Hey 👋 guys enjoyed your review of this story I love season 21 including warriors & Dilemma 😮😮😮 hoping they do optional Fx on the Blu-ray & change the paintbox pink solid overlay when the tractators use their gravity thingy & maybe a sky replacement for shots outside the ship. Great to hear you guys might do a Blakes 7 review maybe the episode with Richard Hurndall called Assassin or the one just before that Headhunter for me Season 4 is the best there’s even a Sea Devil in the 1st episode 😄😄
I never realised until I saw a photo earlier this week that there were actually more corpses in the back of the excavation machine. But for some reason they were never shown on screen.
It was considered to be a bit 'too much' plus the production team were 'not exactly happy' with the finish of the machine prop, which had been outsourced and been finished off with pieces of carpet tiles and bits of rough cut wood, which the team thought was terrible, considering what they apid for it.
I completely agree with Billy here. When I first watched Frontios I went into it thinking it'll be another "falling apart at the seams" episode of Who, but Davidson and Strickson both really blew it out of the park for me. Plus the Tractators are far more silly and enjoyable than I thought they'd be. If more of Davidson's episodes were like this, I think I'd enjoy and look at his era a lot more favourably
BTW re murdered actor Peter Arne: It wasn’t PA’s partner discovered drowned in Thames after his death. Peter Arne had been helping a local rough-sleeper: the inquest reported that it was this guy who murdered PA, and then drowned himself.
Frontios is actually one of my faves of the 5th Doctor. Remember my mum recording it back in the 80s on the old VHS recorder and watching episode 1 before going to school - got it on dvd years later and still enjoy the story. Shame the Tractators never came back outside of Big Finish.
Good podcast guys. My experience with Frontios, I remember I got this story along with the awakening on vhs from Oxfam. I do like this story, I think the Tractators are a pretty cool monster although there performance is abit off balance. I remember seeing a Tractator on that antique Doctor who show on my horror of fang rock dvd and wondering where that monster was from.
For some reason the main thing I remember from Frontios is Mark starring into camera saying "Tractators, I've seen them" and thinking that was a crap bit of acting 😂
Would love to see each your favourite doctor story of each doctor say like Matt's pyramid of mars and whatever Billy's favourite tom story is, just so curious but for 8th doctor should do a big finish story
If y'all cover Blake's 7, I would love it if you also listen to Kaldor City, where it crosses over with DW, specifically via the setting of Robots of Death.
The Gravis should have come back in The Twin Dilemma, instead of having Mestor, who is very similar to a Tractator and also has a plan involving planetary gravitational forces.
I love the name Frontios, I used it for all my passwords as a kid! Then it was Vervoid, Aggedor at one point... anyone else use random doctor who words for passwords?
Frontios - [FRONtios or FRUNtios depending on who says it] Peter Davison comes alive when given something in the script to actually get his teeth into - after a whole season (20) where he gets nothing but exposition, he's got spring in his step. Ron Jones was a director who did grow but he just doesn't really bring out a sense of hitting the dramatic points. The design work is so effective with all the levels (sad the original designer, Barrie Dobbins, had a breakdown and came off the show and ultimately committed suicide) and some great lighting from John Summers. Paddy Kingsland's music gets quite repetitive. The voice of the Gravis isn't a good match. The Tractators are a great idea but being unable to move isn't good. A big bug bear about this script. The TARDIS. FFS it's their only means of escape, a massive part of their lives and it's been destroyed and they mention it once! Pathetic. There's more despair in part 2 of The Web Planet for a minute when they think the TARDIS has gone than we get in Frontios. Bloody Saward and Bidmead!
Blink is the most overrated episode of nuWho. People always like to say its the perfect episode to introduce someone to Doctor Who... An episode that barely features the Doctor.
