Doctor Who - The Creature from the Pit [DVD] [1979]

This story has taken a lot of heat over the years. Every show has both its stronger and its weaker moments. For the Doctor, and after such strong stories before it, this was a somewhat weaker moment.But that is not to say it is bad. It is not. The story is full of good ideas and magnificently huge vision. Well done to all involved in tryig to make it all happen. The only real reason things just don't work too well is purely down to time and money.There clearly was not enouh time to properly polish the rough edges out of the script, and there was not enough time to realise the creation of the monster well enough. Otherwise, I am sure that we would not have had a story that is quite so disjointed, and we would have had a monster that actually looked like the mile long green slime threat that it was meant to be, and not an enormous representation of male genitalia. I openly admit that I did laugh when it 'attacks' the Doctor, it is unintentionally hilarious.Or is it?I sometimes wonder when I see this, if that this was not some kind of wicked joke played on us all by Douglas Adams. Whilst his humour was generally of the 'clever' variety, he would not have been above the old 'schooll boy' naughty joke here and there.As many here have already said, it was a bit of a mixed bag for new Romama Lalla Ward. I am glad that I am having a chance to get reaquainted with her interpretation of the character. Very pretty girl too, every inch the elegant Time Lord in that white number she was costumed in for this tale.It's amazing how relative time has influenced my, admittedly rather limited male, perceptions. As a boy, I looked at Lalla Ward and though "Yes she is pretty, but why do they pick women that are so old to be with the Doctor?"Now I look at her and think "Dear Lord! She was so young when she started!"

Sorry about the pun. This is another one of those stories that would be better thought of if it did not have such an attrocious monster. The script & story involving a planet (Chloris) that needs metal and is stuffed full of chlorophyl and a monster lurking of course in a pit is quite a good one. I'm not suggesting it would be a classic with a good monster but it certainly would not be a turkey. Check out the novel or talking books version to see how much better the story works without a bad monster.This is a story that benefited from Douglas Adams' involvement as script editor with the humour serving the story and not as in the case of some of Horns of Nimon working against it. A good example of this is the low quality & amateur rebels/bandits.There are some good characters here; Myra Frances' Lady Adrasta's a bit of an OTT villain but it works and her elderly female henchman is quite an unusual idea-Karela as played by Eileen Way (old mother on the ist ever story). With Catweazle himself Geoffrey Bayldon playing an astrologer-you can't go wrong.The wolfweeds are a fun idea-sort of carnivorous tumbleweeds, not as well realised as they could have been but still fun.Tom seems to be enjoying himself as ever and Lalla Ward's more intellectual version of Romana is good especially mocking the bandits holding her captive. As Lalla points out on the commentary the white dress doesn't suit her. Some good action for K9, blasting away at stuff.The studio created jungle is the best attempt at an indoor alien environment since Planet of Evil too.Now that monster. It looks like a glowing green balloon that's been too near a match and has a really dreadfully funny appendage. Scenes like where the Doctor is trying to find a way of communicating with it are robbed of any credibility.For all that it's an enjoyable story sometimes for the wrong reasosn but mostly for the right ones.Sadly the policy of releasing Uncle Tom's more infamous stories without a Tommentary continues, but Lalla Ward, Myra Frances, director Chris Barry and FX supremo Mat Irvine are entertaining without him. Lalla has become a dab hand at commentaries. They discuss how Myra F wanted to take home her costume to delight husband Peter Egan, what part this story played in Chris Barry's decision not to do any more Who, Tom taking over and the creature, which prompts Lalla to say "How on Earth did you get it past Mary Whitehouse?"Team Erato is an absorbing look at why they went the way they did with the creature and why it failed with much of the FX team interviewed.There's also a vintage piece filmed on set where Tom talks about monsters he's met and a good feature on Chris Barry's career, why he became a director, work at Ealing Studios etc. which is very enjoyable but just a shame there isn't a little something in it on each of his Who stories.The info text makes the observation that the story's a bit like Classic Trek story "The Devil in the Dark", which had never occured to me before.A good package but more for completists and Uncle Tom fans.