'Doctor Who: City of Death' (1979)

It feels like ages since I last did a 'Doctor Who' post (actually, it's only been a few weeks) so while I try and find a little time to watch 'Moon Knight', today, lets take a look at 'City of Death'; one of those stories that has stuck in my head to the point where I was positive that I'd already posted about it here. I went back and checked and... nope, no post here. That's 'City of Death' for me, a really memorable story that always has me thinking that I watched it more recently than I actually did. Lets talk about that...

Whilst on holiday in Paris, the Doctor and Romana discover that something is amiss with time. Who is conducting the secret time experiments, and what connects them to the Mona Lisa? The answers lead them to discover a secret that has been hidden for the last four hundred million years...

Half the reason that I do these posts is that it's a great excuse to watch some old favourite 'Doctor Who' stories, as well as hunting out a few that I haven't seen yet (and discovering whether they will become old favourites in the future). It's like hanging out with an old mate for the evening; you don't have to do much, just enjoy each other's company. And that is just what it is like watching 'City of Death'. I came to this story pretty late (give me a break, I was only four years old when it was first broadcast and more than likely not up to seeing what Scaroth looked like under his mask) but I love to watch it now and last night was no different. Again, easily in my top ten favourite 'Doctor Who' stories and probably in my top five. I really need to work that list out one day... ;o)

So what's the big deal then...? The threat to the world is there, just like it is in most stories. What really tickles me though is how it is financed by an alien, fragmented across Earth's history, running what I guess you'd call a 'temporal art scam'. That has Douglas Adams all over it and you can see his influence in the script as well with my favourite line being when the Doctor compliments Lady Scarlioni on the violence of her butler :o) And I always enjoy watching Paris go about it's business while the Doctor and Romana are running through it.

What I really enjoy though are how the supporting characters bounce off the Doctor; I'm talking about Julian Glover's Scaroth and Tom Chadbon's Duggan of course, I'm not that fussed about John Cleese's cameo, it's ok but not a highlight. The Doctor really benefits from having someone working with him who isn't all that cerebral and Duggan's reliance on hitting things is help and hindrance in equal measure. It certainly makes for funny moments where the Doctor thinks he has turned a corner, only to have Duggan knock out the 'star witness'...

Julian Glover's Scaroth is just superb though, all urbane menace. I've never been hugely into the fandom, so don't know for sure, but Scaroth has to be one of the classic 'Classic Doctor Who' villains, surely...? Either way, I think he's brilliant.

'Doctor Who' stories are always fun (that's kind of the whole point, at least from where I'm sat) but 'City of Death' is one of the most fun to watch I think. A little bit of 'Douglas Adams sparkle', some great performances and a story that just sparks off its own slightly irreverent energy; you can't ask for a lot more than that.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Mad God' (2021)

Image
It's that time again where Youtube throws me a 'Shudder' advert and I think to myself, 'I'm paying five quid a month for this, I really should watch something, lets give it a go...'   This time round, 'It' was the film 'Mad God' and the trailer was this mad batshit crazy shot of stop-motion horror that was over before I'd had a chance to get my head round it; leaving me pretty unsettled but with no clear idea just why that was... That's all I need sometimes, I was in... It's almost an hour later and, damn, that was grim, bleak and... What the hell just happened? A corroded diving bell descends amidst a ruined city and the Assassin emerges from it to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens. That is about all I can tell you about 'Mad God' and that's only because I had a quick look on IMDB and that was all IMDB could tell me... 'Mad God' is any number of things but it's not
Read more

‘The Long and Hungry Road’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky (Black Library)

Image
After not finishing ‘Witchbringer’ (not the book’s fault, I still think it could be worth your time), I thought I’d change pace a little and go for a short, sharp burst of something instead. Something that would blow a few cobwebs away and wake me up a bit :o) Now in my experience, there’s nothing shorter and sharper than a Warhammer short story so that was the direction of my reading taken care of. And as far as the focus went… I’ve read a few Warhammer tales, in my time, but I’ve never read a tale that looks at the events of the 41st Millennium through the eyes of the rapacious Tyranids. So when I saw ‘The Long and Hungry Road’ on Amazon, it pretty much chose itself. To face a Tyranid invasion is a waking nightmare. The skies darken with spores, your mind echoes with alien screeches, and countless weapon-organisms descend upon you with razor teeth and claws. How much greater would your horror be, to realise that the hive ship above thinks nothing of your fate – that it crushes you
Read more

‘Worms of the Earth’ – Robert E. Howard.

Image
Page Count: 27 Pages I have a copy of this on my shelf and the plan was to pick it up for a read on the way into work this morning. Well, that was the plan but I was half asleep, leaving the house, and totally forgot… No matter though, that’s what the Kindle app is for (although if I’d been a little more awake, I’d have read it off Project Gutenberg instead, you can find ‘Worms of the Earth’ Here ). 99p later and my ‘commute reading’ was secured 😉 I always seem to fall into the trap of just reading ‘Conan’ stuff whenever I fancy reading a little Howard. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just that there’s a lot of his other stories out there that are more than worth your time when you come across them. ‘Worms of the Earth’ is very much one of those tales but you knew that already, didn’t you? You didn’t? You should do something about that, take it from me… After witnessing one of his subjects die at the hands of Roman governor Titus Sulla, Bran Mak Morn vows vengeance on Sulla but at w
Read more