|
|
Post by Laura Ross on Apr 5, 2014 21:04:45 GMT
Gee it's been a sad week or two for Dr Who. Derek Martinus, Kate O Mara and now one of the few surviving 60's writer Glyn Jones has passed away. I personally love The Space Museum, it's such a clever story. He also acted in The Sontaran Experiment. 'Yunnerstan' RIP
|
|
|
|
Post by Patrick Coles on Apr 6, 2014 9:13:55 GMT
'The Space Museum' is VERY underrated - I can tell you that when it originally went out the first episode was spellbinding and EVERYONE at my school back in the sixties was talking about 'Doctor Who' that monday...!!
the story itself has been derided by some 'too vocal' fans (like 'The Web Planet' etc) when in fact it's a fascinating look at how things such as fate may seem to be pre-destined and unavoidable despite all they do to alter the path seemingly set out ahead...with the twist of the Tardis crew finally being saved from their 'museum exhibit' fate NOT by their own actions, but by the actions of others whom they have influenced (which many times thereafter is a recurring theme in later Dr.Who often in stories those 'vocal fans' praise up as 'classics' - likewise 'Web Planet')
The style of 'Space Museum' was originally I believe meant to be 'played for wit & amusement' (how true that is I can't say) but it was actually filmed as a 'straight' tale - personally I'm glad it was as it's core themes (for me) work better that way...
A rather silly 'Defending The Space Museum' (why ??) 'extra' on the DVD actually seemed to do more to pull the thing to pieces rather than anything else I felt
- do we need to 'defend' it (?) do we ever 'defend' 'Genesis of the Daleks' or 'Caves of Androzani' etc...? - more 'vocal fans' nonsense being taken seriously as 'fact' (when it isn't) in my opinion
'The Space Museum' with it's look at the weird 'ghostly' effects of a Tardis malfunction in the unforgettable episode one - another classic Dr.Who 'first episode' to a tale featuring largely/essentially JUST the regular cast (like; 'An Unearthly Child', The Daleks: 'The Dead Planet' 'Edge of Destruction', Dalek Invasion: 'World's End', 'The Web Planet', 'The Chase', 'The Mind Robber', and later in colour; 'Carnival of Monsters', 'Invasion of The Dinosaurs', 'The Ark in Space', 'Planet of Evil', 'The Android Invasion', 'The Robots of Death', 'Four To Doomsday' etc...) - then the following tale re 'destiny' and seemingly unavoidable fate etc, is a very interesting - and most influential to the series overall - piece of sixties 'Dr.Who' that deserves more appreciation & respect from many of the show's (so called) 'fans' who often seem to miss the point of stories & how the early b/w tales themes recur time & time again later in the much vaunted colour years...
RIP Glyn Jones...without whom...
|
|
|
|
Post by Richard Tipple on Apr 6, 2014 9:35:49 GMT
Sad news indeed. RIP.
I believe the passing of Glyn Jones means Donald Tosh is the only writer from the Hartnell era still with us.
|
|
|
|
Post by shellyharman67 on Apr 6, 2014 9:49:28 GMT
R.I.P. Space museum is great stuff ! Sad day again in the world of Dr Who  |
|
|
|
Post by johnbarbour on Apr 6, 2014 11:15:44 GMT
I have a Target novelisation of The Space Museum dated 1988 (did noting the date of purchase on Dr Who books as I collected them make me a geek? Don't care - no-one else knew!) and found the story intriguing. Not sure it works so well on screen though that is to quibble as you could say that about a lot of TV including other Dr Who stories. I am glad that Glyn Jones got to novelise his own story back in the days when we did not have access to DVDs. I think his kind of story would fit nicely into the more recent mode of Dr Who storylines but then you could argue that this all started with the more varied approach adopted in the Hartnell era compared to his successors (I'm still a Troughton addict though).
