Doctor Who – Carnival of Monsters [DVD] [1963]
Doctor Who – Carnival of Monsters [DVD] [1963]
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The Doctor Who adventure “Carnival of Monsters” finds Jon Pertwee’s third Doctor and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) materialising on the SS Bernice in the Indian Ocean in 1926, on the very day the ship is about to give rise to a famous sea mystery. Passengers and crew, including Ian Marter (who would return as companion Harry Sullivan two years later), are reliving the same few moments over and over again, and there is a plesiosaur in the ocean. Meanwhile two travelling show people, Vorg (Leslie Dwyer
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Price: £27.98
Dr Who News
Good old Robert Holmes does it again!,
Robert Holmes is reckoned to be Who’s best writer, and it was stuff like this, Time Warrior and his scary Auton stories which paved the way for the great work he would do in the early Tom Baker seasons before deliverng his masterpiece, Caves of Androzani in the early 80s.
Carnival of Monsters is not exactly a terrifying thriller by any means, but shows off Holmes imaginaton, humor, and story telling prowess, as well as his gift for extremely well rounded and colorful characters.
The plot about the Doctor and Jo arriving on a small ship which is stuck in a time loop and menaced by various sea monsters is straight out of the Twilight Zone and well worth a look. The sub plot about colorful space showman and girl assistant, lends the whole thing some truly whacky and way out comedy touches. And Pertwee’s use of the good old Sonic Screwdriver to fight off an attack by the terrible Drashigs in their prehistoric home is a classic scene.
All in all, vintage Who and a real gem of the Pertwee era, cheesy perhaps, but well matured and worth your time and money.
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|One of the best episodes ever,
Definately not one of the scariest, but one of the best. The Doctor and Jo land on the miniaturised SS Bernice, where a plesiosaur lurks in the water, and they must encounter the carnivorous Drashigs. It is great, with a strange fascination to it. You are intrigued, and want to see what happens next. The cliff hangers are most unusual, and you are never expecting what happens next, like when the plesiosaur appears, and when a Drashig comes out of the water. It has a bit of humor to it, and the Drashigs have a chilling scream and are surprisingly scary. Worth buying. Flawless.
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|A Scope for a good DVD Release,
Carnival of Monsters is one of those Doctor Who Stories that, without being a classic of the series, stands out quite well in its era. What is particularly noteworthy about this story is the use of colour separation overlay , a trademark of the series and it is probably this story that it was put to the best use in the whole series, other times (like in THE GREEN DEATH and PLANET OF THE SPIDERS) it is quite laughable and cringable. But here, it is quitewellusedprticularly worthy of note was the giant hand picking the TARDIS up at the end of Episode 1.Unfortunately age has affected that technology and these days probably doesn’t look quite as good.
I like the Drashigs, they are well realised with the most unusual cry, very original, must go down as one of the best.
The moral aspect of the story is also well realised, showing that the Doctor has a concearn for all creatures, also a trademark of the series in the Pertwee era.
What I don’t like is the script. there isn’t much in it. I get sick of the going around getting caught bit on the boat. Mind you it is well acted by all those involved. As for the Inter Minor residents, bit of a laughable race aren’t they?
By the way, I’m from Australia and when this story was aired on the ABC we got that aweful Version of the theme, I’ve got a copy of it on Video, glad they didn’t use it ever again.
Apart from what I don’t like about the story , it has a lot going for it and it is a very entertaining and refreshing story, not letting the viewer get tired with what’s going on. It’s great to have a simple plot once in a while. If you want to see a story with all the Pertwee trademarks (well almost, no Bessie) this is one to watch. Not a bad one at all.
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