Format: DVD

Warts & All: Whadda you think?

Quote: Take the world that you’ve got and try and make something of it. It’s not too late.

Review: You’ve got to admire a can-do attitude, but when the puppet company told Barry Letts sure, we can do you some dinosaurs, they were perhaps over-egging their enthusiasm. There are perhaps two shots in which the monsters don’t look too awfully bad if you squint and have a forgiving nature, but otherwise, let’s not sugar coat the pill here. They are bad. So bad they really need to be on their own spin-off puppet show with either Michael Bentine or Harry Corbett. Or Pipkins. Yeah, maybe Pipkins. Hartley Hare always looked a bit tatty too. Of special terribleness is the scene towards the end, where the well-meaning puppet company attempts to emulate the great Ray Harryhausen with a titanic rubbery duel between T Rex and Brontosaurus. (And yes, I know that’s not the correct name for them, but it was the norm when I was a kid so I’ll use it here.) Their somewhat unconvincing realisation is exacerbated by rampant CSO fringes wherever composite shots are required to marry them with the live action. Another of those cases where parts of a Doctor Who story might be best watched between the fingers of your hands covering your eyes, to guard against the horror.

But for all that, there’s something – or maybe several somethings – I love about this story. For one, I do admire its bare-faced ambition and in many ways, for me, it’s as quintessential Pertwee Who as The Green Death and I would put it in the same Best Of… compilation box set, along with Ambassadors and The Silurians. Only with a clear warning label about the dinosaurs in this case. With the exception of a drawn out chase later on, it fills out its six parts reasonably well, albeit falling into the trap of repetitive episode endings – three T Rex related cliffhangers. The first episode is exceptional, harking wonderfully back to the Dalek Invasion with its shots of deserted streets and so on. (I was actually a bit of an idiot to begin with as I forgot that the DVD featured a colourised version of episode one, but the scenes are highly effective in black-and-white.) And it does well to explore the other effects of these prehistoric visitations on the capital, with Sarah Jane and the Doctor caught as looters in the early stages. Yes, the overall plot of Operation Golden Age has some questions to answer and a few flaws in their thinking, but to be honest I didn’t by and large give a fig because the general progression of the adventure was sufficiently engaging. Even the dubious fake spaceship with all those idealists hoodwinked into believing they’re en route to a new world could easily be equated with some of the modern reality TV Derren Brown style setups, although it would need better preparation and an airlock people couldn’t just slip out of to poke around behind the scenes.

Given that Carmen Silvera is among these hopeful pioneers, it’s possible they have cheese in their ears. Talking of the support cast, it’s graced by some good uns: Peter Miles, Martin Jarvis and John Bennett, and Noel Johnson as Sir Charles Grover is one of the many government ministers of the era, except he’s really nice and charming and amicable – which should have alerted the Doctor to him as a suspect much sooner really. Then you have the UNIT family, this the last time they are all properly together – except, of course, they’re not. One of them is a traitor, and that’s a bold move which brings about a shake-up that is genuinely felt, especially well conveyed in the Brigadier’s reaction when he is met with the truth of Mike Yates’ betrayal. And it makes sense too in terms of character development, post-Green Death. I don’t remember ever particularly caring about Mike Yates, but I imagine for those that did or do this is/was pretty earth-shattering.

For me, it’s more about the effect on the UNIT family he leaves behind and that, along with a core message that ought to resonate with most of us, is what enamours me to this story despite its dinosaur-sized shortcomings. That and the little black kitty who makes an appearance in a shop window in episode six. I always enjoy spotting that cat. He doesn’t seem overly bothered by the rubbish dinosaurs either.

PS. I should just finish by saying… KKLAK!