Jamie wasn't originally intended as a companion so he takes a backseat role in his first few stories which had to be quickly edited to include him. Don't be too hard on him!
Now that you've met Jamie McCrimmon (a little bit) it seems like a good time to bring up that in the Tenth Doctor episode "Tooth and Claw" when the Doctor and Rose find themselves in Scotland, the Doctor introduces himself as "Doctor James McCrimmon."
Since the BBC pulled back on the Daleks to try and spin them off to American TV, the Cybermen became the 2nd Doctor's regular nemeses. This is probably why they're so well regarded and established as WHO villains to this day.
I've only seen one surviving episode of Underwater Menace - and I can tell you that your description of Zaroff as 'batshit crazy' significantly undersells the actors colourful performance :D
"There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought." -- The dark, mysterious, powerful Second Doctor shows up.
Don't worry, you're gonna fall in love with Jamie soon enough. As for this story, it's probably my favorite Cybermen episode. The story itself is only alright, but the Cybermen are so damn ruthless in this one. That's what really sells it for me. Also, try not to get spoiled for future Cybermen episodes, since most of them don't actually feature the word "Cybermen" in the title, but the DVD Covers for all of them totally spoil the surprise every single time.
'The Highlanders' was a nice swansong to the pure historicals and was even the core inspiration for Outlander, which is an amazing show that you should check out. That story also brought us one of the best companions in Doctor Who history in Jamie McCrimmon, who was basically Troughton's Ian & Barbara. The dynamic between those two was legendary and is still one of the best Doctor/companion dynamics we've had. As for 'The Underwater Menace', well I consider it in the same vein as 'The Web Planet' where it is so bizarre and bonkers that it's kind of enjoyable in a retro-campy "so bad it's good" way. Plus it gave us one of the most ridiculous villains in the show's history with Professor Zaroff ("Nothing in the world can stop me now!"). 'The Moonbase' was a solid base-under-siege story that helped provide the template as to what we could expect from the Troughton Era. It was also a good Cybermen story that showcased just how creepy and effective they can be. If Captain Jack's cryptic warning in 'Fugitive of the Judoon' is anything to go by, then luckily for you, both this and the Cybermen hopefully turning up in Series 12 will be a double Classic & Modern dose of Cybermen content!
I totally agree with everything you said above. The Underwater Menace was truly bizarre & yes, Zaroff was utterly insane! I think it's also worth mentioning that the 2nd Doctor had a wonderful way of stoking up the fear of a given situation, as he does here when they realise that a Cyberman is hiding in the medical room. Troughton was second to none brilliant at that.
I know this is a long way away but please please don't skip web of fear. Five out of six parts are perfectly intact, only one part is missing but survived with perfect audio and still frames and it's only one part.
Regarding companions and romance, remember when this was made. There generally won't be any obvious romance, and when there is, they have to announce a wedding. Perhaps an actor might choose to indicate their character is interested in another, but it would be in a very subtle way, and it won't be mentioned.
That's a really good point. There are three notable exceptions such as Susan and David (won't say the others as that's spoilers). Having recently watched one of the extra features to a third Doctor story, the late, great Barry Letts was very vocal about this difference between classic who & new Who. He mentioned that if there was any hint of anything sexual in the classic era, particularly between a Doctor & companion, it would have been met with massive shock back then.
Well, since their first story, The War Machines, it was revealed that Ben likes Polly and for me, their relationship is something between lovers and friends, not quite lovers, but still something more than just friends. They have feelings for each others but they still don't really know how to share them.
The Tardis teams reaction to landing somewhere new: Polly: Please let it be Chelsea 1966. Ben: Hope it's the Daleks, I Don’t think. Doctor: Prehistoric Monsters Jamie:...What have I come upon? ones the shows best moments also Guard: How do I know he's a wanted criminal Ben: Well look at him, he ain't normal is he.
25:30 Considering the last batch of Cybermen had flesh hands and these guys have three fingers, I don't think you or contemporary viewers would be expected to figure it out.
Not that they're in the same league, but I always think of Ben and Polly as a swinging sixties reboot of Ian and Barbara - so, yes, I absolutely figure they're a couple! Mind you, on production documents Polly's second name is given to be 'Wright' - so I have a secret suspicion she's Barbara's cousin or something...
You will find that most of the Second Doctor stories follow the same theme.. The "base under siege", meaning an isolated locale (i.e. a base , a ship etc.) menaced by an army of invaders.. but as a side note.. you WILL love the Second Doctor. He more than the First help set the standard that continues to this day.
MINOR SPOILERS FOR TROUGHTON'S ERA Jess: "I don't know how long [Jamie's] going to be sticking around for" Jamie: *literally* the longest running Doctor Who companion Don't worry Jess I think you've got time lol
Doctor: You look very nice in that dress. Companion: Thank you. Don't you think it's a bit . . Doctor: A bit short? Oh, I shouldn't worry about that. Look at Jamie's. Jamie: Hey, I'll have you know that . . Oh, aye.
It's been a struggle to wait several hours before I could watch this video. I'm watching these with you and in answer to one of your questions at the start, I'm liking Ben and Polly a lot so far. They seem fun and energetic and "hip" and they have great chemistry that I feel like was missing during the Dodo period (and I like Dodo, unlike a lot of people). I hope they get together. And I love the sass about curious people. :D The little rant that ended with, "and then they try to give you fucking gills!" should be clipped and shared on Twitter. It sums up Jess' personality perfectly. I was so excited when this turned out to be a Cyberman episode, just because I was thinking of your reaction. :) You didn't disappoint. The scream when you saw the shadow made my day.
The Part 2 cliffhanger of the Cyberman revealed to be hiding in the Medical Bay is one of the best. Thrilling stuff. The Doctor’s speech about fighting evil in the universe is excellent too.
From what I've heard the whole "The Phantom Piper" thing with Jamie was one of the first scenes specifically written in for him. As lots of others have mentioned Jamie was never supposed to be a companion, just a side character for The Highlanders. The rest of his lines before this were adapted from Ben or from side characters.
