuinely frightening as the Mara, and is the main reason this story works so well.
As I mentioned before, this story is driven by the dialogue and writing. There are relatively few special effects, and the sets are plain. Ergo, whether the story swims or sinks is based solely on the quality of the writing and the actors' acting ability. The actors who are most important to this story are the Doctor (of course), who is desperately trying to make people realize the danger that the return of the Mara represents, and Tegan, who plays the part of the antagonist being possessed by the Mara. Lon and Tanha his mother are necessary characters, but their performances are not as important in defining the story as the Doctor's and Tegan's. Ultimately, the drama of the story is wrapped around them.
Peter Davison does his normal superb job playing the Doctor. What I was more surprised and impressed with was Janet Fielding's acting performance as a possessed Tegan. In Snakedance Tegan is possessed for most of the story and acts entirely as the antagonist. This could easily have been a complete disaster; if the Mara's possession of Tegan was not convincing, then the whole story would fall apart. Not only does Fielding pull this challenging role off, she does a good job, even making a handful of pretty decent evil laughs. Fielding is genuinely frightening as the Mara, and is the main reason this story works so well.
2) Martin Clunes is probably given the worst costume ever seen in Doctor Who.
I'm sorry, but I immediately noticed the earring on his left ear the costume team had him wear, and thought it looked horrible. Unfortunately, little did I know that things would only get worse. If you look to your left, which I am sure you already have, you will see probably the worst costume ever designed by a production team. Let's take a look at this starting from the top; you obviously have some sun imagery with the hat, but it also has a big blue hexagonal stone in the center. Is this supossed to resemble the Great Mind's Eye? You have the unorthodox earring on the left ear, of course, but then you also have red elbow-high gloves, which may I say, looks bad. The motive for the gloves is to cover up the snake symbol on his arm, but surely they could have done something more fashionable than that? Then he is wearing a white dress essentially, with blue clouds on it with yellow trim and a yellow belt. I believe the outfit goes to the knees, and to finish things off he is wearing sandals. Who's going to be the first person to stand up and tell me this costume doesn't look silly?.....
I'm sorry, but I immediately noticed the earring on his left ear the costume team had him wear, and thought it looked horrible. Unfortunately, little did I know that things would only get worse. If you look to your left, which I am sure you already have, you will see probably the worst costume ever designed by a production team. Let's take a look at this starting from the top; you obviously have some sun imagery with the hat, but it also has a big blue hexagonal stone in the center. Is this supossed to resemble the Great Mind's Eye? You have the unorthodox earring on the left ear, of course, but then you also have red elbow-high gloves, which may I say, looks bad. The motive for the gloves is to cover up the snake symbol on his arm, but surely they could have done something more fashionable than that? Then he is wearing a white dress essentially, with blue clouds on it with yellow trim and a yellow belt. I believe the outfit goes to the knees, and to finish things off he is wearing sandals. Who's going to be the first person to stand up and tell me this costume doesn't look silly?.....
3) The Mara deserved to be in another story.
If you read my two-part blog post on the Mara after watching Kinda, it will probably not surprise you that I find the Mara to be one of the most interesting enemies in Doctor Who. Symbolically, snakes have been the representation of evil since the dawn of mankind, and it is interesting that when the Mara truly gains a foothold in our world he takes on the form of a snake. However, this is not the most terrifying aspect of the Mara. The most terrifying characteristic of the Mara is that it is a psychological enemy rather than one of flesh and blood. In both Mara stories, the Doctor defeats it on a psychological level as opposed to stabbing or shooting it. It has been said that the most frightening thing is that which one does not understand, and although Snakedance revealed much about the origins of the Mara, it is still a mysterious and vague creature.
Although I liked the ending of Snakedance, the solution seemed slightly too straightforward. The Doctor takes the The Great Mind's Eye out of its resting place, and because of this, he is certain the Mara has been destroyed forever. How could he be so sure that the Mara did not retreat back into Tegan's mind like in Kinda? Upon researching the matter, I discovered that a third story was to be written, but because of production problems, and that Snakedance went over budget, the idea was abandoned. Originally, they must have had a ending that allowed for the possibility of the Mara returning (which I guess is still possible, despite the Doctor's confidence), but when the story was cancelled, they hastily rewrote it, which accounts for the ending being simple. I was disappointed because I would have loved to see Peter Davison battle the Mara once more, or perhaps Slyvester McCoy. Unfortunately though, at least in the classic series, the story of the Mara stops at the end of Snakedance.
If you read my two-part blog post on the Mara after watching Kinda, it will probably not surprise you that I find the Mara to be one of the most interesting enemies in Doctor Who. Symbolically, snakes have been the representation of evil since the dawn of mankind, and it is interesting that when the Mara truly gains a foothold in our world he takes on the form of a snake. However, this is not the most terrifying aspect of the Mara. The most terrifying characteristic of the Mara is that it is a psychological enemy rather than one of flesh and blood. In both Mara stories, the Doctor defeats it on a psychological level as opposed to stabbing or shooting it. It has been said that the most frightening thing is that which one does not understand, and although Snakedance revealed much about the origins of the Mara, it is still a mysterious and vague creature.
Although I liked the ending of Snakedance, the solution seemed slightly too straightforward. The Doctor takes the The Great Mind's Eye out of its resting place, and because of this, he is certain the Mara has been destroyed forever. How could he be so sure that the Mara did not retreat back into Tegan's mind like in Kinda? Upon researching the matter, I discovered that a third story was to be written, but because of production problems, and that Snakedance went over budget, the idea was abandoned. Originally, they must have had a ending that allowed for the possibility of the Mara returning (which I guess is still possible, despite the Doctor's confidence), but when the story was cancelled, they hastily rewrote it, which accounts for the ending being simple. I was disappointed because I would have loved to see Peter Davison battle the Mara once more, or perhaps Slyvester McCoy. Unfortunately though, at least in the classic series, the story of the Mara stops at the end of Snakedance.