The S.S. Bernice was actually a ship on its way to be broken up (which is why you never get a wide shot to dispel the illusion they're not actually at sea) and all was well during filming until it transpired that the ship's compass had mysteriously disappeared. It was found to be in the possession of a cast-member: a tall white-haired actor and comedian in his mid-50's, who had served in the Royal Navy...
According to the actor who won't be named, he put the compass he found back and then learned they meant a different compass. But he was a showman and a teller of tales, so who knows which version is the truth.
25:00 I think Sesska's actually spot on with the subtext of the story being a commentary on the show itself. The entertainers are stand-ins for the show's producers trying to pitch Doctor Who to the literally grey bureaucrats representing the BBC executives.
Carnival Of Monsters is an absolute classic written by the legendary Robert Holmes - it's delightfully inventive, fiendishly clever and even the political machinations are entertaining thanks to the performances and witty dialogue. It's probably the best Third Doctor story set off-Earth. Season 10 is one of the greats!
I love Carnival of Monsters and I've always found this serial to be quite underrated by some fans, probably because it's a comedic story. It's basically a fun parody of the show's tropes: Vorg is an eccentric old man who has a machine that's bigger inside and can manipulate time, with a younger, more seductively dressed female companion who stays arguing with him. The difference is that they are definitely less noble than the Doctor and Jo. And then we have the villains who act and talk like they're in a grand, epic episode, when in fact they're just in a comic episode of the show.
Robert Holmes doubted the Drashigs would be scary enough give DW special effects so he included his own private joke about what the would really look like: Drashigs is an anagram of "Dishrags." He was wrong though, the story really works and they're scary enough given the times.
Oh this story is an absolute banger, love to see it! Creativity firing on all cylinders. That first cliffhanger with the hand is just fucking magnificent in its weirdness.
I always have had a huge soft spot for Carnival of Monsters. It brilliantly mixes the absurd with the ordinary to great effect with big concepts, brilliant monsters and a witty script. Funnily enough, shortly after Matt Smith's first season was transmitted, there was a Live Tour Show called Doctor Who Live: The Monsters Are Coming and the main character was called Vorgenson who is the son of Vorg and creates a similar device called the Minimiser
fun fact, you nearly saw Ian Marter who plays John in this story playing Mike Yates, he was Barry Lett's first choice for the role but Ian wasn't available for a full time role
"I don't know what I'm watching" I had the same problem the first time I saw this story. I started Classic Who with the 3rd Doctor, and I remember this being the 1st time I thought to myself, "Okay, THIS is going to be the 1st episode I don't gel with, or like" Glad I stuck with it; this ends up being such a fun story. Another note (non spoiler) I personally don't think there are any bad 3rd Doctor stories.
This was the fourth full Doctor Who story I ever saw and I consider it one of the most fun, clever and entertaining in the entire history. It's such a joy to see you experience it with fresh eyes, it's like going back in time and reliving all the happy memories!
This reaction may see us arriving in 2022, but the episode itself marks a temporary step backwards in 1972; filmed, as it was, at the conclusion of Season 9. And for those (like me) a few years too young to remember the Pertwee era on first transmission, it became an introduction to the period, forming part of a repeat season at the start of the 1980s. But what an atypical story to pick! For a start it boasts, for my money, one of the most iconic cliff-hangers in the history of the show. Or, as the saying goes, 'Give him a big hand!'
The Drashigs are so brilliantly realised and, if I recall the SFX lore on this serial, fashioned around rat skulls. The sound is incredible. And such a nice use of a time loop.
@@MrPaulMorris Ah, of course! Well, they had to be a certain size. My brain obviously wasn't engaged on dimensions at the time of writing. I knew they were glove puppets. but that size thing didn't click! And I'm an artist for heaven's sake! Talk about failure of artistic visual acuity!
What would be really awesome is if one day, there was an episode that 18 minutes in the companion says, “Can’t we just leave?” And the Doctor says, “Um…this time, yeah. Let’s go.” The End. Would love to see the reactions to that. 😜🤣
That idea could be used as a fun, (trick), intro... Only to then be thrown into a deadly situation they can't simply escape from like that but then at the end of the story the Doctor & co, manage to get to the Tardis and return to where they left at the beginning, luring the main enemy of the story too whatever it was that they'd initially escaped, that's actually even more dangerous than that enemy... (or something along those lines) lol
Welcome back, Jess! It's so good to see this reaction. The actor who played John was Ian Marter, who had originally auditioned for the role of Mike Yates and among other things would go on to write several Doctor Who episode novelizations.
