Why couldn't it have been "follow the butterflies"?

[hildy89]

I've needed to clear some stuff off the dvr so I watched one of the Classic Who episodes I'd saved. I jumped ahead to "Mind Robbers" because it sounded interesting. I think it qualifies as the first Troughton episode I've ever watched. Er, um, I'm sorry, I think his hand wringing and "oh dear me, what will we do?" attitude will take some getting used to. I'm curious if there's a correlation between the Doctor's regenerations and his increasing proactiveness. By the time I encountered him, the Doctor wasn't content to sit around and wait for things. But maybe I picked a bad episode to start. It was amusing the idea of basically of a prolific pulp writer (5000 words a week for 25 years!) powering the computer brain in the Land of Fiction. I had to remind myself though that the Master we know wouldn't show up for another regeneration. Also my encounter with Zoe and Jamie. Zoe looked oddly like a golden lame version of Emma Peel in that catsuit. Her fight with Carkus didn't help that mental image either.

Then I watched the last Three episode I had one my dvr. *sniff, sniff* I have been putting off watching "Planet of the Spiders" for two reasons. One was obvious. Hello, spiders! I didn't do terribly well during the "Chamber of Secrets" movie scene, so this would be difficult. The second reason was something of a surprise to this Doctor Who fan. I honestly started watching the MPT Classic Who reruns more out of curiosity than anything else. I didn't expect to develop a fondness for the Pertwee Doctor, much less dread watching the old boy go away. It was rather like watching the end of season one all over again. As it was the "Great One" was the only spider that made me cringe a little. Okay, more than a little! Spiders, remember? The episode was still on the slow side.

Two lovely moments in the episode:
Doctor/Tardis OTP:
Three: I always leave the actual landings up to the Tardis. She's no fool, you know.
Yates: You speak of her as if she was alive.
Three: Yes... yes, I do, don't I?
(I love the look on Pertwee's face when he gives that final line.)

The Brigadier's reaction when he realizes the Doctor will change faces yet again. "Here we go again." Oh the paperwork he's probably imagining...

Ah, well, MPT did jump around his adventures, so I don't think I've seen all of them yet. That's a blessing. And watching it was able to give me some ideas on how to attack a fanfiction idea, so all is not completely lost. But why did it have to be spiders?

Comments

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

Two is clownish, but gives hints of being surprisingly on top of things, like his approach to the world is to get everyone to underestimate him. He's the goofy, excitable underachiever who's smarter than you, but nice enough (and cunning enough) not to show it. Mostly he's like that because One was a jerk. Kind of loveable and elderly, but really sort of an arrogant, bossy jerk. Who occasionally thought about killing his companions and dumping their bodies in space. :) Regenerations mostly just try to alternate physical and personality types to different extremes - it's sort of unusual that Nine and Ten have been so similar in age and appearance and personality. Two's not that far off the norm; the Doctor's generally a bit of a backseat driver who occasionally rigs up something nifty, so it's just getting used to Two's flustered style of doing it.

"The Mind Robbers" is just sort of an odd duck for many reasons; I'm not sure it's the best intro to Two. Try "Tomb of the Cybermen", I think.