I don’t know about you, but I love the stone circles that litter the English countryside. There’s something really interesting about this ancient architectural form that engages and excites my imagination. I know I’m not alone in this, and if you are such a person, Stones of Blood may appeal to you for that reason.

This four part serial originally aired October 28 to November 18, 1978. It starred Tom Baker and Mary Tamm. I could also mention John Leeson as the voice of K-9 and that it was written by David Fisher.

Strange things are afoot at a stone circle (think Stonehenge), and the Doctor and Romana proceed to investigate, a normal setup for Doctor Who. It’s not too much of a spoiler to tell you the stones have come to life and require a blood sacrifice for survival. There’s even a great scene where they find a camping couple to feed on. Yum Yum. What makes this so good though is the guest stars, few as they are, they are the ingredient that makes the first two episodes of the serial so good. Unfortunately, the story takes a turn, and goes off in a completely different direction.

As I have mentioned before, at three times during Graham Williams tenure as producer, the villain (or one of them) was a woman with weird makeup, and this is the second of those. I can’t get into guessing which of these three is the worst, because they are all bad in their own way.

Thankfully, in this case, it’s a minor detour before a more major one. I mentioned how much I like the set up in the first two episodes, but I’m less fond of the odd place this story goes toward the end. Without being spoilerish, I give kudos to Mr. Fisher for taking the tale in an unexpected direction, but question wether that direction improved the serial in any way. My obvious opinion is that it doesn’t, but I could see other people liking the silly comedic elements and overall surprise.

Technically, there’s a lot to admire about Stones of Blood. Unlike most Doctor Who stories, where location footage is on film and studio footage is on tape, this was shot entirely on tape (one wishes they’d saved the expense for a better story). Secondly, there’s a really good set that cost a lot of money in the latter part of the story. Even though I have trouble connecting the interior/exterior, as I did with the bridge of the Pirate Planet, I’m going to hand it to them for making something really special for this episode. Of course, you may have to listen to the commentary (like I did) to understand why it was so different. But even a novel set can’t save weak story and misplaced humor. Some may like it, but I suspect most will not. One thing I can guarantee though is that you will, at some point, be surprised at the turn things take. To me it’s the only redeeming thing about how this story closes.

In conclusion, if I could give two reviews, I’d give a strong recommendation for the first half and a hesitant one for the latter half. Of course, if you are watching the Key to Time season, you can’t miss this one, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed either, except in wishing they could have kept up the quality from the beginning to the end.

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

Article By: Tribrix

Tom Baker returns as the Doctor and Louise Jameson as Leela in The Invisible Enemy. A four part serial which originally aired in January and February, 1977. It introduces K-9, the Doctors robotic Dog companion, but that is probably the only important detail to mention before the review proper. K-9 is, in retrospect, a clear R2-D2 ripoff. Granted, he has his own charm at times, but clearly the production felt the need to provide a cute robot companion, and then to make him a continuing character. K-9 is devisive among Doctor Who fans, but I could take him or leave him either way, not a big deal to me. In some ways, he breaks the show, by giving the Doctor easy access to too much weaponry, as one of the best things about Doctor Who is the lead character’s ability to get out of a jam with nothing but the junk laying around him. I’m at a loss to state K-9′s positive qualities, I don’t think he really adds much to the show at all. Enough about that, let’s review the story at hand.

Who knew white feathers could be scary? Infected by the ‘Swarm’ the Doctor lands the Tardis on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn, at a refueling station there, the infection continues. Thankfully, Leela is immune to the infection and is able to help. Clones of the her and the Doctor are miniaturized and sent into the Doctor’s body to try and neutralize the nucleus of the disease, but the plan backfires, as the nucleus itself escapes in place of the clones.

Borrowing from both Fantastic Voyage and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Invisible Enemy is an ambitious effort on the part of producer Graham Williams and crew, but they are (mostly) up to the task. Despite the lofty aims, this production mostly succeeds, however, certain failures are notable.

This is probably the first space bourne production made following the release of Star Wars, and unfortunately, it shows. For example there is a ray gun battle in a white hall way, very similar to the one that opens Star Wars IV, but in Doctor Who, it is so slow moving, it’s obviously from a different era. Also, Invisible Enemy features plenty of flying space ship porn, for those who like such things, but as with the ray gun battle, it’s so slow and boring, you really can’t wait for it to end. Those are some of the down sides.

On the Upsides, Invisible Enemy features some decent sets for the interior of the Doctor’s body, which are very reminiscent of the Fantastic Voyage movie, and the outward effects of the disease are quite creepy (did I mention the white feathers?) Once a person has been infected, these white feathers seem to grow around the eyes, looking kind of like fluffy goggles, but don’t let that description fool you. It’s not a pleasant sight and kind of makes my skin crawl just thinking about it again.

Invisible Enemy is better than average for Doctor Who. It has it’s weak points, but otherwise, it’s quite a good story worth watching, if, for no other reason, than for the introduction of K-9 and the demonstration that white feathers can be scary.

*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.