An old review of The Curse of Fenric

Lookie what I came across!  A review of The Curse of Fenric that I submitted to the Dr.Who Ratings Guide in October 1999.  Have a read and I'll post my revised thoughts on this story afterwards.

Best story ever? by Jai Parker 20/10/99

Imagine a Doctor Who story about the Doctor facing evil itself. Can you already hear the "boo ha ha's!" sounding pathetic? So it's quite impressive that the one story where the Doctor did face evil itself is definitely one of the series' finest. Some have said that this is the best Doctor Who story of all time and I tentatively agree. For starters the plot is so grown up that it is hard to imagine that this is even technically, or ever was, a kids show. The first time I saw Fenric I was only 11 and understood little of what was going on. However when I hired out the video a few years later I was impressed by Ian Briggs' script. The level of tension conveyed and the well thought out plot, along with a twist at the end made Fenric a challenging and enjoyable story.

The Curse of Fenric's other strength attributable to Ian Briggs is the characters. Millington is a believable human villain who you can almost feel sorry for and works well with the pitiable Dr.Judson, while Reverend Wainwright adds a mixture of hope and sadness to both lighten and dull the tone at once. All three characters are suberbly played by their respective actors.  Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred give great performances and Ace really comes of age while The Doctor at his darkest and most manipulative. Even Fenric, evil incarnete, comes across well and  is totally believable.

Despite all the low budget limitations The Curse of Fenric is well produced.  The musical score sets the scene perfectly, the special effects are quite effective and there's some great location work that sets the feel of the second world war.  The climax is almost perfect, with the Doctor's last gamble saving the day.  All of this combines to make The Curse of  Fenric one of the most impressive and consistent Doctor Who stories that still holds up to repeat viewings today.

In retrospect I was quite generous to The Curse of Fenric. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very good story. It is well produced considering the budgetary and time constraints and it has a good plot and some well drawn characters. But over time I've realised that Dr. Who should be more accessible to the casual viewer and Fenric is tries to be just a bit too clever for its own good. It's also interesting how in 1999 I seemed to want Dr. Who to be recognised as a more adult programme. Since then that attitude to Dr. Who has completely reversed and I'm quick to point out that it should be written primarily for kids. Around the time I wrote this review I remember hiding my Dr. Who videos when a girl I was keen on came over, as I was worried my chanceswith her would immediately disappear if she saw I owned videos of some cheap kids sci-fi show!

Overall I stand by most of what's written in that 11 year-old review, but in retrospect the plot is a bit too clever for its own good and I've gone off the idea of the dark, manipulative Doctor portrayed in Series 26. I give Fenric a revised rating of...

4/5

A review of Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith

I'm writing this review on my 31st birthday. Now I'm sure some of you are thinking 'Youngster!' while others are marvelling at how anyone can possibly be so old. Truth be told 31 is far from old, but in the past year I have felt myself slowing down somewhat. For the first time I'm getting the inescapable sense that I will get old and that I won't be around forever...

Sarah, Rani and Clyde investigate an alien meteor and meet Ruby White, a woman remarkably like Sarah. She's also aware of alien life and deals with extra terrestrial incursions on a regular basis. But unlike Sarah she is young, fit and she drives a hot car. Ruby is every bit as capable as Sarah and even more so. With Sarah exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, has she found someone to take responsibility for defending the Earth?

Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith is a story about really getting old and reaching the end of your usefulness. If your life is your work, what do you have left when you can't keep working? After Sarah's reintroduction in School Reunion (just pretend The Five Doctors never happened...) she has really found her place in the world but this story explores how she would react at having to give it all up.
This premise is a tantalising one and in some ways it's a case of the story imitating the reality of the show's production. Liz Sladen is getting on and the previous two series have featured the title character less to accomodate her increasing filming limitations.

This is the third story this series in which the kids have to save the world without help from the lead character and it was great to see Luke back. Some of the interaction between Luke and Rani really stands out and demonstrates just how far Luke has come from the socially awkward struggler of Series One.

Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith has a few weaknesses which marr an otherwise excellent story. The idea that Sarah and Rani were so quick to trust Ruby is absurd and for someone who considers herself an investigator Rani displayed no inquisitiveness about a remarkably unusual situation. The acting by Julie Graham (Ruby) was quite weak and Anjili unnecessarily camped up the scene where Rani bluffed Ruby.

In spite of a few flaws Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith is a very good end to Series Four. With the first half of Series Five already in the can and excellent viewing figures for the current series I think this show has a fair bit of life in it yet.


4/5

P.S. I wrote this review and watched both episodes on the Nokia E63 that my wonderful Wife gave as a birthday present. Forget touch screens, I love my qwerty keyboard!