Gothic Decorating in Doctor Who
There’s the time when the Doctor Who series reveled in the morbid. It takes a different path down the frightened streets of the Rue Morgue. It becomes a fascinating study in the gruesome.
Season thirteen in 1976 was intertwined with everything gothic. Horror became the focus of the stories. It’s the perfect melding of horror and science-fiction that was introduced to the Saturday evening serials.
Tom Baker was the most recognized actor in the role: his mop of curly hair was coupled with the long, trailing scarf. The Bohemian wanderer who traveled the cosmos.
There’s also a brooding side to him which matched the gothic mood. My own favorite Doctor Who. He walked into the part with an amazing confidence playing a man of eternity. A time-lord with a mysterious past.
Tom's performance is always good. He was an anchor to the show.
Plus the script editor was Robert Holmes. Phillip Hinchcliffe was making his mark as the show’s producer.
No longer was it considered a children’s program. It would be steeped into monstrous lore like none other. It was filled with themes of the mummy, Frankenstein, Forbidden Planet and other literary landmarks. It was a chorus of horror. The parade of monsters populate the stories were of a nightmarish variety.
Doctor Who does horror very well. It always has.
The writing grew tighter in these twelve different stories. A brush of terror would sweep the series into newer heights of storytelling. Those working on Doctor Who in the mid-seventies knew that children liked to be scared. The show makes good its promise.
Painting a terrifying canvas, the show's creativity lumbers toward the creepy. With an added shot of atmosphere. There’s also a psychological blend with infuses with the stories that makes them unsettling. Humanity becomes disfigured in this gothic period.
“Terror of the Zygons” sets the series on the path: it was atmosphere with notable music. It brings to life the Loch Ness Monster which turns out to be a mere puppet to its masters who could change their appearance at will.
The gothic lineage continues with “Planet of Evil”… a beautifully realized alien world is completed with a Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde tale.
The series reaches its apex with the story “Pyramids of Mars” with a perfect blending of Egyptology and super-science. The sets were created to capture the era of 1909 to stunning, lovely detail. Its the mood that rekindles memories. I can never forget one bit with the evil, god-like Sutekh’s disciple who leaves burning marks as he grabs a victim’s shoulders. The poor man becomes a charred ruin.
More gothic themes could be found in “The Brain of Morbius” and the rest of season thirteen. The same self-made horror trend continues in season fourteen reaching a shuddering familiarity. It is inspired terror. Horror becomes defined here. It climbs a ladder of repugnance. And that’s why Doctor Who remains so effective: the horror is convincing.
Season fourteen continues with its mythology with twists. The final story of the season, “Talons of Weng-Chiang” is a beautiful revisiting to the Victorian era populated with giant rats, a midget-like puppet brandishing a bloodied knife, A Fu Manchu type villain and an escaped war criminal from the future. Masterful story by Holmes: it carves a niche in the Baker era. The episode turns to Sherlock Holmes for inspiration. And more. There’s no question that horror is a release for these stories: to explore the depravity that nudges us all. Doctor Who just pushes us over the edge.
Tom Baker should be proud of having done these stories. They all should be. Horror never dies. Fear lives in everyone’s darkest thoughts.
Season thirteen in 1976 was intertwined with everything gothic. Horror became the focus of the stories. It’s the perfect melding of horror and science-fiction that was introduced to the Saturday evening serials.
Tom Baker was the most recognized actor in the role: his mop of curly hair was coupled with the long, trailing scarf. The Bohemian wanderer who traveled the cosmos.
There’s also a brooding side to him which matched the gothic mood. My own favorite Doctor Who. He walked into the part with an amazing confidence playing a man of eternity. A time-lord with a mysterious past.
Tom's performance is always good. He was an anchor to the show.
Plus the script editor was Robert Holmes. Phillip Hinchcliffe was making his mark as the show’s producer.
No longer was it considered a children’s program. It would be steeped into monstrous lore like none other. It was filled with themes of the mummy, Frankenstein, Forbidden Planet and other literary landmarks. It was a chorus of horror. The parade of monsters populate the stories were of a nightmarish variety.
Doctor Who does horror very well. It always has.
The writing grew tighter in these twelve different stories. A brush of terror would sweep the series into newer heights of storytelling. Those working on Doctor Who in the mid-seventies knew that children liked to be scared. The show makes good its promise.
Painting a terrifying canvas, the show's creativity lumbers toward the creepy. With an added shot of atmosphere. There’s also a psychological blend with infuses with the stories that makes them unsettling. Humanity becomes disfigured in this gothic period.
“Terror of the Zygons” sets the series on the path: it was atmosphere with notable music. It brings to life the Loch Ness Monster which turns out to be a mere puppet to its masters who could change their appearance at will.
The gothic lineage continues with “Planet of Evil”… a beautifully realized alien world is completed with a Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde tale.
The series reaches its apex with the story “Pyramids of Mars” with a perfect blending of Egyptology and super-science. The sets were created to capture the era of 1909 to stunning, lovely detail. Its the mood that rekindles memories. I can never forget one bit with the evil, god-like Sutekh’s disciple who leaves burning marks as he grabs a victim’s shoulders. The poor man becomes a charred ruin.
More gothic themes could be found in “The Brain of Morbius” and the rest of season thirteen. The same self-made horror trend continues in season fourteen reaching a shuddering familiarity. It is inspired terror. Horror becomes defined here. It climbs a ladder of repugnance. And that’s why Doctor Who remains so effective: the horror is convincing.
Season fourteen continues with its mythology with twists. The final story of the season, “Talons of Weng-Chiang” is a beautiful revisiting to the Victorian era populated with giant rats, a midget-like puppet brandishing a bloodied knife, A Fu Manchu type villain and an escaped war criminal from the future. Masterful story by Holmes: it carves a niche in the Baker era. The episode turns to Sherlock Holmes for inspiration. And more. There’s no question that horror is a release for these stories: to explore the depravity that nudges us all. Doctor Who just pushes us over the edge.
Tom Baker should be proud of having done these stories. They all should be. Horror never dies. Fear lives in everyone’s darkest thoughts.
posted by K.M. Paters at 8:51 PM
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