3.11: The Curse of Peladon

In which Doctor Who has some thoughts on Britain’s relationship with Europe.

Broadcast: January-February 1972

Watched: February-March 2020

The Curse of Peladon, Episode One

Well this is just utterly mental when you’re watching in order. The painted backdrop of a castle! The Rutitanian intrigue! And it all just starts without set up. Very weird when you’ve gotten used to UNIT.

The Doctor is very obviously trying to sabotage Jo’s love life, the controlling git. Troughton minor [David Troughton, who plays the confusingly named King Peladon of Peladon; he’s later Professor Hobbes in Midnight] is surprisingly bloody rubbish. Alpha Centauri is hilarious and I’m not completely sure the production knows it. Ditto Arcturus blowing up a vase to show that it can.

The climbing sequence goes on forever and isn’t remotely tense.

“Peladon of Peladon.” Weird. Lot of people in this named after their own planets. Lazy writing! Why do the Ice Warriors get two delegates AND names? Also the way they all start flapping about legends makes me think they’re not great diplomats, not gonna lie.

Would the Ice Warriors have been remembered well enough to give their reappearance as goodies (spoilers) impact? 

Oh look it’s the cliffhanger from Desperate Measures. [If anyone can work out what I’m going on about here, please do let me know? Both this and The Rescue have cliffhangers involving tunnels, but still.] Also Peladon is the most homoerotic planet the TARDIS has visited yet.

Anyway, for all my whinging, I actually really enjoyed that. But it’s the biggest shift in tone since... when? 1968?

The Curse of Peladon, Episode Two

It’s all very low tech isn’t it? Lot of sneaking out of meetings and hiding in cupboards. Also not massively clear why a medieval planet has made contact with aliens. The fact the people who oppose joining the federation are superstitious morons is great though. The Doctor clearly loves being a diplomat. Jo’s fury when she realises she’s not getting laid after all is brilliant. 

Okay the scene where it turns out the Ice Warriors aren’t villains is surprisingly effective, even when you know it’s coming. It just throws you when monsters act like people. It’s quite good.

Oh f*** I’ve just remembered that Brexit happens in Gary Russell’s NA Legacy. FFS. [Oh right, I need to explain this. This story is about a planet debating whether to join the Galactic Federation, as a sort of allegory for Britain’s debate about whether to join what was then the European Community in 1973. Gary Russell – who was for a time the show’s script editor under RTD – wrote a Who novel in 1994 in which the TARDIS returns to Peladon which has now decided it doesn’t like foreigners after all so there.]

The Curse of Peladon, Episode Three

Strange idea of diplomacy, that involves putting a foreign diplomat to death. Nice to see the Ice Warriors defending the Doctor though. 

Also nice: the Doctor basically making the case for Remain.

But bloody hell this is camp. Gets even camper when Aggedor shows up and is basically a teddy bear. The Venusian lullaby sounds suspiciously like “god rest ye merry gentlemen”.

Definite classic Trek vibes in the fight to the death.

The Curse of Peladon, Episode Four

“Do you realise how dangerous and complicated this situation has become?” Has it, though?

Strange how early the plot ends in this one. Arcturus is revealed as the villain and dies basically immediately, which could well be the end. But then it goes on for ages. Even Hepesh is defeated halfway through. Conveniently for the king’s champion (strong, silent, oh well at least this one’s white), there’s only one character in this thing whose name begins with H. Not buying the priest’s death bed repentance at all, mind.

Anyway there’s a Fury from the Deep quality to the ending... The action wraps up by minute 15, then there’s a lot of character plot to get through.

The stuff about mineral wealth which explains the treachery comes from nowhere. The thought occurs that Arcturus is basically de Gaulle. Which is hilarious. As is the fact no one cares that one ambassador just murdered another.

This is, I think, the first example of the brown-green palette that all the studio stuff will be stuck with for the rest of the 1970s and which I can’t bear. Oh goodie.

The “Doctor? What Doctor? Doctor Who?” scene is another clip from a ‘90s documentary that is forever burned upon my mind.

Anyway. That was very silly but I quite enjoyed it. It’s about something and its heart is in the right place even if it’s a bit simple.