Things I've Learnt from Watching My Favourite Doctor Who Stories Part 37: Carnival of Monsters

 37: Carnival of Monsters

Appearances can be very deceiving

This was the first Pertwee story I saw, thanks to the legendary Five Faces of Doctor Who season in late 1981. The repeat run was the brainchild of John Nathan Turner, who thought that after seven years of Tom Baker, it would be a good idea to remind (or inform!) viewers that there had been three other Doctors before the one who's just hung up his scarf. I have fond memories of those repeats, especially this one. 

But it's not just nostalgia. This is a cleverly constructed adventure. Appearances are deceptive and this adventure is like an onion, peeling off layers one at a time. It's what later would become known as an oddball story, and quite distinctive after three years of UNIT stories. The events on Inter Minor mixed with the TARDIS landing on a boat in 1926, how do they tie tie together? And what is a plesiosaur doing in the middle of the Indian Ocean? (Apart from the breast stroke...) 

The cliffhanger to Episode one was particularly dramatic; a hand reaching out to grab the TARDIS before a terrified Jo and the Doctor. Viewing it as an adult, I can see the deficiencies in the realisation but you've got to applaud the ambition and as a kid, I was excited to know what would happen next. Just when you think you've got the story sussed, along comes the twist of the Doctor and Jo being inside a giant futuristic machine (great piece of design work) which then leads to a new threat - the Drashigs!

The Pertwee era has a very high hit ratio when it comes to monsters. Axons, Sontarans, Sea Devils, Silurians and Draconians, as well as the Drashigs which are a change to the man in a suit monster. They work well, especially when on film for the cliffhanger of episode two. Barry Letts, who acts as director as well producer, was ambitious, even though sometimes it didn't work out. Here, it does though, aided by that blood-curdling scream. Not bad for a monster who's name is an anagram of dishrag! 

Carnival is also a more cynical script for this era, which is usually focused unashamedly on wholesome family entertainment. There's Vorg's assertion that "Our purpose is to amuse, simply to amuse. Nothing serious, nothing political" One could imagine Barry Letts saying those words to a high up at the BBC after being rumbled that The Curse of Peladon is a cheeky reference to Britain joining the Common Market. Robert Holmes was widely regarded as the best writer of the classic series, but his writing had a subversive, sardonic approach.

Holmes' Inter Minor characters are small-minded bureaucrats who have little regard for each other or those who are functionaries below them. Vorg is the jaded entertainer who's seen better days with his perky young assistant who's more savvy than he is. Major Daly (played by Tenniel Evans, who suggested to Pertwee he should try for the role of the Doctor back in 1969) is an archetypal colonial bore, as is Andrews (played by a pre-Harry Sullivan Ian Marter!) It's just he's younger. Apparently Holmes enjoyed putting what he saw as a fossilised social group in a fossilised situation. The characters are brought to life by an excellent cast that clearly are enjoying themselves.

I'm glad they chose Carnival of Monsters to represent Pertwee. It's not at all representative of his era (no Brigadier, Master or UNIT) but chosen because it's a very good story. It shows Holmes flexing his writing muscles to stretch the format of the show, as well as creating memorable monsters. Those repeats in November 1981 were, to quote another sci-fi franchise, taking my first steps into a larger world and I loved it!

Next time: Always make sure you prepare for the end!