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The Krotons |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Peri's Cleavage
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The Krotons
I think this another little oddity from the Troughton Era. It's also another mixed bag.
On the plus side, there is the banter between The Doctor and Zoe, especially during the mind tests and the story's resolution as they try to buy time. Philip Madoc makes a good debut in one the lesser known roles he played. The storyline itself is an interesting one and contains some of the humour Robert Holmes is known for. What really lets the story down is it's execution. The Kroton's are so slow and cumbersome you could easily run away before they could fire. As pointed out by the Second Doctor Handbook, the character of Beta actually turns up in two places at the same time(check it out, it's true!) and all in all the Gonds are a hopeless lot, not too dissimilar to the Dulcians in The Dominators though granted they aren't pacifists by any means. I can't think of anything else to say about this particular story at the moment so there is only one way to end this post.........SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2004
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I haven't seen this one for such a long time, so will reserve comment til the DVD comes out!
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#3 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 15,572
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It's something that might almost have worked as a Star Trek episode... Spock would clearly have been a High Brain.
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#4 |
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 12,053
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I have never seen this story before.I did watch the coming soon trailer for it on the 'Death To The Daleks' dvd.I might check it out.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,411
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Haven't seen this for years - looking forward to the DVD to jog my memory!
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#6 |
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 82,194
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Quote:
I haven't seen this one for such a long time,
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 16,500
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Quote:
me to the one and only time I've seen The Krotons, was back atound 1982 when it was shown during The Five Faces season.
My recollection is that I wasn't hugely enamoured. All seemed quite clunky, and The Mind Robber showed that Who didn't have to be that way, even at this comparitively early stage in the show's history. |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Greater Manchester, UK
Posts: 6,128
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Quote:
me to the one and only time I've seen The Krotons, was back atound 1982 when it was shown during The Five Faces season.
I remember being excited about seeing a PT story but don't remember being particularly gripped by it! |
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#9 |
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Join Date: May 2004
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Wow. Seems that the Krotons has passed most of us by! How unexpected!
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#10 |
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 9,705
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Quote:
me to the one and only time I've seen The Krotons, was back atound 1982 when it was shown during The Five Faces season.
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#11 |
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 5,748
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Well seen all the full surviving Troughton’s now, being fair this isn’t a bad one far from it. Average but that is in comparison to the other surviving Troughton stories. Which are of a good to high standard generally IMO.
Surprising then when you discover this is a Robert Holmes, his opening contribution to Doctor Who. Closer inspection of the newly released BBC DVD sleeve enlightens you a little, “The Krotons began life as a one-off science fiction script without the Doctor”. Okay that doesn’t quite cover it however, “Under a new production team, the idea was eventually developed as a filler commission in case a script fell through”. Eureka!, that is why we get this. Don’t get me wrong there is plenty to be positive about, nice humour in it. But it exclusively is given to the Doctor. Tell me a line that anyone else is given that contains humour, the rest seemingly play it straight the whole way through. Although I do laugh when Zoe is commenting on Jamie’s intelligence after learning he has gone into the Krotons machine, “But Jamie’s mind is untrained” ![]() Favourite lines from the Doctor include: “Oh my Giddy Aunt” and “Yes it is very irritating” when the Doctor is commenting on Zoe’s genius capabilities. As for the Krotons when they are eventually revealed, quite a way into the piece. It’s not like an end of the first episode reveal like in Earthshock. It’s a fair way in but considering it’s a rare four-parter it is a fair way along. Not that’s it’s worth it, I refer you to the DVD sleeve again: “Like the Mechanoids that prevented them from appearing a few years earlier, the poor Kroton creatures would never return”. Aside from some of the limitations of the story, the idea that they are organic matter and hence provide the way of defeating them is reasonably pleasing. Zoe is pleasing as ever, not just her costume. Jamie having been dismissed as a primitive by the Krotons, tricks them into giving out information that ultimately aids the Doctor and Zoe on another part of the planet when they are nearly captured by the other Kroton. Which again is a pleasing segment of the story. The supporting cast notably Philip Madoc are good actors, but just playing it straight in what is overall a bit of a moderate Doctor Who adventure. Not bad, Holmes would go onto much better things in the rest of his Doctor Who career thankfully!