|
|
|
|
Post by Paul McDermott on Apr 6, 2014 11:22:45 GMT
Just seen this, what a bummer! Mr Death, go take your reaping business elsewhere - we've given enough this season!  The creepiness of The Space Museum, the freshness of the parameters of risk and danger ever-present in both traveling from place to place in the TARDIS and even being in the thing at all, with the sense of standing on the precipice of the Unknown, as Barbara intuited outside that junkyard, brings to mind a little of Edge Of Destruction. I fear that it's something that's long been lacking in colour Who, so now the police box can be used in car chases, tow planets and turn on a five pence piece. Once, if you had options, maybe you didn't want to skip quite so merrily aboard!  Thanks Glyn Jones, you are missed!  |
|
|
|
Post by Will Weller on Apr 6, 2014 11:45:09 GMT
Gee it's been a sad week or two for Dr Who. Derek Martinus, Kate O Mara and now one of the few surviving 60's writer Glyn Jones has passed away. I personally love The Space Museum, it's such a clever story. He also acted in The Sontaran Experiment. 'Yunnerstan' RIP
This is very sad news. The Space Museum is a good story that is very clever. I remember when I first watched it I wasn't to sure about it, but last year I watched it for a second time and really enjoyed it! Glyn also wrote the Target novel, however I haven't read that yet. RIP GLYN JONES |
|
|
|
Post by Jaspal Cheema on Apr 6, 2014 11:53:54 GMT
'The Space Museum' is VERY underrated - I can tell you that when it originally went out the first episode was spellbinding and EVERYONE at my school back in the sixties was talking about 'Doctor Who' that monday...!! the story itself has been derided by some 'too vocal' fans (like 'The Web Planet' etc) when in fact it's a fascinating look at how things such as fate may seem to be pre-destined and unavoidable despite all they do to alter the path seemingly set out ahead...with the twist of the Tardis crew finally being saved from their 'museum exhibit' fate NOT by their own actions, but by the actions of others whom they have influenced (which many times thereafter is a recurring theme in later Dr.Who often in stories those 'vocal fans' praise up as 'classics' - likewise 'Web Planet') The style of 'Space Museum' was originally I believe meant to be 'played for wit & amusement' (how true that is I can't say) but it was actually filmed as a 'straight' tale - personally I'm glad it was as it's core themes (for me) work better that way... A rather silly 'Defending The Space Museum' (why ??) 'extra' on the DVD actually seemed to do more to pull the thing to pieces rather than anything else I felt - do we need to 'defend' it (?) do we ever 'defend' 'Genesis of the Daleks' or 'Caves of Androzani' etc...? - more 'vocal fans' nonsense being taken seriously as 'fact' (when it isn't) in my opinion 'The Space Museum' with it's look at the weird 'ghostly' effects of a Tardis malfunction in the unforgettable episode one - another classic Dr.Who 'first episode' to a tale featuring largely/essentially JUST the regular cast (like; 'An Unearthly Child', The Daleks: 'The Dead Planet' 'Edge of Destruction', Dalek Invasion: 'World's End', 'The Web Planet', 'The Chase', 'The Mind Robber', and later in colour; 'Carnival of Monsters', 'Invasion of The Dinosaurs', 'The Ark in Space', 'Planet of Evil', 'The Android Invasion', 'The Robots of Death', 'Four To Doomsday' etc...) - then the following tale re 'destiny' and seemingly unavoidable fate etc, is a very interesting - and most influential to the series overall - piece of sixties 'Dr.Who' that deserves more appreciation & respect from many of the show's (so called) 'fans' who often seem to miss the point of stories & how the early b/w tales themes recur time & time again later in the much vaunted colour years... RIP Glyn Jones...without whom... Beautifully put Sir! :)I will definitely go back and re-appraise this story! |
|
|
|
Post by John Green on Apr 6, 2014 14:22:33 GMT
Doesn't The Space Museum slip into 'Prisoner' territory for a moment,with pictures of penny-farthing bicycles and an Edwardian gent,during an interrogation?
Well,not really,but it makes me smile!
|
|
|
|
Post by Simon Jailler on Apr 6, 2014 14:29:37 GMT
You've persuaded me to look at it again Patrick. I found SM and the Sensorites hard to watch but both these stories have some powerful advocates from these pages in their favour |
|
|
|
Post by Jon Preddle on Apr 6, 2014 21:13:11 GMT
I have very fond memories of Jones's "Here Come the Double Deckers", featuring a very young Peter Firth.
I so wanted to build a secret door in our back fence like the one they had accessing their hideout.
|
|
|
|
Post by Patrick Coles on Apr 7, 2014 12:52:01 GMT
'The Space Musuem' is a bit of a 'slow and plodding' tale after episode one - as a few Dr.Who stories were in each decade - which probably bored some people & very likely led to it's (incorrect) weak 'fans reputation' but it's worth sticking with, bearing in mind the aspects it features re future destinies & the series influencing strange time effects caused by the Tardis malfunction....