Happy Valentine's Day Jess! 💗💗 It wasn't originally intended for Jamie to become a companion, actor Frazer Hines had worked with Patrick Troughton on something else before appearing together in Doctor Who. The two actors got along so well and had such good on screen chemistry the production team decided to make Jamie an ongoing character. But that meant neither The Underwater Menace not The Moonbase had been written with Jamie in mind. As a result, in the former he was given half of Ben's lines and in this story he's knocked out for most of these first two episodes. This is definitely a kind of soft reboot of The Tenth Planet. The Cybermen costumes have obviously been heavily redesigned and a conscious decision was made to retread some of the same ground in this story to "introduce" them again with their new look. You certainly seem to be digging this story so far. Hope you enjoyed your first glimpse of the Second Doctor "in the flesh".
Love The Moonbase a perfect episode to watch when you want to pass the time. But I can't believe Jess cut the "corners of the universe" line The "augmented" people are really memorable and sinister. I went as one for comic con a couple of years ago The cliffhanger to episode 2 is really chilling and suspenseful. It's amusing to think this came out 2 years before the actual moon landing
Yes that's an iconic line, but I guess Jess can't show the whole story for time and copyright reasons. It's definitely an irony that it came out 2 years before a real moon landing. I think mankind was so ambitious then and shows like this definitely helped to foster ambition. The notion that there may be a moonbase controlling Earths weather in 2070 may be a bit too ambitious though lol! But I love the optimism of the story & in general love the visions of the future from the point of view of the past the Classic Who gives us. They've been uncannily right about some things!
You're not alone. As a life-long classic Who fan, even I've only seen the reconstructions once, and there's no way they'd make good reaction videos. Seems pretty obvious. Can't wait for your reactions to complete stories.
Agreed; they wouldn't make good reaction videos and, at best, you can only react to the _animation,_ not the actors - a heightened problem in Troughton's era, because he was such a mercurial actor. It's not merely a case of missing episodes, but also of missing his facial/physical expressiveness, and the little touches of genius improvised between Troughton and companions (especially Frazer Hines). No animation can hope to capture those things, which were an intrinsic part of every Second Doctor episode. Good as the animations can be, I tend to listen to the soundtracks and let my imagination provide the visuals.
Sesska is still in the fourth serial and she has already realized what most of the Second Doctor's era will be like: base under siege. "There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.". Like the Seventh, the Second Doctor initially looks like a complete clown, until he reveals himself surprisingly serious when he needs to be. He will always correct any injustice he finds in his way and may God have mercy on the fool who tries to stop him. I imagine that Sesska will not skip The Web of Fear, after all, of the six episodes only one is lost. There is a fan made animation on UA-cam which is ok. I also hope that the Fury from the Deep animation will be released before she reaches this serial. Or at least, that we already know the release date by then.
Seconded. Gerry Davis's novelisation is one of my favourites, too; I read it so many times as a kid that it became the most tatty book in my collection.
@@ftumschk It is a good one...plus, I got a copy of that novelisation signed by Fraser Hines when he did an appearance in my local Waterstones a few years ago, yes..?
@@ftumschk One of the earliest that I bought, the first Troughton I saw, I think, with the black logo and the Achilleos illustration cover for 30p. Those were the days.
I love how excited you are to see the Cybermen. These guys are one of my favourite Cyberman designs, too. The end of part 2 is also one of my favourite cliffhangers. The buildup to the realization that there's a Cyberman in the room with them is so wonderfully suspenseful.
I watched moonbase this morning and it’s so good. Of course I thought I recognised the commander from his voice and looked it up, only to spoil the cybermen appearance five minutes before it happened! I’ve been catching up classic who so I can watch your reactions, and now I’m finally ahead!
I think 'The Moonbase' was designed almost as a restart on purpose, with the costumes updated from their first appearance. If I'm not mistaken, you haven't heard them speak yet - and, yes, they've changed the voice already...
I love this story, the Cybermen are my personal favorite villain. By the way Marie-Clare considers Jamie to be her future husband so she has dibs on him.
I may be a straight man but, fuck it, I love Jamie. Number 1 companion all the way. Originally, he was just supposed to be in 'The Highlanders', but because the production team saw potential in him, they changed the ending so that he would go inside the TARDIS. However, this led to an issue, because most of the scripts had been written before the decision to make Jamie a companion had been finalized, so for 'The Underwater Menace', they had to give Frazer Hines some of Ben's dialogue and scenes, which Frazer feels didn't help his relationship with Michael Craze. This story in particular was tricky, because they really couldn't figure out what to do with Jamie, so they had to have him be unconscious for most of the story.
Well, I'd say that given we had to wait a week between each episode in the classic series (as is the case now with new Who), we are getting a pretty good deal here! Still, yes, a week is a long time to wait for such awesome reaction videos!
Many thanks for your continued coverage. I think in answer to your question about what The Doctor thinks of Ben & Polly, now Jamie, is that he does care for them all incredibly & he doesn't just see them as 'tag-alongs'. I think however, that he downplays how he feels a little.This was a great Cyberman story. Hard to tell how I felt about it when I first watched it because I originally watched classic Who in the order they brought the (first) Videos & then DVD's out, which was kind of all over the place, so really interesting to hear this from the perspective of someone who is viewing them in order. Plus, when I first watched this, I only saw parts 2 & 4 as they hadn't been animated at that time, so I struggled to get everything which occurred. I can totally relate to how it reminds you of The Tenth Planet. The Cybermen of course have a different design in this. I wanted to say a brief word about Jamie because (& without giving any spoilers away), throughout his tenure as a companion, and as you continue to watch the stories, you will find yourself questioning why he sais/does certain things, which on the face of it seem incredibly stupid. The important thing to remember is that he is from 1745 & Fraser never loses sight of that in his portrayal of Jamie. He plays the role brilliantly & is one of my all time favourite companions. Looking forward to the next installment!
It's weird watching this since I haven't yet really watched any Jamie episodes, but I've seen plenty of Joe Sugden in Emmerdale (character played by same actor).
Fortunately, after the 2nd doctor's era, cept for SHADA, unless you do the recent SHADA movie with animations mixed in, all TV serials for Docs 3-7 are fully in intact and in glorious colour...well, there are two 3rd doctor episodes thatr are in B/w, unles you can find the special colour editions..but they doesn't Diminish the stories.
I think that there are actually 2 stories which were 're-colourized' in the 3rd Doctors tenure, giving them an odd film-like quality. I recall it being announced at the time that they were going to do this. An arduous task for sure! They literally couloured in every line of every frame!
