Classic Doctor Who Review – The Sun Makers
Back on my regular beat, I’ll start by saying I really like The Sun Makers, even though I don’t expect a lot of others to do the same owing to a little bit of over-the-top acting on the part of one of the guest stars. This four episode serial aired from 11-26-77 to 12-17-77, and starred Tom Baker and Louise Jameson.
It’s no spoiler to tell you the plot involves engineering suns, stars, that is. Specifically, 6 suns orbiting Pluto to make it habitable. And part of the genius of this story is how much I believe it is set on Pluto with 6 suns, despite a complete lack of any visuals or effects to sell me on that fact. That suspension of disbelief occurs on account of the wonderful writing of the super talented Robert Holmes, my nominee for best Doctor Who writer ever (see my review of Talons of Weng Chiang for more praise of Mr. Holmes)
The other central element in this story is taxes, specifically, a society so over taxed it all but fails to function any longer. Early in the story, one of the residents of Pluto is contemplating suicide on account of his inability to pay the taxes associated with his father’s death, and the inability of a tax official to offer any relief save some advice to work more hours (on a schedule that would kill most of us). The Doctor and Leela arrive, and he is puzzled by this extreme callousness on the part of the government, and it is understanding the mystery of the situation which motivates him to stick around. Along the way he discovers and then joins the rebellion against the larger society of Pluto.
There are elements of Robin Hood in this story, plus 1984, Brave New World, and Metropolis. The visual style barrows from the latter and from Aztec motifs (centrality of the Sun symbol being a major one). I love the look of this episode, and though I said my suspension of disbelief about it being on Pluto did not come from visuals, the visuals here are still very important to the story’s feel.
Sadly, this was the end of Holmes tenure as Script Editor on Doctor Who (similar to a lead writer on an American television show). Fittingly, he left with a bang, as this story seemed to have come out of nowhere, relative to the stories before it. The lack of ‘bug-eyed’ monsters was noticed by many at the time of its airing, and most welcomed it like fresh air. I can see some people criticizing the acting a little, but there is so much humor in the script, it’s hard to take it too seriously. Mostly this is a really fun adventure with anti-tax political commentary (listen up tea baggers) served with laughs that keep it from being a stale sermon. Highly recommended viewing for Who fans and non fans alike, though perhaps unlikely to produce Doctor Who converts.
*About Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British sci-fi show which aired from 1963 – 1989 and again from 2005 to the present. In the UK, it is ubiquitous, watched by boys and girls, men and women, ages 9-99, most people, even if they are not watching, know what’s happening in the show each week. It typically airs in the early evening on Saturdays, right after the sports finish up.
Doctor Who in America is a bit more divisive. Some fans love it, while a lot of people in the genre community can’t stand it. It’s easy, even for fans, to understand this schism, because the show has a lot of rough edges, on account of low budgets and quirky temperament.
In Doctor Who, the main character, the Doctor, wanders the universe through time and space, in a telephone booth called the Tardis, which is larger on in the inside. He cannot completely control the Tardis, and often doesn’t know where he’s going or where he is. He is usually accompanied by a companion or more and they are usually female, though some have been male and/or robotic.
Originally it was to have been a time traveling educational show for kids, but the show’s first producer, Verity Lambert, keen on making a career for herself with a ‘hit’ show, gave it her own spin, downplaying the historical aspect, upping the sci-fi, and gearing it towards all audiences, instead of just children. This tradition continues today.
I am in the process of watching every episode of Doctor Who in chronological order (where those episodes have been destroyed, I am watching one of the recons). I have been at it for a couple of years and expect to be at it a couple more. I may occasionally post reviews out of order, but mostly I’m going to post them as I watch them.
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Tags: dr. who, k-9, louise Jamison, tom baker
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Sun Makers is terrific and the OTT performance of the guest star is absolutely appropriate to the story and makes the story as good as it is. Most of the time, I agree that OTT performances don’t help Doctor Who (Season 17, anyone?), but in this one case I definitely make an exception.