Doctor Who Reactions: 'Kinda" (SPOILERS)

Part One:

1) Poor Nyssa - if they had to get rid of a companion for a story, she's the last one I would've picked.

2)"Three Blind Mice..."

3)The TSS is sufficiently goofy.

4)I gather there's all sorts of Buddhist subtext to this, but I don't know enough about Buddhism to verify it.

5)"What could they know of molecular biology?" Probably more than I do.

6)"An apple a day keeps the, uh...no, neve rmind."

7)"I never think twice about anything."

8)Cliffhanger #1: Hindle goes nuts!

Part Two:

9)A planet where only women can talk?

10)Gosh, this business with Tegan is tedious.

11)Cliffhanger #2: The Doctor opens the box! ("What's in the box, Doctor?" WHAT'S IN THE BOX?")

Part Three:

12)I like the clown.

13)"Aris is one of my fathers."

14)"Are you an idiot?" "Well, I suppose I must be."

15)"Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'..."

16)Cliffhanger #3: The old woman appears to be dead!

Part Four:

17)And the Doctor instantly regrets waking Tegan up.

18)"You can't mend people, can you?"

19)And...the Mara is a giant plastic snake. If I'd been producer back then, my first rule would've been: "Avoid effects that expose our limitations." The CGI snake they created for the disk is only marginally better.

20)"But it's gone now, isn't it, Doctor?" We'll see dear, we'll see.

An OK story, I suppose, but overall, not one of my favorites. A story that shows up the weaknesses of the "Crowded TARDIS" era, I think.

We watched part one last night. Our rule is to always choose the “CGI effects” option (if given the choice), especially for anything beyond the year 1980 or so. One special feature was a side-by-side comparison of the CGI animation to the original and, on a whim, we watched that first. Evidently the scene in question is from part four, but Tracy and I were laughing out loud (no, really) at the giant plastic snake. You think the CGI snake was only “marginally better”? It may not be the most convincing CGI animation I have ever seen, but that plastic snake is probably among the three least convincing Doctor Who monsters I’ve ever seen.

When the Doctor said, "An apple a day keeps the, uh...no, never mind," I predicted that’s a line Bob will quote tomorrow. I don’t have particularly high expectations for the rest of this serial, and didn’t even before I read your overall impression.

Replies

Jeff of Earth-J April 13, 2011 at 10:44am

We watched part one last night. Our rule is to always choose the “CGI effects” option (if given the choice), especially for anything beyond the year 1980 or so. One special feature was a side-by-side comparison of the CGI animation to the original and, on a whim, we watched that first. Evidently the scene in question is from part four, but Tracy and I were laughing out loud (no, really) at the giant plastic snake. You think the CGI snake was only “marginally better”? It may not be the most convincing CGI animation I have ever seen, but that plastic snake is probably among the three least convincing Doctor Who monsters I’ve ever seen.

When the Doctor said, "An apple a day keeps the, uh...no, never mind," I predicted that’s a line Bob will quote tomorrow. I don’t have particularly high expectations for the rest of this serial, and didn’t even before I read your overall impression.
The Baron April 13, 2011 at 10:51am

I had a little time left over before bed last night, so I listened to the start of the commentary track, with Peter "The Fifth Doctor" Davison, Janet "Tegan" Fielding, Matthew "Adric" Waterhouse, and Nerys "Todd" Hughes. I get the impression that they all enjoyed filming this storry, and that none of them understood what was supposed to be going on.
The Baron April 13, 2011 at 10:56am

I often wonder when they create the CGI effects for these old stories, do they have to say to themselves, "Let's not make the CGI stuff so much better than the old stuff that it stands out as something obviously new."
Jeff of Earth-J April 13, 2011 at 11:16am

…none of them understood what was supposed to be going on.

I must admit I frequently find myself in that position, at least until I read about it in my episode guide after the fact and realize, “Oh, that’s what was going on!”
The Baron April 13, 2011 at 11:20am

If you listen to the commentary tracks, one often hears guest actors say that they didn't know what was going on. I think the two stories that puzzled me for years were "Warrior's Gate" and "Ghost Light".
The Baron April 13, 2011 at 11:21am

Anyway, I'll most likely watch "Snakedance", tonight.
Cavaliere (moderator emeritus) April 13, 2011 at 11:41am

I've never seen "Kinda" but I do have an audio cassette from BBC with Peter Davison telling the story.

By the way, it is Peter Davison's birthday today.
Luke Blanchard April 13, 2011 at 11:47am

The book Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text discusses the story's Buddhist content. Buddhism has traditions about a figure called Mara and some of the character names are the Pali versions of Buddhist key terms (e.g. Panna, Karuna).

Richard Todd, who played Sanders, was a British movie star. He appeared in the Hitchcock film Stage Fright, and in the American film The Longest Day. I would guess the Sanders name is after the hero of Edgar Wallace's Sanders of the River.

You didn't mention the shot of Aris's fillings at the climax.
The Baron April 13, 2011 at 12:41pm

Aris's teeth looked pink to me - I couldn't decide if they were colored to look like that, or whether it was just accidental.

The big anecdote regarding this story regards the time Matthew Waterhouse allegedly offered Richard Todd acting advice.
Jeff of Earth-J April 13, 2011 at 2:06pm

While watching episode one last night it struck me how similar Justin Beiber's haircut is to Adric's.

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