(remember Pertwee's Third Doctor & Jo Grant later briefly 'meeting themselves' thanks to a Tardis console malfunction in that Dalek story...?)
One curiously priceless moment in 'The Space Museum' is where Hartnell's first Doctor ACTS JUST LIKE Troughton's second Doctor...!
We see a Dalek casing....'I am the Master' it croaks...the top lifts and an amused William Hartnell is inside...
this was of course the 'eccentric humour' of The Doctor that William Hartnell very occasionally slipped in
- Pat Troughton must have watched Hartnell's stories as reference when he got the role (or knew it already anyway) and took that 'eccentric humour' aspect as the cornerstone for his second Doctor - if 'Power of The Daleks' has been found & gets a DVD release just watch Troughton 'clowning about' & even playing bowls with fruit and acting very OTT to start with (much to Polly & Ben's amazement)
Troughton's Doctor settles down (somewhat !) but always has the child like sense of FUN about him...and that was a small part of Hartnell's Doctor (noticeable in Space Museum's scene) that Pat utilised carefully and built his second Doctor's persona around...
Similarly in 'The Sea Devils' Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor has a superbly 'Troughton-esque' moment at the sea fort when after turning a transistor radio into a transmitter and making contact with Navy rescue he's proud of his nifty handiwork...switches it off - and it goes off 'Pop' !! (to his shock & embarressment...)- Pure Patrick Troughton !
These moments were cleverly done by each classic Doctor actor duly echoing other incarnations ....
Hartnell's Doctor faces a mental inquisition and when asked how he got to the planet he mischeviously thinks of a penny farthing bike - ala 'The Prisoner'
- years later Jon Pertwee has a similar mental interrogation both by The Daleks in 'Day of The Daleks' (we see both Hartnell & Troughton's faces on a screen as they probe for his identity ) and in another story where we see The Tardis spinning through Time & Space...
the mental duel between The Doctor and Morbius depicts both earlier faces of Morbius...and each of the four Doctors faces from Tom Baker back to William Hartnell in 'The Brain of Morbius'
while Peter Davison has a mental torture in 'Resurrection of The Daleks' & we see everyone both companions & earlier Doctors going right back to William Hartnell...
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaspal Cheema on Apr 7, 2014 18:39:15 GMT
One curiously priceless moment in 'The Space Museum' is where Hartnell's first Doctor ACTS JUST LIKE Troughton's second Doctor...! We see a Dalek casing....'I am the Master' it croaks...the top lifts and an amused Hartnell is inside... this was of course the 'eccentric humour' of The Doctor that Hartnell very occasionally slipped in - Pat Troughton must have watched Hartnell's stories as reference when he got the role (or knew it already anyway) and took that 'eccentric humour' aspect as the cornerstone for his second Doctor - if 'Power of The Daleks' has been found & gets a DVD release just watch Troughton 'clowning about' & even playing bowls with fruit and acting very OTT to start with (much to Polly & Ben's amazement) Troughton's Doctor settles down (somewhat !) but always has the child like sense of FUN about him...and that was a small part of Hartnell's Doctor (noticeable in Space Museum's scene) that Pat utilised carefully and built his second Doctor's persona around... Similarly in 'The Sea Devils' Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor has a superbly 'Troughton-esque' moment at the sea fort when after turning a transistor radio into a transmitter and making contact with Navy rescue he's proud of his nifty handiwork...switches it off - and it goes off 'Pop' !! (to his shock & embarressment...)- Pure Patrick Troughton ! These moments were cleverly done by each classic Doctor actor duly echoing other incarnations .... Hartnell in the Dalek casing was one of the stand-out moments from the Whose Doctor Who documentary from 1977.I actually remember it from that,rather than the Space Museum! |
|
|
|
Post by Marty Schultz on Apr 9, 2014 9:14:32 GMT
]I recently rewatched The Space Museum. An underrated story. I like it's attempt at harder sci-fi. Timey Wimey. The opening is a classic - especially post Aztecs. I wish he'd done another one. It's a solid and fun romp that is both confident and well managed. A sci-fi story that played with the premise.
|
|
|
|
Post by Richard Marple on Apr 9, 2014 11:36:21 GMT
I do some moments in the Space Museum, along with the opening, Vicki reprogramming the computer, & the twists late in the story make in enjoyable viewing.
|
|