Overrated stories? Nu Who: Heaven Sent, Day of the Doctor, Listen. Classic: Tomb of the Cybes; Dalek Invasion; Planet of the Daleks… Can’t believe Billy leaves UK before Mother’s Day… selfish **** 😆
Overrated DW: -Genesis of the Daleks (it ruined the Daleks... I preferred them when they were Kaleds mutated by the radiation) -Mummy on the Orient Express & Flatline (idk, they are both very underwhelming and generic) -The Massacre (just coz it has nothing going for it, so anyone who likes it even slightly is overrating it) -Fury from the Deep (i just don't get it... it's generic Doccy Who, like Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline) -The Enemy of the World (it's just meh... and i'm pretty sure Troughton takes the opportunity to black up a bit to play a character who is supposed to look identical to the doctor, which is a wild choice... i guess he was super frustrated that he didn't get to play the doccy in blackface) -Marco Polo... sux. The costumes can't save it. -The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (i don't get why people love series 5 so much when it has the worst modern Who 2 parter of all time) -The Zygon Invasion/Inversion (the politics are super questionable... and the Doctor's popular speech is so so condescending to someone who literally is fighting for the right to not be forced to hide who they are in public, which is a super valid thing to fight for... ojdfklsdjflskdjfsdlkjf the politics are the worst in this story, but at least it isn't as boring as Chibnall's Silurian 2 parter) -The Time Warrior (I'm sorry, it's just pretty rubbish... literally the worst Pertwee story... the Sontarans should never have returned, based on this... tho i'm glad they did return, but this is a terrible terrible intro to them. Not that it's worse than The Sontaran Experiment, but who even likes that one?)
I'd love you guys to do discussions for Blake's 7, that would be brilliant!
The timing on this is SCARY. I have been showing my brother classic doctor who for almost 2 years and we just reached Frontios today.
Hey 👋 guys enjoyed your review of this story I love season 21 including warriors & Dilemma 😮😮😮 hoping they do optional Fx on the Blu-ray & change the paintbox pink solid overlay when the tractators use their gravity thingy & maybe a sky replacement for shots outside the ship. Great to hear you guys might do a Blakes 7 review maybe the episode with Richard Hurndall called Assassin or the one just before that Headhunter for me Season 4 is the best there’s even a Sea Devil in the 1st episode 😄😄
I never realised until I saw a photo earlier this week that there were actually more corpses in the back of the excavation machine. But for some reason they were never shown on screen.
It was considered to be a bit 'too much' plus the production team were 'not exactly happy' with the finish of the machine prop, which had been outsourced and been finished off with pieces of carpet tiles and bits of rough cut wood, which the team thought was terrible, considering what they apid for it.
I completely agree with Billy here. When I first watched Frontios I went into it thinking it'll be another "falling apart at the seams" episode of Who, but Davidson and Strickson both really blew it out of the park for me. Plus the Tractators are far more silly and enjoyable than I thought they'd be. If more of Davidson's episodes were like this, I think I'd enjoy and look at his era a lot more favourably
Billy said "14th Doctor"
we'll never get used to it :P
Let it not be said RoD doesn’t teach you new things. I feel blessed to now know what Turbo Island is
BTW re murdered actor Peter Arne:
It wasn’t PA’s partner discovered drowned in Thames after his death.
Peter Arne had been helping a local rough-sleeper: the inquest reported that it was this guy who murdered PA, and then drowned himself.
The first thing that popped into my head seeing the new Drs outfit was it looks like a Terry's chocolate orange 😂
Frontios is actually one of my faves of the 5th Doctor. Remember my mum recording it back in the 80s on the old VHS recorder and watching episode 1 before going to school - got it on dvd years later and still enjoy the story. Shame the Tractators never came back outside of Big Finish.
Good podcast guys. My experience with Frontios, I remember I got this story along with the awakening on vhs from Oxfam. I do like this story, I think the Tractators are a pretty cool monster although there performance is abit off balance. I remember seeing a Tractator on that antique Doctor who show on my horror of fang rock dvd and wondering where that monster was from.
Davison's doctor does stand out here. Remember thinking that in my Who marathon.