@@jimmybisk Most of the episodes from seasons 7 and 8 (6 whole stories) had to be recolorised. Mostly they didn't have to do this frame by frame. In some cases they had access to color copies from North America. They were in NTSC format and of poorer quality, but was possible to extract the color information and basically lay it over the higher-quality B&W film prints. In other cases they could see the individual minute dots (originally red, blue and green) that made up the image. They developed a technique to reconstruct the colors by determining the relative brightness of the red, blue and green in each "pixel" of the image!
Where'd you get that hat? Oh, where'd you get that tie? Isn't it a knobby one, Just a proper style. I would like to have one Just the same as that. Everywhere I go, they shout, "Hello, Oh, where'd you get that hat?"
Hi Jess, long time viewer, first time commenter. Absolutely love your reactions and your impressions from your missing episode summaries are very astute - any chance of reactions to the standalone missing episodes from the "Lost In Time" DVD - would love to hear your thoughts on these. Is a shame you can't get into the reconstructions as I have them all and saw Power of the Daleks recon before it was animated & totally got it. But if it doesn't work for you, then fair enough. Once in a while I'll watch you reactions to An Adventure in Space & Time, Day of the Doctor, Time of the Doctor & Deep Breath and as guy who doesnt express his emotions often, your reactions to these always hits me in feels - love you Jess from UK x
It's only around 1966 point that a lot of stories are missing. The First Doctor's first two seasons had 3 stories missing in total, while the third season had almost all of them missing. In the Second Doctor's era it's the reverse. The first season has a large bunch missing, while the second and third seasons began having more stories intact. The Third Doctor era, when you get to that point, is completely missing story-free. Only the Fourth Doctor era has one story missing. But that was due to it not being completed due to a strike, and various versions of that particular story exist as it was later attempted to complete it.
There are no missing stories at all from Season 7. Between the end of Season 4 and the beginning of Season 7 there are nine stories that exist entirely or have the missing parts animated. There is one that will be animated (The Faceless Ones) that you've already mentioned. Out of the stories with missing parts there is only one I'd genuinely say you should do, which is 'The Web of Fear'. The Web of Fear is a six part story with part 3 missing, but otherwise it's all still there. It's one of the best stories of the entire era and I'd genuinely recommend watching it in spite of the missing part. Obviously the decision is yours at the end of the day, but I'd honestly say that if there's a single missing episode worth reacting to it's that one, for the sake of the rest of the overall (very engaging) story. The three stories with more than one part missing are frankly worth skipping in my opinion.
Totally get what you said on the animated/reconstructed Episodes. I know what’s happening and still struggle with them. Just not the same Same reason I can’t entirely get into the Big Finish audios
Jamie wasn't intended to be a companion originally, they even filmed a goodbye scene for him, but he was so very popular (both with cast and crew and the public) that they made him a full time thing. This is part of why he doesn't have so much to do in The Underwater Menace and here, because the scripts originally didn't feature him and had to be hastily re-written, giving some of Ben's bits to him in many cases
I agree with you on the Reconstructions. I think the animations are the way to go with the missing episodes. I really hope they do the Dalek Masterplan. Let's hope we get a miracle and some uncovered episodes get released.
Hi! These are the episodes you can easily watch after Moonbase, Macra Terror and Faceless Ones. All of them have either survived being junked by the BBC or recreated with animation. The rest of Classic Who is 100% intact after the 2nd Doctor era. The Tomb of the Cybermen The Ice Warriors The Enemy of the World The Web of Fear The Dominators The Mind Robber The Invasion The Krotons The Seeds of Death The War Games
I just had a funny/ crazy idea, for a surprise and unlikely Doctor Who villain return, perhaps with the Sea Devils as the main antagonists... The Doctor and co. meet a certain eccentric and somewhat unscrupulous 'famous' young scientist with a huge ego/ inferiority complex, that's trying to find Atlantis and who refuses to identify himself, believing that everyone should already know who he is. The scientist reluctantly assists the Doctor, but they don't get along at first, as something about him seems to really get under the Doctor's skin, but the Doctor is unsure why exactly and it's not just because he was in part responsible for the crisis they're in which the scientist has a bit of a mental break down over, but they do seem to become friends near the end of the episode... that is until the closing moments and the big (but subtle) last moment reveal when this scientist finally tells the Doctor and co. his full name... Professor Zaroff... (from before 'The Underwater Menace')
I think you're OK missing Underwater Menace. Welcome to the Jamie era. Jamie hands down the best male companion. One thing I like about this as opposed to Power of the Daleks is people remember the Cybermen but they think they are dead
Hi Jess, it`s a great shame about the BBC`s short-sightedness, one of many gripes Whovians have with them. But as we saw in the Docu-Drama Verity & her crew were fighting an uphill battle from day 1. I`m just grateful you are able to react to the majority of Classic Who. As for Ben & Polly, there is that song (All the Nice Girls Love A Sailor), remember Ben is a "Jolly" Jack Tar of the R.N. !!
The second cybermen story here is brilliant great Ben and polly story with dynamic with the doctor I did prefer the cybermen with the bandages like the tenth planet than this design but it's a fantastic rest of this season
Yes...you may be able to detect a hint of the previous Cybermen story in here. Hopefully it's still different enough for you, I certainly did enjoy this reaction as I can tel you did! As for your questions yes I would say Ben & Polly care very much for each other, Ben's default mode is always "is Polly alright?" and I do think they enjoy their travels with the Doctor, we've seen them on a few adventures now and there's been a number of others (books & audios), in between the stories we've seen so far, done in recent years. I'd say Polly is my favourite of the two but Ben has his moments, I also think the Doctor/Polly relationship is very underestimated since most people think of her with Ben most of the time. And don't you worry about Jamie, there'll be enough time for him to grow into the show. And you're right about the Doctor, he does run rings round people but also plays the fool when we, the audience, know he's the really smart one. I have a good feeling about this one, enjoy the rest!
I have a trouble with recons too, but that may be because I come from a time when you first experienced 1960s stories through the novelisations. I can get down with the animations, though. Fortunately, the latter half of the Troughton era is mostly intact.
hey at the end of the day there is so so much of the classic series to get through it's totally reasonable to not go through every missing serial especially if they are not released in any completed form.
