DOCTOR WHO: "PLANET OF EVIL"

Okay, okay, I'm well aware of the fact that Doctor Who is an acquired taste, appealing mostly to nerdy Anglophiles and a narrow sector of sci-fi geekdom, but because I qualify for both categories, and because this is my blog, I'm going to share something with you that I really like.

From Wikipedia:

Planet of Evil is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 27 to October 18, 1975.

And

On a dark and distant planet, a spaceman named Braun steps out of a small base unit and plants a sign in the nearby jungle floor indicating a name and date of death. Unearthly howls echo from the jungle around him, and he points a rifle warily at his surroundings before returning to the base. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the planet, another spaceman, Baldwin finds some crystals near a pit, handing them over to Professor Sorenson.

Baldwin receives a call from Braun: it is nearly night, and they need to get back to base quickly. Sorenson notes the vein they have uncovered is almost seventy percent pure. The last time they hit a vein this rich, Lorenzo died and the vein vanished. Sorenson says the planet is alive and took the vein back, but vows he will not be beaten again. Unable to persuade Sorenson, Baldwin leaves him. At base camp, Braun is attacked by an invisible force, and he vanishes, screaming. When Baldwin makes it back to the base, he is also attacked, just managing to send a distress signal before he, too, vanishes.

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That's the first Doctor Who episode I can remember seeing. I must have been in the fourth grade, and it really hooked me given that the story draws heavily from the classic science fiction film Forbidden Planet, which I had recently seen--it also features an actor from another favorite TV show, Space: 1999, Prentis Hancock, which I'm sure drew me to the episode, although I didn't realize it at the time. It also features the funny and charismatic Fourth Doctor, most fans' favorite, played by Tom Baker. Anyway, if you read Real Art regularly, I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. I've found "Planet of Evil" serialized in eight minute segments in its entirety on Youtube. And now I'm presenting it to you:

Part one.

Part two.

Part three.

Part four.

Part five.

Part six.

Part seven.

Part eight.

Part nine.

Part ten.

Part eleven.

Part twelve.

If you're able to get past the relatively low-budget production values, you'll find some extraordinarily good story telling, which to this day is able to transport me into a wild and clever realm of space fantasy.

Enjoy.



Thanks to my old buddy Shane for spiritual guidance.

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