For some reason the main thing I remember from Frontios is Mark starring into camera saying "Tractators, I've seen them" and thinking that was a crap bit of acting 😂
Would love to see each your favourite doctor story of each doctor say like Matt's pyramid of mars and whatever Billy's favourite tom story is, just so curious but for 8th doctor should do a big finish story
William Lucas was very famous as the father of the main family in 1970"s Black Beauty
Keep up the bristol goss boys im loving being in on the joke
I don't understand the hate for Planet of fire.
Same here I watched quite recently and I enjoyed it.
If y'all cover Blake's 7, I would love it if you also listen to Kaldor City, where it crosses over with DW, specifically via the setting of Robots of Death.
Love the Doctor's new 70's porn star costume. Are you guys product placing Thatchers Gold cider...? It worked, I had to crack a can open.
The Gravis should have come back in The Twin Dilemma, instead of having Mestor, who is very similar to a Tractator and also has a plan involving planetary gravitational forces.
I read somewhere it was meant to be The Gravis and Tractators and not Mestor - but I can't remember the reason why it never came to pass.
I love the name Frontios, I used it for all my passwords as a kid! Then it was Vervoid, Aggedor at one point... anyone else use random doctor who words for passwords?
Gonna hack ur account now
Could we have a new series review at some point? Utopia as a special request :)
Review of death podcast 46. Doctor who frontios. Review
I like Frontios
Frontios - [FRONtios or FRUNtios depending on who says it]
Peter Davison comes alive when given something in the script to actually get his teeth into - after a whole season (20) where he gets nothing but exposition, he's got spring in his step.
Ron Jones was a director who did grow but he just doesn't really bring out a sense of hitting the dramatic points. The design work is so effective with all the levels (sad the original designer, Barrie Dobbins, had a breakdown and came off the show and ultimately committed suicide) and some great lighting from John Summers.
Paddy Kingsland's music gets quite repetitive. The voice of the Gravis isn't a good match. The Tractators are a great idea but being unable to move isn't good.
A big bug bear about this script. The TARDIS. FFS it's their only means of escape, a massive part of their lives and it's been destroyed and they mention it once! Pathetic. There's more despair in part 2 of The Web Planet for a minute when they think the TARDIS has gone than we get in Frontios. Bloody Saward and Bidmead!
Blink is the most overrated episode of nuWho. People always like to say its the perfect episode to introduce someone to Doctor Who... An episode that barely features the Doctor.
Overrated stories?
Nu Who:
Heaven Sent, Day of the Doctor, Listen.
Classic:
Tomb of the Cybes; Dalek Invasion; Planet of the Daleks…
Can’t believe Billy leaves UK before Mother’s Day… selfish **** 😆
Lord forgive me. But heaven sent is so overrated. It’s boring. It’s dull. It’s not fun to rewatch. There’s some bad logic at times.
Overrated DW:
-Genesis of the Daleks (it ruined the Daleks... I preferred them when they were Kaleds mutated by the radiation)
-Mummy on the Orient Express & Flatline (idk, they are both very underwhelming and generic)
-The Massacre (just coz it has nothing going for it, so anyone who likes it even slightly is overrating it)
-Fury from the Deep (i just don't get it... it's generic Doccy Who, like Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline)
-The Enemy of the World (it's just meh... and i'm pretty sure Troughton takes the opportunity to black up a bit to play a character who is supposed to look identical to the doctor, which is a wild choice... i guess he was super frustrated that he didn't get to play the doccy in blackface)
-Marco Polo... sux. The costumes can't save it.
-The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (i don't get why people love series 5 so much when it has the worst modern Who 2 parter of all time)
-The Zygon Invasion/Inversion (the politics are super questionable... and the Doctor's popular speech is so so condescending to someone who literally is fighting for the right to not be forced to hide who they are in public, which is a super valid thing to fight for... ojdfklsdjflskdjfsdlkjf the politics are the worst in this story, but at least it isn't as boring as Chibnall's Silurian 2 parter)
-The Time Warrior (I'm sorry, it's just pretty rubbish... literally the worst Pertwee story... the Sontarans should never have returned, based on this... tho i'm glad they did return, but this is a terrible terrible intro to them. Not that it's worse than The Sontaran Experiment, but who even likes that one?)