Tuesday, April 14, 2009

E6 - The Keys of Marinus



(And yes, I'm spooked by the above photo, too.)

And so The Keys of Marinus ends with Episode 6, entitled....The Keys of Marinus. And a-ha! I was right about Kala being involved in the crime, wasn't I? And that prosecutor, too! So BOTH the suspicious characters from the previous episode were guilty - amazing! I did like the final reveal of where the key was hidden, though, and it was good to see The Doctor in such a pivotal role.

The Voord make their long awaited return in the coda of the episode, with Terry Nation probably hoping that, by that time, enough of a national craze would have occurred from their first appearance in Episode 1 that the Voord might have been a merchandising bonanza five weeks later. They only just missed that boat...

It may have been the flippers, or it may have been the strange Teletubbies antenna on the top of their head, but they just never took off like Nation's other creation, the Mechanoids (about which, more later). The lead Voord did have a knack for disguise and mimicry, though, as they fooled Ian and Susan enough by putting a cloak over his head and speaking with his normal voice to convince the two that he was, in fact, Arbitan. You'd think the two giant handlebars on his head would have given the game away, but no, they didn't.

Despite some ropey bits scattered throughout the episodes, the whole story was relatively diverting enough. It's also interesting to see how the old series managed to convey alien planets on screen, something which most fans wish they would see more often in the new series.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, do you think the Voord influenced the Cybermen ...or just the Teletubbies?

Steven said...

They influenced the Cybermen, but only the new series "Cybusmen", because they both have big feet that they often trip over.

Anonymous said...

Good to see that 24 years after filming this Fiona Walker was just as hammy when she played Lady Painforte in Silver Nemisis...

ivo said...

An excellent end to the story here, with Hartnell giving a fiery performance. Interesting that according to the Sixth Doctor comic "The World Shapers" the Voord evolved into the cybermen and Marinus became Mondas. Of course, Jamie McCrimmon died in that story, too...

konberg said...

After watching all six episodes I only realized at the last dematerialization that the unattractive black walls against which they dematerialized were the closest thing they must have had to green screen at the time.

As for the story, pretty much a snoozer all along, with the exception of hagrid-from-the-north as you have already covered. I'm glad to have already seen The Aztecs which is much better.

Am I bad for liking Ian and not missing the Doctor during his absence?

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