One interpretation (that seems convincing) of Vorg and Shirna is that they mirrors of The Doctor and Jo and happen to be hustling around the galaxy with - to all intents and purposes - a TV set, on which monsters and adventures are shown (and repeated) for adoring audiences. This holds some water as Leslie Dwyer (Vorg) was himself a veteran actor and performer in the mould of Pertwee; strutting his stuff in the age of Glam Rock Britain. Their purpose is simply to entertain. They'll be 'nothing serious, nothing political' - a clarion call to a certain type of fan who probably hadn't been paying attention to the overt politicking going on in the previous three seasons. But this is the era of Dr Who with its (frilly) shirt loosened and ready to party in the stars. They were going to make the most of it.
@Tom Meehan Yep. Katy was sweet. Her and NC I met in Spokane. Pertwee was in Portland. I also met Peter Davison and Colin. I think that was in Cali. Anthony Ainley was super nice to me. Offered me his champagne. He was in Spokane too along with, oh man, there was a couple others. Of course this was back in the 80s.
So glad you're enjoying the serial. I watched it as a seven year old when it came out in 1973 and it has been a favourite ever since. The writer, Robert Holmes was a LEGEND! He wrote so many unforgettable serials for Who. Thank you for your brilliant reactions .
This was the very first Dr Who story I ever saw and I've always loved it. I'm glad you're liking it so far. Shirna is definitely awesome. We live for Shirna. And for Preston.
- and of course, actors and so on, stuck in a repetitive TV series. In fact 'A Carnival of Monsters' is a pretty good description for certain periods of 'Doctor Who'. - as is 'The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'.
I loved your reaction to this! It was everything I love about your reactions. :) The screams, the costumes, "Preston" the dinosaur, the giant hands (and spikes). I was very entertained and can see myself rewatching this reaction a lot. :D Thank you for all of your uploads today! I had the same "what am I watching?" reaction at the start of this episode but ended up really liking this story too. It seems very ... self-aware. I feel like you could see a similar pompous, paranoid alien species in other Classic Who episodes but here, they're played for comedy. One of them says something like, "amusement is prohibited! It's purposeless!"
I remember the last time I saw this story, there was an odd 'time-loop' in one episode, where the Grey Officials repeat some dialogue before returning to speak with the Lurmans. Paralleling this is the famous story technique of the 'capture - escape - re-capture' loop often used to pad a middle episode of a number of Doctor Who serials.
Yes! I thought I'd misremembered when I watched this again recently. I can't recall if it was the VHS or the DVD edition but do know it had the weird Australian theme version at the end of EP2.
Of all the Third Doctor stories, this is one of my favorites (after The Daemons and The Curse of Peladon). I thought Jess would like it. Crazy story, amazing costumes and a 'dinosaur'!
Lovely to see you again! Jo and *3 were my first team and one of my favourites. Did you recognise Packer from The Invasion in Grey-Face? Shirna (Cheryl Campbell) went-on to be the girlfriend of 'Citizen Smith' (an urban revolutionary) who styled himself on Che Guevara in a great sitcom in the 70's. Vorg (Leslie Dwyer) went-on to be the boozy, kid-hating Punch and Judy man in the 80's sitcom 'Hi-Di-Hi'. Here's a thought, you've done Missy, do Shirna next...
Small correction and addition. It's Cheryl Hall (as Shirna) and she did go on to play Wolfie Smiths' girlfriend. Cheryl Campbell was in 'Pennies from Heaven' with Bob Hoskins, and then won a BAFTA for 'Testament of Youth'. Also, Cheryl Hall was one of six actresses short-listed for the part of Jo Grant, as was Jenny McCracken (Claire). Barry Letts was impressed enough to offer both of them parts in this story. Yes, I can see Jess cosplaying as Shirna. 😊😊
Carnival of monsters is my guilty pleasure, love the drashigs design and thanks to watching your reactions im now loving the pertwee are more than I used to, so underrated, why is it when I come back to watch these stories there 10 times better than when I first watched them, and Im a classic who fan as I grew up on the 80s in 1999
WELCOME BACK SESSKA. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Love your Dr Who reactions. For me, Jon Pertwee, and Tom Baker were my favourite doctors. Can’t wait for parts 3 & 4.
Glad to have you back, Jess! Your multitude of reviews, released on New Year's Day, may be recorded over the recent past -but, you appear to dress for each show. Different fashion, and color that actually relates to Boba Fett, to Hawkeye, and here with 3rd Doctor Who, you are not as colorful as Shirna and Vorg, who you "live for", yet your vibrant like this story. :) And your 'screams' of surprise, and expressions -you have been missed! This is a 'bonkers' story, and it's been a favorite of mine, since seeing it on PBS as a teen. Back to adventure!
I loved it....I just finished watching all the Tom Baker episodes on Britbox, now looking at Jon Pertwee episodes. I brought a lot of DVDs last year from Tom Baker era. But soon might get Pertwee episodes. I first got into Dr.Who when in early 80s, has a kid it used to come every Sunday morning at 11am on our local PBS station , then years later it was run late Saturday nights
Fun fact when this episodes was being made they were working on a new them song but they scrapped it but they accidentally left the new them in so only in AUSTRALIA when it aired the new them was in it for carnival of manatees episodes
Great to have you back! This is one of my all-time favourite stories and it's been rewarding watching you watch it for the first time - I'm actually jealous you get this experience!
