Oct 31, 2023
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus (1.5, BBC, 1964)
"I want to speak of your father. You know, he was a very wise and brilliant man and I know how you felt when you learned of his death."
"And his life's work destroyed."
"Oh, no, no, no, no, I wouldn't say that. His work will go on, only not quite in the same way. But I don't believe that man was made to be controlled by machines. Machines can make laws, but they cannot preserve justice; only human beings can do that."
#doctor who#classic doctor who#the keys of marinus#1964#bbc#terry nation#john gorrie#william hartnell#jacqueline hill#william russell#carole ann ford#george coulouris#robin phillips#katherine schofield#donald pickering#fiona walker#henley thomas#stephen dartnell#francis de wolff#edmund warwick#raf de la torre#another old favourite from childhood. i distinctly remember first watching this with my bro as a nipper; he hated it (boring and naff) but#i was entranced; something about all those mini adventures strung together‚ the different locations and traps and menaces. it.. doesn't#entirely hold up to my childhood memories (tho I'm surprised to read so much antipathy towards the serial) but considering the complete#lack of money available (post Marco Polo extravagance) and the ambitious multiple sets and costume changes‚ i think the team did fairly#well. surprised to find that‚ despite Coulouris' Arbitan being seared into my mind as a main player of this story‚ he only actually appears#in part 1. the script isn't Nation at his best (but as ever i love his imagination in alien world building‚ with acid seas and glass#beaches) and the plot does Susan dirty (reduced to quivering child for much of the story‚ where's the alien brilliance of the first story?)#but Barbara gets a good showing here‚ particularly in part 2 (the brains with eyes! they shouldn't be adorable but they are). the trial ep#is a little clunkier‚ slowing down the pace as the story starts to wrap up‚ but I'm still quite fond of this silly story
