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Doctor Who: The Stones of Blood
I'm starting to really covet that Key to Time boxed set, because so far I've absolutely loved the series. The Stones of Blood provided much needed distraction in the midst of this horrifying week.
What a marvelous story, full of stone circles and Celtic mythology and smart, strong women. On the commentary track, Darrol Blake (the ep's director) and Mary Tamm said that David Fisher had been instructed to create stronger women characters (which is why Romana was introduced), and this story has three: Romana I, a no-nonsense septuagenarian archaeologist (played marvelously by Beatrix Lehmann), and her assistant Vivien Fay, who is actually a 4,000-year-old alien criminal masquerading as a hag goddess.
(Turns out I have a novel by Beatrix Lehmann - Rumour of Heaven, in the Virago series - which I really must read!)
Tom Baker has never been funnier than in this story. At one point, he brandishes his sonic screwdriver to open the seal of a space ship compartment. Instead of turning on the sonic screwdriver as expected, he gives the seal a fierce whack with the screwdriver and breaks it! Hee.
Another tidbit from the commentary track: the ep was originally supposed to include a birthday party for the Doctor on the TARDIS, complete with K9 rolling out with a birthday cake on his back and singing happy birthday off-key. But the edict came down that the scene made the Doctor seem too human. If the Doctor ate cake, that meant he'd also have to go to the loo! ::boggles:: Too bad they had to cut the scene...
What a marvelous story, full of stone circles and Celtic mythology and smart, strong women. On the commentary track, Darrol Blake (the ep's director) and Mary Tamm said that David Fisher had been instructed to create stronger women characters (which is why Romana was introduced), and this story has three: Romana I, a no-nonsense septuagenarian archaeologist (played marvelously by Beatrix Lehmann), and her assistant Vivien Fay, who is actually a 4,000-year-old alien criminal masquerading as a hag goddess.
(Turns out I have a novel by Beatrix Lehmann - Rumour of Heaven, in the Virago series - which I really must read!)
Tom Baker has never been funnier than in this story. At one point, he brandishes his sonic screwdriver to open the seal of a space ship compartment. Instead of turning on the sonic screwdriver as expected, he gives the seal a fierce whack with the screwdriver and breaks it! Hee.
Another tidbit from the commentary track: the ep was originally supposed to include a birthday party for the Doctor on the TARDIS, complete with K9 rolling out with a birthday cake on his back and singing happy birthday off-key. But the edict came down that the scene made the Doctor seem too human. If the Doctor ate cake, that meant he'd also have to go to the loo! ::boggles:: Too bad they had to cut the scene...
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And hugs for good distractions, too. :-)
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::hugs::
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Anyways, I just wanted to chime in and say I loved that archaeologist lady to pieces. Especially when she and K-9 are conversing. She's definitely one of my favorite parts of that episode.
About wanting the boxed set--I thought once I'd seen the episodes (I rented) I wouldn't want to own them anymore, I'd just want to watch more new episodes. Especially since an entire DW adventure isn't nearly as easy to just watch on a whim as, say, a BtVS episode. And I do want to watch more new ones, but I also wish I had copies of the whole Key to Time series. I feel like if I had copies I really would take them out and watch them on a regular basis. But it could be ages before I get around to buying it, if I do.
By the way--if it's OK I'd like to add you. Anyone who is a fan of Buffy, Doctor Who, General Hospital AND Samuel Delany is of definite interest to me.
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Feel free to add me. I'll add you back!
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I think I started out a little disinclined towards Lalla Ward just because she's the "new" Romana and I had gotten so attached to Mary Tamm first. Not just because she was my first exposure to Romana, but also because watching the Key to Time series was really the beginning of my getting really interested in Doctor Who. Also, the first LW-as-Romana episode I saw was City of Death, and I thought it was a great episode but it didn't really give Romana much juicy stuff to do. She seemed less sassy and opinionated than in most of the Key to Time series, but that may have had more to do with the writing on that adventure than with the temperament of this regeneration of Romana.
I must admit, it doesn't help my feelings towards Lalla Ward that I started having a crush on Tom Baker, then found out that he married her. I mean, maybe I'm just a little jealous.
I've added you...
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Heeeeee. I have a crush on Tom Baker too (well, on Four, really), but for some reason the real-life Tom Baker/Lalla Ward connection actually made me like Four/Romana II even more! (Although, of course, they weren't married for very long...)
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