The Highlanders is a great story for Ben and Polly (her especially - I think she grew to have affection for Ffinch going by the audio and telesnaps). Jamie joins (not really giving any impression of how much fun he'll be at this stage). I love this TARDIS crew - I think of them as the ones who would be the most likeable to travel with. I don't think the 2nd Doctor was that close with Ben and Polly as he would be with his other companions (but Patrick Troughton was very fond of both Anneke Wills and Michael Craze) but he enjoyed being around them. The Underwater Menace is bonkers fun. A totally daft story but the surviving episodes are full of energy and lots of running around which I love. It has one of my fav Doctor lines: Ben - Do you know what you're doing? Doctor - What a question!?!? Of course I don't! The Moonbase was written fairly swiftly after the success of the Tenth Planet. A template for the show was forming here - you'll recognise a pattern.:)
Definitely agree with you RE - this team being the most fun to travel with! Even though the 2nd Doctor is not my favourite (but almost), I would still choose to travel with his Doctor over any of the others.
In all honesty the writeup is probably the best way to see 'The Underwater Menace'. Among Doctor Who fans the story is widely seen as about on par with 'The Web Planet', a story that's kinda interesting but with badly bungled execution. Both had very popular novelizations but fans generally rejected the televised versions. Most notably is Zaroff. To quote Doctor Who aficionado Diamanda Hagan he's 'the first case of transcendently hammy acting' in Doctor Who, with his performance being so over the top that it's frankly laughable, his line 'NOTHING IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME NOW' being something of a meme among Classic Who fans for how ridiculous it was.
As the War Doctor said: "This has all the makings of your lucky day!" :) ua-cam.com/video/Y8RndED4Vno/v-deo.html (I hope Jess doesn't mind my advertising another reactors channel)
I have to admit that I struggled with some of the animations, especially as they lasted about 2 hours if it was a full story. A great pity as I love the 2nd doctor and his portrayal by Patrick Troughton.
You know, you could read the novelizations of the missing serials. That's what I did. Also, ******* SPOILERS ****** I like to think they got together after they left the doctor.
Dear Sesska, I just listened to your review of The Highlander, and the Underwater Menace. You mentioned the things you liked about both stories. However, I did not learn the story from your review. It was like a review for people that had already read the stories. Most people have not read the text of missing Doctor Who stories. If you first tell us the story, then tell us what you think of things we would be on the same page with you and know what you are describing. Thank you for your reactions and reviews.
There are plenty of summaries online that you can read before listening to my review. If I read the full summary in a video and then did my review, it would take way too long.
@@sesskasays I just meant a one or two minute summary. Here is an example from the top of my head: An Unearthly Child. This story starts by showing the TARDIS in a junk yard. Then we see Coal Hill High School and are introduced to Susan and her two teachers Barbara and Ian. Barbara finds Susan to be suspicious and gets Ian to come along as they follow her to her registered home address which happens to be the junk yard. There they encounter the first doctor. They hear Susan’s voice and force their way into the TARDIS. Ian cannot believe his eyes until they relocate and as the TARDIS doors open, they venture out leading us to the next episode. ----- Now here's what I did and didn't like about the episode...
Doctor Who 'does' Atlantis three times, each one ignoring the previous ones. Continuity barely existing at this time, writers were hired, they did their scripts and they went away again. o The Second Doctor is basically a clown and he loves dressing up. The Cybermen look a little different every time they appear, this is more extreme in the early appearances, so you are not expected to recognise them from the 'listening in' scene. Seeing Kit Pedler's name in the credits is a giveaway that it is a Cyberman story. Another female reactor said how 'easy on the eyes' Jamie was.
Would have been funny to start your review of The Highlanders and start reviewing the movie Highlander and been confused about why there was no Doctor in it.
"But that picture cannae be the moon, the moon's in the sky!"
And this is why I love you Jamie
Like Barbara and Ian, Jamie is another Gold Standard companion.
"Did your men search in HERE?" is one of my very favorite horror moments in the whole show.
Yeeeesss.
Jamie wasn't originally intended as a companion so he takes a backseat role in his first few stories which had to be quickly edited to include him. Don't be too hard on him!
So true! But just wait! 😊
Jamie is the BEST!
Love The Moonbase. The 2nd Doctors speech about evil is so good.
Now that you've met Jamie McCrimmon (a little bit) it seems like a good time to bring up that in the Tenth Doctor episode "Tooth and Claw" when the Doctor and Rose find themselves in Scotland, the Doctor introduces himself as "Doctor James McCrimmon."
I always thought that the part where Polly buries her face in the Doctor's shoulder and he hugs her is the sweetest thing.
Jamie and the Second Doctor is one of my favourite pairings throughout the whole show. They’re fantastic, once the ball starts rolling.
Since the BBC pulled back on the Daleks to try and spin them off to American TV, the Cybermen became the 2nd Doctor's regular nemeses. This is probably why they're so well regarded and established as WHO villains to this day.
It was actually Terry Nation who tried to launch them in America not the BBC as he owned the rights not the BBC
I've only seen one surviving episode of Underwater Menace - and I can tell you that your description of Zaroff as 'batshit crazy' significantly undersells the actors colourful performance :D
"There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought." -- The dark, mysterious, powerful Second Doctor shows up.
-and his recorder!
That was an iconic line! It was used in the 1995 video game Destiny of the Doctors.
“Side characters like Jamie”
LOL
Don't worry, you're gonna fall in love with Jamie soon enough.
As for this story, it's probably my favorite Cybermen episode. The story itself is only alright, but the Cybermen are so damn ruthless in this one. That's what really sells it for me. Also, try not to get spoiled for future Cybermen episodes, since most of them don't actually feature the word "Cybermen" in the title, but the DVD Covers for all of them totally spoil the surprise every single time.
'The Highlanders' was a nice swansong to the pure historicals and was even the core inspiration for Outlander, which is an amazing show that you should check out. That story also brought us one of the best companions in Doctor Who history in Jamie McCrimmon, who was basically Troughton's Ian & Barbara. The dynamic between those two was legendary and is still one of the best Doctor/companion dynamics we've had. As for 'The Underwater Menace', well I consider it in the same vein as 'The Web Planet' where it is so bizarre and bonkers that it's kind of enjoyable in a retro-campy "so bad it's good" way. Plus it gave us one of the most ridiculous villains in the show's history with Professor Zaroff ("Nothing in the world can stop me now!"). 'The Moonbase' was a solid base-under-siege story that helped provide the template as to what we could expect from the Troughton Era. It was also a good Cybermen story that showcased just how creepy and effective they can be. If Captain Jack's cryptic warning in 'Fugitive of the Judoon' is anything to go by, then luckily for you, both this and the Cybermen hopefully turning up in Series 12 will be a double Classic & Modern dose of Cybermen content!
