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Post by Cyggy on Mar 5, 2022 0:18:36 GMT
Please rate and discuss this story here.....
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Post by Cyggy on Mar 6, 2022 0:59:51 GMT
A lot of reviewers seem to be down on this story in the years since it's broadcast. But I think that first episode is one of the eeriest that Classic Who ever produced. The skull on the wall. That wailing soundtrack. The feeling of doom. The TARDIS under threat.
And the Terminus station is no less bleak a place to visit. Nobody in charge a nice person and the Doctor's only allies a couple of glam-rock space pirates. And a big dog.
I thought the sub-plot of the start of the universe was pretty clever.
Nyssa leaving at the end made for a poignant coda to the tale too.
It's not much fun to watch, admittedly, but I think it makes up for it in establishing a unique tone.
I don't like the way that, on the DVD commentary and documentary all the blame for it's perceived shortcomings are heaped on the late Mary Ridge, who is not around to defend herself. They all seem to think that she wasn't suited to the hectic pace of a sci-fi show like 'Doctor Who', conveniently overlooking the fact that she is the director who gave us "Terminal" and "Blake" for 'Blake's 7', so I think she was well-suited to a show like 'Who'.
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Post by GC on Mar 14, 2022 22:46:47 GMT
Aside from the good 'n' atmospheric first episode, it's a very dull and depressing watch.
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Post by Cyggy on Jul 7, 2022 15:02:21 GMT
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Post by Black Orchid on Oct 11, 2022 18:16:44 GMT
From March 1983: (Terminus UK transmission February 1983)
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Post by Future-Diver on Oct 17, 2022 6:27:03 GMT
"Whereas the first explosion created the universe, the second would undoubtedly destroy it".
I think this is probably the weakest story in The Black Guardian Trilogy, but there's still plenty to like in Terminus - a ship at the centre of the universe, responsible for the Big Bang, a space plague, space pirates, a big space dog (The Garm) and Liza Goddard in a sexy space outfit. Nyssa feels the need to partially disrobe before she leaves the series and her departure is quite moving, if you like that sort of thing. Unfortunately, the ongoing Black Guardian sub-plot had grown tiresome by this stage and the whole production looks rather cheap, in a garish, '80s kind of way.
6/10
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Post by sadako on Apr 3, 2023 18:50:27 GMT
A 1 from me.
A shame really because there are some good ideas in it. There is an effective tension to the first episode where the Tardis starts breaking up. There is a strong, chilling atmosphere to the abandoned station.
The problem is, it doesn't so much feel like a show taking a more mature and dark turn, as just the show going unpleasantly bleak and miserable with relentless abandon. Davison's Doctor feels very mismatched with this story and never seems to get the chance to be the heroic hope it needs. The treatment of Nyssa is really hard to watch, but then so is the whole story which really just gets deathly dull and incoherent fast.
It feels very heartless. No-one here is really at all likeable, and I think Saward is right that this is why the story lacks any sense of thrust. It might've felt a warmer affair if Tegan was by Nyssa's side throughout all this, refusing to abandon her despite her condition. Instead she's paired with Turlough in a subplot which only further kills the focus and makes this hard to stay interested in. Also Tegan's willingness to keep turning a blind eye to Turlough's more obvious red flags is really hard to swallow. In the end it's all very anticlimactic.
The show really feels like it's going in the worst direction here. Whatever happened to the days of fun?
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Post by ant-mac on Apr 4, 2023 5:26:01 GMT
Aside from the good 'n' atmospheric first episode, it's a very dull and depressing watch. Perhaps you should try to see things from Turlough's perspective... Think about it.
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Post by ant-mac on Apr 4, 2023 10:38:47 GMT
A 1 from me. A shame really because there are some good ideas in it. There is an effective tension to the first episode where the Tardis starts breaking up. There is a strong, chilling atmosphere to the abandoned station. The problem is, it doesn't so much feel like a show taking a more mature and dark turn, as just the show going unpleasantly bleak and miserable with relentless abandon. Davison's Doctor feels very mismatched with this story and never seems to get the chance to be the heroic hope it needs. The treatment of Nyssa is really hard to watch, but then so is the whole story which really just gets deathly dull and incoherent fast. It feels very heartless. No-one here is really at all likeable, and I think Saward is right that this is why the story lacks any sense of thrust. It might've felt a warmer affair if Tegan was by Nyssa's side throughout all this, refusing to abandon her despite her condition. Instead she's paired with Turlough in a subplot which only further kills the focus and makes this hard to stay interested in. Also Tegan's willingness to keep turning a blind eye to Turlough's more obvious red flags is really hard to swallow. In the end it's all very anticlimactic. The show really feels like it's going in the worst direction here. Whatever happened to the days of fun? The difference between an A1 episode and a 1 episode is less than you might imagine...
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Post by dsjr on Jun 6, 2024 13:24:47 GMT
The current show is all gay fun and frolics if that kind of thing turns you on, but this, despite its flaws when looked at today, is still watchable and suspends disbelief (I'm starting to really see the over-lit sets now). Nyssa's leaving was again too immediate for me at least.
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Post by profh0011 on Jun 6, 2024 19:36:27 GMT
ONE good thing came out of this episode.... but it wasn't on THIS show!
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Post by GC on Aug 7, 2024 3:03:16 GMT
Ol' Davo still throws a pretty mean chair...
Peter Davison on Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule - Chair Jam
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