3.23: The Monster of Peladon

In which Brexit is foreshadowed.

Broadcast: March-April 1974

Watched: May 2020

The Monster of Peladon, Part One

“We people of the planet Vega are a practical race of mining engineers.” Twat.

The second story about angry miners. The last one was only four stories back. Very 1973. This one is less sympathetic to them than The Green Death, mind.

Straight in with this one. Same picture of a castle, same references to Agaddor, Alpha Centauri squeaking away... It expects us to understand this is a sequel, and probably to assume the chancellor is the baddie again. Oooh! Also Sarah is the first companion the Doctor explicitly takes to places he went with the ex, isn’t she?

Sorry, but I love the way everyone on Peladon is in two tone hair and miniskirts, like they’re in a Bowie video. The queen is so wet she makes her dad look like GI Joe.

“What have the miners got to show for it? Harder work for the same rewards.” Alright, Doctor Farage. 

Oh! Eckersley was in The Space Pirates, that’s why I recognise him.

Does Peladon literally rip all its champions’ tongues out? Eckersley’s right, these people aren’t civilised at all.

The Monster of Peladon, Part Two

Against what I understand is the consensus, I’m rather enjoying this. Perhaps it’s just more my sort of bobbins than Death to the Daleks. Or perhaps there’s something nice in the concept of a sequel – we haven’t had one before, so checking back on a planet we last went to two years ago is a nice surprise.

I sort of like that everyone in it is either useless or a total dick. I know the chancellor isn’t the villain... but he does keep saying stuff like, “Well, you can’t trust the working classes, obviously”. Even Alpha Centauri keeps banging on about how primitive Peladon is.

The Monster of Peladon, Part Three

The thought occurs that there is absolutely nothing to suggest that this is Pertwee’s penultimate season. Although I suppose in the original run it’s really only Tom’s last season where there is, isn’t there? And that’s a mood rather than anything plot-y. [Actually, as you’ll see when we get to season 18, all the stories that year are about death and decay, which helps the mood, too.]

All the “if the common people don’t benefit from the federation they’ll turn against it” stuff is upsettingly prescient.

The fact you can’t get rid of federation troops once you’ve summoned them does... Not say great things about the federation.

Only just realised that Pertwee is wearing a lime green shirt and a fob watch on a chain. Twat.

Why is Peladon’s citadel built on top of its biggest mine? Bad planning.

Ha! They took so long to show up I’d forgotten the Ice Warriors were in this. Then there they are at the cliffhanger.

The Monster of Peladon, Part Four

Huh, I hadn’t realised the Ice Warriors were the Federation Troops. I suppose that’s the intention. OH WAIT THEY’RE NOT clever.

Okay, this might be madness, but... is there a Suez thing going on here? The Ice Warriors pretend to be neutral arbiters but are really acting on behalf of one side in a dispute.

I do like the way the Peladonians team up the minute the federation arrives.

Other things: I’m weirdly obsessed with the middle aged serving girl who looks like Bev from Abigail’s Party and never says a word. There is definitely a moment when you can see Pertwee’s stunt man’s definitely-not-Pertwee-face.

The Monster of Peladon, Part Five

“Can’t you *ever* stay out of trouble?” The scene in which the Doctor and Sarah mourn each other doesn’t have the emotional impact it’s clearly supposed to. The fact he’s got seven episodes to live gives it a frisson, mind

By contrast Chancellor Ortron’s death is almost touching – I like the way he’s not who you expect him to be at the start – even if it is caused by the queen’s abject f**king incompetence.

Eckersley’s a traitor! Oh, there’s a shock. (Information: the BBC’s first engineer was called Eckersley.) I’m not entirely sold that this guy is a power-crazed lunatic though, he just doesn’t sell it. I did laugh out loud when he saved Alpha Centauri’s life, and the ambassador squeaked, “Thank you Eckersley but you are still a traitor!” mind.

The Monster of Peladon, Part Six

“Tears? Anyone would think I was dead.”

There’s a lot here that is maybe trying to do foreshadowing. Sarah keeps thinking she’s lost the Doctor and being devastated by it... but oh look he’s fine! Except he won’t be soon. Anyway, it doesn’t work, and I’m not quite sure why.

Hot take: the Ice Warriors are still more complex than most monsters, even after this. They have breakaway factions and political goals, they’re not just trying to fuck shit up.

The fact the miners have to be conned into doing the right thing by projections of monsters isn’t great is it. Also there’s a production problem in that the wigs make it completely impossible to tell the miners apart.

The ease with which Eckersley kidnaps the queen demonstrates the foolishness of having every important figure in a society crammed into one of a selection of just four different rooms. Anyway, he lacks the nerve to be a proper villain. Can’t bring himself to shoot Sarah. Coward.

“Look what you’ve done!” is the first moment the queen shows anything even vaguely resembling steel. Probably the last, too.

I like the synthesis of making the head miner chancellor at the end. I don’t feel entirely comfortable that the very end is the Doctor manhandling Sarah Jane.

That’s it.

Anyway, that was kind of... fine? Not great – but I don’t entirely understand how it ended up universally acclaimed as the worst Pertwee. (The actual worst Pertwee is probably Axos.)