Yeah, the main male Highlander in Outlander is called Jamie Fraser. I wonder were Galbadon got that name from🤔
I totally agree with everything you said above. The Underwater Menace was truly bizarre & yes, Zaroff was utterly insane! I think it's also worth mentioning that the 2nd Doctor had a wonderful way of stoking up the fear of a given situation, as he does here when they realise that a Cyberman is hiding in the medical room. Troughton was second to none brilliant at that.
NO SPOILERS for Series 12
@@BRAWGWill Captain Jack foreshadowed the Cybermen's return in 'Fugitive of the Judoon' so I assumed it wasn't a spoiler.
@@ryanpollard1166 I remembered this morning.
Give it a month and Jamie will be one of her favourite companions
Just don’t skip The Web Of Fear only episode 3 is missing
It might just be my favourite story of the Troughton era.
Agreed! Only part three is missing but with still frames and perfect audio.
Dylan Shadowstar and there’s an animated version on UA-cam which isn’t that bad
Also a very important story in the history of the show for certain reasons.
@@M-E_123 don't spoil it!
I know this is a long way away but please please don't skip web of fear. Five out of six parts are perfectly intact, only one part is missing but survived with perfect audio and still frames and it's only one part.
Regarding companions and romance, remember when this was made. There generally won't be any obvious romance, and when there is, they have to announce a wedding. Perhaps an actor might choose to indicate their character is interested in another, but it would be in a very subtle way, and it won't be mentioned.
That's a really good point. There are three notable exceptions such as Susan and David (won't say the others as that's spoilers). Having recently watched one of the extra features to a third Doctor story, the late, great Barry Letts was very vocal about this difference between classic who & new Who. He mentioned that if there was any hint of anything sexual in the classic era, particularly between a Doctor & companion, it would have been met with massive shock back then.
Well, since their first story, The War Machines, it was revealed that Ben likes Polly and for me, their relationship is something between lovers and friends, not quite lovers, but still something more than just friends. They have feelings for each others but they still don't really know how to share them.
The Tardis teams reaction to landing somewhere new:
Polly: Please let it be Chelsea 1966.
Ben: Hope it's the Daleks, I Don’t think.
Doctor: Prehistoric Monsters
Jamie:...What have I come upon?
ones the shows best moments
also
Guard: How do I know he's a wanted criminal
Ben: Well look at him, he ain't normal is he.
25:30 Considering the last batch of Cybermen had flesh hands and these guys have three fingers, I don't think you or contemporary viewers would be expected to figure it out.
These are my favourite design of Cybermen, love the voices too. Can't wait for Tomb of the Cybermen.
Next week!
Not that they're in the same league, but I always think of Ben and Polly as a swinging sixties reboot of Ian and Barbara - so, yes, I absolutely figure they're a couple! Mind you, on production documents Polly's second name is given to be 'Wright' - so I have a secret suspicion she's Barbara's cousin or something...
The Murder Game was a good book with them and the second Doctor.
You will find that most of the Second Doctor stories follow the same theme.. The "base under siege", meaning an isolated locale (i.e. a base , a ship etc.) menaced by an army of invaders.. but as a side note.. you WILL love the Second Doctor. He more than the First help set the standard that continues to this day.
MINOR SPOILERS FOR TROUGHTON'S ERA
Jess: "I don't know how long [Jamie's] going to be sticking around for"
Jamie: *literally* the longest running Doctor Who companion
Don't worry Jess I think you've got time lol
Yaz has that title now
@@BenGManMedia true!
"... used coffee against them? That is the most evil thing that ever happened!" I agree with that statement, luckily, it was the sugar.
Doctor: You look very nice in that dress.
Companion: Thank you. Don't you think it's a bit
. .
Doctor: A bit short? Oh, I shouldn't worry about that. Look at Jamie's.
Jamie: Hey, I'll have you know that . . Oh, aye.
It's been a struggle to wait several hours before I could watch this video. I'm watching these with you and in answer to one of your questions at the start, I'm liking Ben and Polly a lot so far. They seem fun and energetic and "hip" and they have great chemistry that I feel like was missing during the Dodo period (and I like Dodo, unlike a lot of people). I hope they get together. And I love the sass about curious people. :D The little rant that ended with, "and then they try to give you fucking gills!" should be clipped and shared on Twitter. It sums up Jess' personality perfectly.
I was so excited when this turned out to be a Cyberman episode, just because I was thinking of your reaction. :) You didn't disappoint. The scream when you saw the shadow made my day.
The Part 2 cliffhanger of the Cyberman revealed to be hiding in the Medical Bay is one of the best. Thrilling stuff. The Doctor’s speech about fighting evil in the universe is excellent too.
From what I've heard the whole "The Phantom Piper" thing with Jamie was one of the first scenes specifically written in for him. As lots of others have mentioned Jamie was never supposed to be a companion, just a side character for The Highlanders. The rest of his lines before this were adapted from Ben or from side characters.
Happy Valentine's Day Jess! 💗💗 It wasn't originally intended for Jamie to become a companion, actor Frazer Hines had worked with Patrick Troughton on something else before appearing together in Doctor Who. The two actors got along so well and had such good on screen chemistry the production team decided to make Jamie an ongoing character. But that meant neither The Underwater Menace not The Moonbase had been written with Jamie in mind. As a result, in the former he was given half of Ben's lines and in this story he's knocked out for most of these first two episodes. This is definitely a kind of soft reboot of The Tenth Planet. The Cybermen costumes have obviously been heavily redesigned and a conscious decision was made to retread some of the same ground in this story to "introduce" them again with their new look. You certainly seem to be digging this story so far. Hope you enjoyed your first glimpse of the Second Doctor "in the flesh".
Love The Moonbase a perfect episode to watch when you want to pass the time. But I can't believe Jess cut the "corners of the universe" line
The "augmented" people are really memorable and sinister. I went as one for comic con a couple of years ago
The cliffhanger to episode 2 is really chilling and suspenseful.
