Format: DVD
Warts & All: Mini Beast
Quote: Lochleda partha menin klatch. Aroun! Aroun! Aroun!
Review: Tensions mount as the sovereign state of Peladon decides whether it is IN or OUT of the Galactic Federation. On the one side, progress. On the other, deep rooted fear, superstition and paranoia, as well as a conspiracy of lies and deception. Also, use of a monster to terrorise the IN campaign and ensure this emerging world stays firmly in the dark ages. Aside from the unfortunately less-than-fearsome stature of Mighty Aggedor, the royal Beast Of Peladon – I tend to imagine Ian Holm’s Napoleon from the Time Bandits adding him to his list of great little people from history – there is a lot to love about Curse.
The lines of conflict are drawn quite heavily, with no real doubt as to which side is in the right, but the very simplistic political ‘debate’ is wonderfully coloured and muddied with a spot of conspiracy and murder, with the Doctor’s own prejudices leading us along in what is perhaps the most appealing aspect of the mystery. What a master stroke to serve up the Ice Warriors (among my favourite monsters) in this scenario, some few years after their last appearance, and have them present as major diplomatic players within a federation of aliens. The universe-building is a by-product of this move but it was more than enough to excite my childhood imagination, with races such as the Draconians (yet to appear in the series) eventually belonging to the same Galactic Federation introduced here. Meanwhile, we’re also given two other minor alien races which, while not exactly groundbreaking in the creative stakes, are interesting and entertaining additions to the Doctor Who playground. Oddly named after their respective planetary systems of origins, we have Alpha Centauri, hermaphrodite hexapod squeakily voiced by Ysanne Churchman, and Arcturus, one of a number of brain-in-a-tank types seen in the series, with allusions to a longstanding history of conflict with the Ice Warriors. There’s recourse to stereotype with Grun, King’s champion, big muscular mute, strong and silent, and on the show’s track record to date it’s actually something of a departure that he’s not black. King Peladon is lent due nobility in a nice performance from David Troughton, torn between his emotions as a young man and his duty as a monarch. Jo’s affections for him are just about believable, although she seems a bit fickle and flighty, given that before she was whisked here in the TARDIS she was ‘dolled up for a night on the town with Mike Yates’.
Pertwee’s Doctor is rather in his element here, it’s only surprising he doesn’t engage in more swashbuckling other than the reasonably well-staged arena pit fight. I think this is the first time I paid enough attention to the closing credits to discover that the real Earth delegate was called Amazonia, which is, er, interesting and I can’t help be fascinated by the scene immediately after the final cut as the delegates assess the full consequences of having had some imposter interfere with official negotiations of the planet’s entry into the Federation. But hey, could be worse, dudes, Earth could have sent a distant descendant of Boris Johnson as their foreign minister. Duplicitous Arcturus plays his hand – or little extending probe anyway – a bit too early, in order to generate the Episode 3 cliffhanger and the final part feels like it could have used more material to fill it out some.
Hepesh the High Priest marshalls some guards but they’re a bit of an anti-climax in the threat and menace department. Justice, in the end, is served up by Aggedor, the Beast that Hepesh has used for his own ends and that’s a sufficiently neat finish, but it is in those final scenes in the throne room that Aggedor’s height really shows him up and lets him down. The fact is, he’s quite cute even before the Doctor hypnotises him and all but adopts him as a pet. Cuddly Aggedors should’ve been all the rage. But it’s enjoyable, engaging and brisk and contributes way more riches to the Doctor Who universe than is contained in its mere four parts.
It’s a veritable trisilicate mine for Doctor Who writers as well as being a fun watch.