Wow. Welcome back. Hope you had a well deserved break and you have settled into your new place. At time of writing, I have yet to watch all of this reaction but what a treat to open the New Year! Simon (Worcester, England).
A great gift to have you back Jess, hope the move went well. I now have back my motivator on those Saturday mornings when I have 25 minute exercise work out and complete with your extremely entertaining Doctor Who reactions, keep them coming and a Happy New Year to yourself.
Excellent review as usual. Never cruel or cowardly to misquote the Doctor. Always warm thoughts towards all classic who. Your in for a ride with 70's Who and beyond. This story demonstrates you're in for a treat. X
It's great to be watching your classic who reactions. I'm glad you are watching this whole thing through (even with the missing episodes). Also, while I'm not sure what the nesht story is, they are finally getting around some more beloved stories like Evil of the Daleks which came out last year. I recommend it. It's a great 2nd Ddoctor story imo (I'm not sure if you haven't seen it yet).
"Carnival of Monsters" is a parody of _Doctor Who_ itself. Vorg is an eccentric, weirdly-dressed older man who travels with Shima, a young attractive barely-dressed companion. They use a Miniscope (aka a TV) to entertain stuffy old grey-faced bureaucrats.
Ah, would that be the Five Faces of Doctor Who reruns. That was marvellous. I hadn't seen Carnival of Monsters since 1973 yp ro that point and on second viewing it was even better than I remember!
Yesyesyesyesyesyesyes!!!!!!!!! Oh, I wasn't expecting this today, I thought we would have to wait till Friday because it's not a new release! Oh, I'm so happy right now!
As Recommendations You should Have a look at Canadian/German Sci Fi series Lexx as it's very different starting with 4 TV movies followed up with 3 series's and it's funny sexy and bizarre stuff
and the return of the queen of reactors...did not expect SO much SO soon..thankyou always amazing to see you ...incredible reaction...for no reason what do you think of Andrews?
You're rights, yes, after "The Three Doctors" the Doctor's exile is forgiven and he's allowed to travel again, but we'll definitely be seeing UNIT in more stories.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! This is my 1st video since the move! So that's the new place, hmm? Don't like it, LOL!!!! There's something about the 2 entertainers that remind me of The Doctor and Jo (or any female companion); they show up uninvited in a strange place, and just their presence shakes up the society they visit, no matter how harmless they want to be. Seeing the reaction to Shirma was fantastic! I can only imagine what people thought during the time this was first out! It reminds me of Goldie Hawn when she was on 'Laugh-In', hahaha!
oh wow, i wasn't expecting to see classic dr who reactions so soon, i assumed next friday, what a nice surprise. also "i live for them, they're kind of awful, but i live for them" XDD
*Casting Spoilers ahead if interested" Yet another example of one off casting leading to a larger role. Lt John Andrews, ably played by Ian Marter, would be introduced in the Fourth Doctor debut story Robot as Dr Harry Sullivan. Harry was originally going to play the role William Russell's Ian played at the very beginning of the show, being the energetic young male to do the action stuff for what, at the time, was thought to be an older actor who was to take over from Pertwee. Then tome was cast and was young enough to do the action stuff himself, but Harry was like well enough that he would go on to join The Doctor and Sarah Jane in their adventures, and prove quite a popular character.
@Tom Meehan I'm not sure if you're being serious or not, we're talking about episodes that broadcast 50 years ago. Besides, I mentioned nothing about plots or storylines, just casting which is often known a year or more in advance of any project. If you are serious, my apologies. This has all been knowledge lurking in the background of my brain for so very, very long (nearly as long as the episode reviewed here), I sometimes forget there are those still coming into the fandom totally fresh, which is one of the things I love about it.
This is informative but probably best to avoid saying what's to come as Jess won't know this yet and it will be great (and more entertaining) if we see her reaction as fresh as possible. Thanks. :-)
@Tom Meehan Does this meet your criteria? Anything of any value is now hidden below the read more button, so no one will be interested in seeing anything I've said.
Also the Sailor John was Ian Marter who'll be back in 2 seasons as Harry Sullivan a bungling naval doctor who becomes a companion for the first season of Tom Baker
Jess is back 😃 Well the last NuWho season was a lot, trust me. This story had an interesting concept but i wouldn't say it's a all time great as others say. I like the concept of the Inter Minons but mostly because i find them obnoxious. Like i want to see them punched in the face. Not Venusian Karate. Proper, broken nose beatdown. Like Hugh Jackman in Prisoners style punched in the face. That's how insufferable they get. The Drashigs on the other hand are awesome I would love to see three go on a rampage across London Like Godzilla