It's amusing to think this came out 2 years before the actual moon landing
Yes that's an iconic line, but I guess Jess can't show the whole story for time and copyright reasons. It's definitely an irony that it came out 2 years before a real moon landing. I think mankind was so ambitious then and shows like this definitely helped to foster ambition. The notion that there may be a moonbase controlling Earths weather in 2070 may be a bit too ambitious though lol! But I love the optimism of the story & in general love the visions of the future from the point of view of the past the Classic Who gives us. They've been uncannily right about some things!
You're not alone. As a life-long classic Who fan, even I've only seen the reconstructions once, and there's no way they'd make good reaction videos. Seems pretty obvious. Can't wait for your reactions to complete stories.
Agreed; they wouldn't make good reaction videos and, at best, you can only react to the _animation,_ not the actors - a heightened problem in Troughton's era, because he was such a mercurial actor. It's not merely a case of missing episodes, but also of missing his facial/physical expressiveness, and the little touches of genius improvised between Troughton and companions (especially Frazer Hines). No animation can hope to capture those things, which were an intrinsic part of every Second Doctor episode. Good as the animations can be, I tend to listen to the soundtracks and let my imagination provide the visuals.
Sesska is still in the fourth serial and she has already realized what most of the Second Doctor's era will be like: base under siege.
"There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.". Like the Seventh, the Second Doctor initially looks like a complete clown, until he reveals himself surprisingly serious when he needs to be. He will always correct any injustice he finds in his way and may God have mercy on the fool who tries to stop him.
I imagine that Sesska will not skip The Web of Fear, after all, of the six episodes only one is lost. There is a fan made animation on UA-cam which is ok. I also hope that the Fury from the Deep animation will be released before she reaches this serial. Or at least, that we already know the release date by then.
I LOVE The Moonbase. Very underrated in my opinion, it's so atmospheric and suspenseful. It might be my favourite Cyberman story.
Seconded. Gerry Davis's novelisation is one of my favourites, too; I read it so many times as a kid that it became the most tatty book in my collection.
TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN is my favorite. The quintessential Cyberman story.
@@pcwkid76 While I do enjoy Tomb, I must admit that I find it to be a little overrated.
@@ftumschk It is a good one...plus, I got a copy of that novelisation signed by Fraser Hines when he did an appearance in my local Waterstones a few years ago, yes..?
@@ftumschk One of the earliest that I bought, the first Troughton I saw, I think, with the black logo and the Achilleos illustration cover for 30p. Those were the days.
"...even on the Moon!"
I love how excited you are to see the Cybermen. These guys are one of my favourite Cyberman designs, too.
The end of part 2 is also one of my favourite cliffhangers. The buildup to the realization that there's a Cyberman in the room with them is so wonderfully suspenseful.
Only up to the 'Underwater Menace' recap so far, but "...and then they try to give you fucking gills!" is already my quote of the day.
I watched moonbase this morning and it’s so good. Of course I thought I recognised the commander from his voice and looked it up, only to spoil the cybermen appearance five minutes before it happened! I’ve been catching up classic who so I can watch your reactions, and now I’m finally ahead!
I think 'The Moonbase' was designed almost as a restart on purpose, with the costumes updated from their first appearance. If I'm not mistaken, you haven't heard them speak yet - and, yes, they've changed the voice already...
'He hopped right to it!' Yep, one of the few times Cyberman are allowed to move quickly, unlike the Frankenstein's monster cliche.
If seeing Jamie unconscious is not seeing enough of him, your in for a treat in a future story!
I love this story, the Cybermen are my personal favorite villain.
By the way Marie-Clare considers Jamie to be her future husband so she has dibs on him.
Well, James McCrimmon would be approaching three hundred years old by now, as Clara might say, "tiny bit of an ask!"
I may be a straight man but, fuck it, I love Jamie. Number 1 companion all the way. Originally, he was just supposed to be in 'The Highlanders', but because the production team saw potential in him, they changed the ending so that he would go inside the TARDIS. However, this led to an issue, because most of the scripts had been written before the decision to make Jamie a companion had been finalized, so for 'The Underwater Menace', they had to give Frazer Hines some of Ben's dialogue and scenes, which Frazer feels didn't help his relationship with Michael Craze. This story in particular was tricky, because they really couldn't figure out what to do with Jamie, so they had to have him be unconscious for most of the story.
Don't stress about the skipped stories. It can be tough. Once we get to the third doctor we're in the clear and easy going in that regards.
Yes! I've been waiting all day for this!!
Edit: Darn! Now I have to wait another week again!
Well, I'd say that given we had to wait a week between each episode in the classic series (as is the case now with new Who), we are getting a pretty good deal here! Still, yes, a week is a long time to wait for such awesome reaction videos!
IKR! Lol
Many thanks for your continued coverage. I think in answer to your question about what The Doctor thinks of Ben & Polly, now Jamie, is that he does care for them all incredibly & he doesn't just see them as 'tag-alongs'. I think however, that he downplays how he feels a little.This was a great Cyberman story. Hard to tell how I felt about it when I first watched it because I originally watched classic Who in the order they brought the (first) Videos & then DVD's out, which was kind of all over the place, so really interesting to hear this from the perspective of someone who is viewing them in order. Plus, when I first watched this, I only saw parts 2 & 4 as they hadn't been animated at that time, so I struggled to get everything which occurred. I can totally relate to how it reminds you of The Tenth Planet. The Cybermen of course have a different design in this.
I wanted to say a brief word about Jamie because (& without giving any spoilers away), throughout his tenure as a companion, and as you continue to watch the stories, you will find yourself questioning why he sais/does certain things, which on the face of it seem incredibly stupid. The important thing to remember is that he is from 1745 & Fraser never loses sight of that in his portrayal of Jamie. He plays the role brilliantly & is one of my all time favourite companions. Looking forward to the next installment!
I loved this story and it just keeps getting better.
They are on an egg
ICantThinkOfAGood Username that episode isn’t canon
@@prof.evilpictures8696 the moon is an egg and there's nothing you can do about it
Been looking forward to this one, it’s a great story:)
It's weird watching this since I haven't yet really watched any Jamie episodes, but I've seen plenty of Joe Sugden in Emmerdale (character played by same actor).
The Moonbase is one of my favourite 2nd doctor stories.
