Hello everyone and welcome back to Sci-Fi Reflections!! Today’s topic is The E-Space Trilogy, which is comprised of the episodes Full Circle, State of Decay,and Warrior’s Gate. This trilogy marks the last story arc before Tom Baker leaves the show and releases his stranglehold-like grip he has had on the character of Doctor Who for seven seasons. I wonder if at the time of filming the producers and writers knew that Tom Baker was leaving the show because the trilogy seems pretty intense with lots of action, drama, characters entering and leaving the TARDIS, and so forth. Perhaps they wanted to give him a last hurrah before he set off for new opportunities. But before we discuss these finer points of The E-Space Trilogy, below I have released the results for the most attractive male companion to date poll. And the winner is…
Ian Chesterton……36.3%
Ben Jackson……27.3%
Brigadier…..18.2%
Jamie McCrimon…..9.1%
Adric…..9.1%
Steven Taylor, Harry Sullivan…..0%
Ian Chesterton……36.3%
Ben Jackson……27.3%
Brigadier…..18.2%
Jamie McCrimon…..9.1%
Adric…..9.1%
Steven Taylor, Harry Sullivan…..0%
Don't look so surprised Ian! We all knew it was going to be a fight to the death, but you did just fine, overcoming Ben Jackson and company by a comfortable 9%. The Brigadier came in at a respectable third; you can’t ignore a guy who can pull off a mustache that confidently.
Now, onto E-Space. The E-Space Trilogy is only the second real story arc in Doctor Who, the first being the Key to Time series. Even though the stories are only loosely connected, it makes more sense to remember the overall plot of the story arc, rather than viewing these three stories as a bumbling journey from one place to another like the Doctor usually does in non-story arc episodes. So looking at the E-Space Trilogy from this perspective, I came up with three important bullet points....
1) The production people did a really good job with both the sets and costume designs. These sets were as good as any I have seen in Doctor Who. All of the stories were nicely done, with sets ranging from a riverside settlement with river fruits, to a throne room for an evil king and queen, to the inside of the spaceship in Warrior’s Gate. Doctor Who is well known for having a limited budget, and sometimes you can easily tell that certain props are just household items spray-painted silver to give it that "outer space feel", but, in the case of the E-Space Trilogy the production people were on the top of their game.
2) K-9 and Romana needed to go. It is sad to say, but it's true. In the case of K-9, he had outgrown his usefulness long ago. Personally, I liked him in the beginning. He and Leela paired up nicely, and he had attributes that made him unique as a character. Even though he was mechanical, he had a nice personality, and although he wasn't designed to be a important character, he still had his own nice niche in the Doctor Who team. Starting maybe in the Key to Time season, he began to get less screen time, making one wonder if he going to stay on much longer, but yet the writers never let him go. It seemed like they were deliberately thinking up ways in which to limit his influence on the story, but yet for whatever reason, they didn't want to get rid of him entirely. Seriously, how many times does he run out of power, or is asked to stay in the TARDIS at the beginning of the episode? Why keep a character around, but refuse for him to be involved in the story?
Now, onto E-Space. The E-Space Trilogy is only the second real story arc in Doctor Who, the first being the Key to Time series. Even though the stories are only loosely connected, it makes more sense to remember the overall plot of the story arc, rather than viewing these three stories as a bumbling journey from one place to another like the Doctor usually does in non-story arc episodes. So looking at the E-Space Trilogy from this perspective, I came up with three important bullet points....
1) The production people did a really good job with both the sets and costume designs. These sets were as good as any I have seen in Doctor Who. All of the stories were nicely done, with sets ranging from a riverside settlement with river fruits, to a throne room for an evil king and queen, to the inside of the spaceship in Warrior’s Gate. Doctor Who is well known for having a limited budget, and sometimes you can easily tell that certain props are just household items spray-painted silver to give it that "outer space feel", but, in the case of the E-Space Trilogy the production people were on the top of their game.
2) K-9 and Romana needed to go. It is sad to say, but it's true. In the case of K-9, he had outgrown his usefulness long ago. Personally, I liked him in the beginning. He and Leela paired up nicely, and he had attributes that made him unique as a character. Even though he was mechanical, he had a nice personality, and although he wasn't designed to be a important character, he still had his own nice niche in the Doctor Who team. Starting maybe in the Key to Time season, he began to get less screen time, making one wonder if he going to stay on much longer, but yet the writers never let him go. It seemed like they were deliberately thinking up ways in which to limit his influence on the story, but yet for whatever reason, they didn't want to get rid of him entirely. Seriously, how many times does he run out of power, or is asked to stay in the TARDIS at the beginning of the episode? Why keep a character around, but refuse for him to be involved in the story?
Romana's character, on the other hand, overall was disappointing. Actually, now that I think of it, both Romana's were disappointing; the first started off well, but her influence waned as the season went along. On the other hand, Lalla Ward, the actress who played the second Romana, just never got it going. Her character felt slightly shallow, and jumbled, possibly because, I think, the stories were not shot in the order in which they appeared. She got off to a bad start with the very controversial regeneration scene, had a very bland performance in Destiny of the Daleks (although I did like her feminine version of the Doctor's outfit), and she wasn't able to right the ship from there on out. She has a lot of technobabble lines, and didn't feel like a character in her own right. Thankfully, Nyssa and Tegan will soon join the Doctor's company, and be able to help out in the companion's department.
3) State of Decay is one of the best Fourth Doctor's stories. Tom Baker stories tend to drag and blur together after a while. Seven seasons would be a good length for any show, in its own right, much less the time spent on a show by one character. Yet despite being one of his last stories, State of Decay really stands out as a quintessential Doctor Who story. It has a nice gothic feel to it, a throw-back to early Tom Baker stories like The Brain of Moribus or Pyramids of Mars. The characters all full-fill their roles very nicely; Romana does a nice job of being scared and filling the role of mediator between the Doctor and the audience while also adding wit and intelligence when needed. K-9 is fairly anonymous (again), but he makes up for it at the end by leading the villagers assault on the vampire's castle.
3) State of Decay is one of the best Fourth Doctor's stories. Tom Baker stories tend to drag and blur together after a while. Seven seasons would be a good length for any show, in its own right, much less the time spent on a show by one character. Yet despite being one of his last stories, State of Decay really stands out as a quintessential Doctor Who story. It has a nice gothic feel to it, a throw-back to early Tom Baker stories like The Brain of Moribus or Pyramids of Mars. The characters all full-fill their roles very nicely; Romana does a nice job of being scared and filling the role of mediator between the Doctor and the audience while also adding wit and intelligence when needed. K-9 is fairly anonymous (again), but he makes up for it at the end by leading the villagers assault on the vampire's castle.
As I said earlier, both the costumes and the sets for this story are wonderful, and even the miniatures, such as the one of the citadel and town (seen on the right), are good compared to other Doctor Who stories. Add all of this to the fact that this is probably one of most original and interesting plots we've had in a while, and you've got one of the best Doctor Who episodes we have had in a long, long time.
Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas to all. I don't think I will have another blog up before Christmas, but if I do, we will probably be talking Logopolis or maybe even Castravalva. Personally, I can't wait to get to Peter Davidson. Tom Baker has been great, but Doctor Who needs a change, and hopefully, Peter Davidson will be it. Until next time!!
Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas to all. I don't think I will have another blog up before Christmas, but if I do, we will probably be talking Logopolis or maybe even Castravalva. Personally, I can't wait to get to Peter Davidson. Tom Baker has been great, but Doctor Who needs a change, and hopefully, Peter Davidson will be it. Until next time!!