7.3: Delta and the Bannermen

In which the past is a different country. To be specific: Wales.

Broadcast: November 1987

Watched: January 2021

Delta and the Bannermen, Part One

Obligatory observation that if they made a story set this far in the past now it’d be set in 1993. Which was several years before I realised that the title was a play on “Echo and the Bunnymen”. [Please note that I wrote that two years ago: if they made it today, it would be set in 1995.]

“Who’s there?” It’s Ken Dodd! Who, contrary to popular belief, is brilliant in this. I love that we’re straight in with an all-action opening, it’s a real change of pace. Other things to love: the transformation arch (shades of Human Nature?); the rock n roll loving aliens going on holiday; the police box that’s actually a police box. The Doctor asking Ray to dance, and then going to comfort her when she cries, is lovely.

Less good things. The American accents. [Turns out they are actually American, and just sound weird on ‘80s Who. Apparently I’m supposed to know who Stubby Kaye is?] Why is a middle aged man in 1959 dressing like that and caring about rock and roll? The space effects aren’t up to much, either.

But most of all I love this because it has what my mate Jim has called a “mad thickness”. It just keeps chucking stuff at you. Loads of fun.

And it ends with an evil South African trying to kill the Doctor. Lovely.

Huh. Keff McCulloch [who arranged this version of the theme tune] is in the band.

Delta and the Bannermen, Part Two

“Oooh can I come too Doctor?” You can tell Ray is trying out as the new companion. Love the Doctor showing her and Burton the TARDIS to convince them there’s an alien invasion to deal with. [Which is weird as that sort of thing really annoyed me throughout the Davison era, didn’t it?] Shame there are no BFs with Ray and Burton the middle-aged Welsh Butlins boss.

I love that this is “what if there was an episode of Hi-de-Hi where the camp was invaded by space nazis”, it’s a terrific starting point for a Who story. What if Daleks exterminated Father Ted.

The pace here is just MENTAL, it just keeps throwing stuff at you. The Billy/Delta romance is not massively convincing, but it doesn’t give you time to think about it. I like the way the old beekeeper explains butterflies to justify the alien biology we’re watching in a different plot thread.

It’s basically just a big cast of nice people being attacked by genocidal space Nazis and you can’t go wrong with that can you? Which is what makes it so shocking when the bus blows up. Hope Murray enjoyed that Eagle comic he was reading.

Mel’s moment of defiance is one of those things that was way better in my memory. Oh well.

Delta and the Bannermen, Part Three

Not sure this makes any sense or is about anything, particularly. It gets a bit Chibnall: a dozen characters running around in a gang.

But it’s such fun and so mad I don’t care. At one point the villains are dive-bombed by honey and attacked by bees!

Billy changing species for a girl he’s just met is mental, but sort of a nice “love at first sight” thing. McCoy saying he can’t condone it but he understands is gorgeous. It’s only when he almost did one here that I noticed they’d dropped the spoonerisms. Thank god.