Fortunately, after the 2nd doctor's era, cept for SHADA, unless you do the recent SHADA movie with animations mixed in, all TV serials for Docs 3-7 are fully in intact and in glorious colour...well, there are two 3rd doctor episodes thatr are in B/w, unles you can find the special colour editions..but they doesn't Diminish the stories.
I think that there are actually 2 stories which were 're-colourized' in the 3rd Doctors tenure, giving them an odd film-like quality. I recall it being announced at the time that they were going to do this. An arduous task for sure! They literally couloured in every line of every frame!
@@jimmybisk
Most of the episodes from seasons 7 and 8 (6 whole stories) had to be recolorised.
Mostly they didn't have to do this frame by frame.
In some cases they had access to color copies from North America. They were in NTSC format and of poorer quality, but was possible to extract the color information and basically lay it over the higher-quality B&W film prints.
In other cases they could see the individual minute dots (originally red, blue and green) that made up the image. They developed a technique to reconstruct the colors by determining the relative brightness of the red, blue and green in each "pixel" of the image!
I literally just watched this episode a few days ago after I got a nice copy of it from Rasputin!
Look at the size of that thing
Yes, Jamie. It is a big one.
ah, possibly my favourite cyberman story
"I should like a hat like that..."
Where'd you get that hat?
Oh, where'd you get that tie?
Isn't it a knobby one,
Just a proper style.
I would like to have one
Just the same as that.
Everywhere I go, they shout, "Hello,
Oh, where'd you get that hat?"
Hi Jess, long time viewer, first time commenter. Absolutely love your reactions and your impressions from your missing episode summaries are very astute - any chance of reactions to the standalone missing episodes from the "Lost In Time" DVD - would love to hear your thoughts on these. Is a shame you can't get into the reconstructions as I have them all and saw Power of the Daleks recon before it was animated & totally got it. But if it doesn't work for you, then fair enough. Once in a while I'll watch you reactions to An Adventure in Space & Time, Day of the Doctor, Time of the Doctor & Deep Breath and as guy who doesnt express his emotions often, your reactions to these always hits me in feels - love you Jess from UK x
It's your channel. It's up to you to decide what you want to react to. You don't have to explain it to us.
It's only around 1966 point that a lot of stories are missing. The First Doctor's first two seasons had 3 stories missing in total, while the third season had almost all of them missing. In the Second Doctor's era it's the reverse. The first season has a large bunch missing, while the second and third seasons began having more stories intact. The Third Doctor era, when you get to that point, is completely missing story-free. Only the Fourth Doctor era has one story missing. But that was due to it not being completed due to a strike, and various versions of that particular story exist as it was later attempted to complete it.
JAMIE!!!!!!!!!!
There are no missing stories at all from Season 7. Between the end of Season 4 and the beginning of Season 7 there are nine stories that exist entirely or have the missing parts animated. There is one that will be animated (The Faceless Ones) that you've already mentioned. Out of the stories with missing parts there is only one I'd genuinely say you should do, which is 'The Web of Fear'. The Web of Fear is a six part story with part 3 missing, but otherwise it's all still there.
It's one of the best stories of the entire era and I'd genuinely recommend watching it in spite of the missing part. Obviously the decision is yours at the end of the day, but I'd honestly say that if there's a single missing episode worth reacting to it's that one, for the sake of the rest of the overall (very engaging) story.
The three stories with more than one part missing are frankly worth skipping in my opinion.
Totally get what you said on the animated/reconstructed Episodes. I know what’s happening and still struggle with them. Just not the same
Same reason I can’t entirely get into the Big Finish audios
Jamie wasn't intended to be a companion originally, they even filmed a goodbye scene for him, but he was so very popular (both with cast and crew and the public) that they made him a full time thing. This is part of why he doesn't have so much to do in The Underwater Menace and here, because the scripts originally didn't feature him and had to be hastily re-written, giving some of Ben's bits to him in many cases
I agree with you on the Reconstructions. I think the animations are the way to go with the missing episodes. I really hope they do the Dalek Masterplan. Let's hope we get a miracle and some uncovered episodes get released.
The Tomb of the Cybermen is gonna be a great story!
Next week!
Hi! These are the episodes you can easily watch after Moonbase, Macra Terror and Faceless Ones.
All of them have either survived being junked by the BBC or recreated with animation.
The rest of Classic Who is 100% intact after the 2nd Doctor era.
The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Ice Warriors
The Enemy of the World
The Web of Fear
The Dominators
The Mind Robber
The Invasion
The Krotons
The Seeds of Death
The War Games
I'm grateful for the animated reconstructions but I can't quite forgive how much they always kill Patrick's performance. He's just soooo good!
Well he’s too unique a specimen to recreate, especially on a limited bbc budget
I just had a funny/ crazy idea, for a surprise and unlikely Doctor Who villain return, perhaps with the Sea Devils as the main antagonists... The Doctor and co. meet a certain eccentric and somewhat unscrupulous 'famous' young scientist with a huge ego/ inferiority complex, that's trying to find Atlantis and who refuses to identify himself, believing that everyone should already know who he is. The scientist reluctantly assists the Doctor, but they don't get along at first, as something about him seems to really get under the Doctor's skin, but the Doctor is unsure why exactly and it's not just because he was in part responsible for the crisis they're in which the scientist has a bit of a mental break down over, but they do seem to become friends near the end of the episode... that is until the closing moments and the big (but subtle) last moment reveal when this scientist finally tells the Doctor and co. his full name... Professor Zaroff... (from before 'The Underwater Menace')
I think you're OK missing Underwater Menace.
Welcome to the Jamie era. Jamie hands down the best male companion.
One thing I like about this as opposed to Power of the Daleks is people remember the Cybermen but they think they are dead
Hi Jess, it`s a great shame about the BBC`s short-sightedness, one of many gripes Whovians have with them. But as we saw in the Docu-Drama Verity & her crew were fighting an uphill battle from day 1. I`m just grateful you are able to react to the majority of Classic Who. As for Ben & Polly, there is that song (All the Nice Girls Love A Sailor), remember Ben is a "Jolly" Jack Tar of the R.N. !!
The cliffhanger at the end of episode two of this story is one of the greatest cliffhangers in the entire history of Doctor Who.
Happy Valentines day indeed.
NOTHING IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME NOW!!!
