It doesn't seem so long ago that I read the photo-feature that launched the sixteenth season of Dr. Who but it was actually September 1978. It was only a few weeks since a caravan holiday at Lendalfoot, near Girvan, where I'd dreamed up adventures for the Doctor and Rodan (the Gallifreyan girl from The Invasion of Time that spring).
The unforgettable cover of that week's Radio Times
I was feeling the zeitgeist obviously as brainy, snooty and voluptuous Romana was foisted on the Doctor that autumn. Initially playing a Grace Kelly ice princess, Tamm brought a wry humour and an injection of 70s allure to the assistant role. She was rather overshadowed by the winsome Lalla Ward since Tamm only played Romana for one season.I have thought, however, how clever it was to go to the opposite extreme from the intuitive, childlike savage Leela. I saw Mary Tamm relatively recently at Collectormania in Glasgow, where she projected a charming, dotty persona for the fans.
She recorded a season of Fourth Doctor Adventures with Tom Baker and it would be nice if the release date could be brought forward as a tribute. Another icon from my adolescence departed for adventures in another dimension.
Speaking of BF's Fourth Doctor Adventures. Trail of the White Worm is the penultimate story in Season One. It's set in England, 1977 where the Master (the decaying "Traken" version) is feeding up the Dr. Who version of the Lambton Wyrm. But it isn't Bram Stoker that's being pastiched here- it's Hammer's The Reptile.
Unfortunately, it turns out to be a silly, slight runaround- albeit one blessed with a fantastic cast. Rachael Stirling, the daughter of Emma Peel, plays the enigmatic Demesne Furze ( a Hardy-esque name, that). Michael Cochrane turns in a patented upper- crust loony. Lousie Jameson continues to be the star of this series, bringing dignity and intelligence to her work as Leela. It's a pity she's been wasted on so much trivial material. Two out of Five Talmars.
It's a whole month since I listened to The Guardians of Prophecy to drown out the drunk threesome ( and I mean that in the contemporary, vulgar sense) on the train to Aberdeen. This is a sequel to the aforementioned Keeper of Traken from 1981 and another of the Lost Stories. Why anyone should want to fill in any more gaps in the most wretched era of the series is beyond me. An embattled script editor and producer; poorly-paced, double-length episodes; saturation in irrelevant continuity; a callous, pompous Doctor and a whining fake-American companion. The many onerous elements of the misbegotten Colin Baker era bear a horrible resemblance to all that's wrong with US comics.
Despite considerable hurdles, however, this is a vanilla Dr. Who adventure with a rebellion on an alien planet, a sentient computer, lumbering monsters ( multiple Melkurs) and an ancient, revenant villain: the undead Malador! It's a collection of clichés played with great charm- especially loveable crook Ebbko, portrayed by Graham Cole. Three out of Five Talmars.
It was doubly sad to read a DWM retrospective of the late Caroline John's career today, having read about Mary Tamm's death. I have only a slight attachment to Who in 1970- I'd turned over from the grim, Quatermass version to Australia's Phoenix Five.
But the magazine also previewed a graphic novel by Mike Collins and the comic strip took an exciting, mysterious turn. The new character, larcenous Lancelot, er, Horatio Lynk should be the next companion!
And speaking of DWM, my last birthday gift was the The Crimson Hand. This is a collection of UK Tenth Doctor comic strips featuring ruthless (and hugely camp) entrepreneur, Majenta Pryce as companion.The arc is a tour de force of Who stories, taking in a return visit to Stockbridge; a Gothic romance; a UNIT adventure in Australia; and a Kirby-esque cosmic epic. Rob Davis' parody of The Spirit is a triumph. Five out of Five Talmars.
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