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 58
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I had this on VHS years ago , cant recall the story now , going to get the dvd next pay day
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#13 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 7,096
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Quite a quirky little story. The Krotons were a bit naff - not scary at all. Although I loved their deep cockney voices!
Loved that line of Patrick's when the Tardis suddenly vanished...."For once, I remembered to set the HADS!" (Hostile Action Defence System). |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 5,748
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Quote:
Well seen all the full surviving Troughton’s now, being fair this isn’t a bad one far from it. Average but that is in comparison to the other surviving Troughton stories. Which are of a good to high standard generally IMO.
Surprising then when you discover this is a Robert Holmes, his opening contribution to Doctor Who. Closer inspection of the newly released BBC DVD sleeve enlightens you a little, “The Krotons began life as a one-off science fiction script without the Doctor”. Okay that doesn’t quite cover it however, “Under a new production team, the idea was eventually developed as a filler commission in case a script fell through”. Eureka!, that is why we get this. Don’t get me wrong there is plenty to be positive about, nice humour in it. But it exclusively is given to the Doctor. Tell me a line that anyone else is given that contains humour, the rest seemingly play it straight the whole way through. Although I do laugh when Zoe is commenting on Jamie’s intelligence after learning he has gone into the Krotons machine, “But Jamie’s mind is untrained” ![]() Favourite lines from the Doctor include: “Oh my Giddy Aunt” and “Yes it is very irritating” when the Doctor is commenting on Zoe’s genius capabilities. As for the Krotons when they are eventually revealed, quite a way into the piece. It’s not like an end of the first episode reveal like in Earthshock. It’s a fair way in but considering it’s a rare four-parter it is a fair way along. Not that’s it’s worth it, I refer you to the DVD sleeve again: “Like the Mechanoids that prevented them from appearing a few years earlier, the poor Kroton creatures would never return”. Aside from some of the limitations of the story, the idea that they are organic matter and hence provide the way of defeating them is reasonably pleasing. Zoe is pleasing as ever, not just her costume. Jamie having been dismissed as a primitive by the Krotons, tricks them into giving out information that ultimately aids the Doctor and Zoe on another part of the planet when they are nearly captured by the other Kroton. Which again is a pleasing segment of the story. The supporting cast notably Philip Madoc are good actors, but just playing it straight in what is overall a bit of a moderate Doctor Who adventure. Not bad, Holmes would go onto much better things in the rest of his Doctor Who career thankfully! ![]() And yes the Gond character is really in two places at once!!! Amazing ![]() Just also had to mention how short is Zoe's skirt, incredibly distracting and fantastic!
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 7,096
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"YOU ARE NOT A GOND!!" (In a cockney accent!!!!)
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#16 |
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: London
Posts: 1,082
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I've never seen the krotons before so I felt quite excited hoping for a hidden treasure. Whilst not quite up to The Heights of other stories it's a serviceable story if you ignore
that the krotons are not particularly exciting to look at and they feel a bit clunky. They remind me I think wasn't there a robot in the mysterious planet the sixth doctor story also written by Robert Holmes? seemed a bit similar to that. I mean in the way it sounds and moves. I think the positives of this story are the human characters.the first couple of episodes are actually good with Vana the girl being made comatose due to the burning light. Zoe been chosen to go into the Machine.before we actually see anything of what the Threat looks like. Philip Madoc does give a strong energetic performance and I like the father and son in it and the dippy scientist. it kind of struck me that this society is sending their brightest young students to their deaths and this society is in awe the Machine. I suppose thinking of the time it was made in the 1960s with the Vietnam war going on is it about their Society waking up ? although it's not Robert Holmes greatest script I think if you look beyond how cheap looking the interior sets and the aliens are at the message it's quite interesting to explore. I do also like the exterior filming in the quarry which does look like it could be an alien planet. I like Zoe beating the doctor in the Intelligence test and the doctor being a bit annoyed saying it is quite irritating ! it's nice to see them bonding together as the higher aliens because normally it's Jamie and the doctor together. oh my giddy aunt there is just enough in this story to keep it interesting although I can't bare the look of those robots. the directions is ok with the point of view shots and when the robots spin their heads around and around! |
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