The second cybermen story here is brilliant great Ben and polly story with dynamic with the doctor I did prefer the cybermen with the bandages like the tenth planet than this design but it's a fantastic rest of this season
Yes...you may be able to detect a hint of the previous Cybermen story in here. Hopefully it's still different enough for you, I certainly did enjoy this reaction as I can tel you did!
As for your questions yes I would say Ben & Polly care very much for each other, Ben's default mode is always "is Polly alright?" and I do think they enjoy their travels with the Doctor, we've seen them on a few adventures now and there's been a number of others (books & audios), in between the stories we've seen so far, done in recent years.
I'd say Polly is my favourite of the two but Ben has his moments, I also think the Doctor/Polly relationship is very underestimated since most people think of her with Ben most of the time.
And don't you worry about Jamie, there'll be enough time for him to grow into the show. And you're right about the Doctor, he does run rings round people but also plays the fool when we, the audience, know he's the really smart one.
I have a good feeling about this one, enjoy the rest!
I think it's quite endearing how Ben refers to Polly as 'The Duchess' because apparently he thought she was posh!
“ the piper the McCrimmon piper “
“ the Piper “
I have a trouble with recons too, but that may be because I come from a time when you first experienced 1960s stories through the novelisations. I can get down with the animations, though. Fortunately, the latter half of the Troughton era is mostly intact.
hey at the end of the day there is so so much of the classic series to get through it's totally reasonable to not go through every missing serial especially if they are not released in any completed form.
I consider myself a pretty die hard Doctor Who fan, and even I struggle to get through some of the missing episode reconstructions.
@@The-Fishkeeper Same here. I much prefer just listening to the soundtracks.
The Highlanders is a great story for Ben and Polly (her especially - I think she grew to have affection for Ffinch going by the audio and telesnaps). Jamie joins (not really giving any impression of how much fun he'll be at this stage). I love this TARDIS crew - I think of them as the ones who would be the most likeable to travel with. I don't think the 2nd Doctor was that close with Ben and Polly as he would be with his other companions (but Patrick Troughton was very fond of both Anneke Wills and Michael Craze) but he enjoyed being around them.
The Underwater Menace is bonkers fun. A totally daft story but the surviving episodes are full of energy and lots of running around which I love.
It has one of my fav Doctor lines:
Ben - Do you know what you're doing?
Doctor - What a question!?!? Of course I don't!
The Moonbase was written fairly swiftly after the success of the Tenth Planet. A template for the show was forming here - you'll recognise a pattern.:)
Definitely agree with you RE - this team being the most fun to travel with! Even though the 2nd Doctor is not my favourite (but almost), I would still choose to travel with his Doctor over any of the others.
24:54, You must be a big fan of the Cybermen if you're this excited.
In all honesty the writeup is probably the best way to see 'The Underwater Menace'. Among Doctor Who fans the story is widely seen as about on par with 'The Web Planet', a story that's kinda interesting but with badly bungled execution. Both had very popular novelizations but fans generally rejected the televised versions.
Most notably is Zaroff. To quote Doctor Who aficionado Diamanda Hagan he's 'the first case of transcendently hammy acting' in Doctor Who, with his performance being so over the top that it's frankly laughable, his line 'NOTHING IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME NOW' being something of a meme among Classic Who fans for how ridiculous it was.
If you like opposites working well together, you’ll like Zoe and Jamie. 😁
Just as a thought, has Jess ever seen Sapphire and Steel? I don't think I've ever seen any reactions to the series.
As the War Doctor said:
"This has all the makings of your lucky day!" :)
ua-cam.com/video/Y8RndED4Vno/v-deo.html
(I hope Jess doesn't mind my advertising another reactors channel)
@@iansmith4023 "Down fall all we".
I have the sentiment of polly, but the practical caution of ben
I have to admit that I struggled with some of the animations, especially as they lasted about 2 hours if it was a full story. A great pity as I love the 2nd doctor and his portrayal by Patrick Troughton.
14:29 "I love stories to do with Atlantis."
Has she ever mentioned watching Stargate? I'm not sure if she has.
You know, you could read the novelizations of the missing serials. That's what I did.
Also,
******* SPOILERS ******
I like to think they got together after they left the doctor.
I just watched the Moonbase today
The Moonbase is a decent, solid episode, and it is The Tenth Planet redux.
The base under siege format starting to dominate the era...
Dear Sesska, I just listened to your review of The Highlander, and the Underwater Menace. You mentioned the things you liked about both stories. However, I did not learn the story from your review. It was like a review for people that had already read the stories. Most people have not read the text of missing Doctor Who stories. If you first tell us the story, then tell us what you think of things we would be on the same page with you and know what you are describing. Thank you for your reactions and reviews.
There are plenty of summaries online that you can read before listening to my review. If I read the full summary in a video and then did my review, it would take way too long.
@@sesskasays I just meant a one or two minute summary. Here is an example from the top of my head: An Unearthly Child. This story starts by showing the TARDIS in a junk yard. Then we see Coal Hill High School and are introduced to Susan and her two teachers Barbara and Ian. Barbara finds Susan to be suspicious and gets Ian to come along as they follow her to her registered home address which happens to be the junk yard. There they encounter the first doctor. They hear Susan’s voice and force their way into the TARDIS. Ian cannot believe his eyes until they relocate and as the TARDIS doors open, they venture out leading us to the next episode. ----- Now here's what I did and didn't like about the episode...
A jolly good reaction to a great Doctor Who episode!
Quite a popular story
Doctor Who 'does' Atlantis three times, each one ignoring the previous ones. Continuity barely existing at this time, writers were hired, they did their scripts and they went away again.
o
The Second Doctor is basically a clown and he loves dressing up.
The Cybermen look a little different every time they appear, this is more extreme in the early appearances, so you are not expected to recognise them from the 'listening in' scene. Seeing Kit Pedler's name in the credits is a giveaway that it is a Cyberman story.
Another female reactor said how 'easy on the eyes' Jamie was.
Omg first comment hiiiiiiiiiii ✌️
And I loved these cybermen
"The sound effects" classic who in a nut shell
Magic school bus......🤣
Would have been funny to start your review of The Highlanders and start reviewing the movie Highlander and been confused about why there was no Doctor in it.
Yes, those are whiffle balls
Question: “Jamie, what do you look like?”
Answer: 😍