The Black Guardian Trilogy: Mawdryn Undead
Previous: Snakedance
Part 1: Mawdryn Undead
And we open on a nice respectable little school in the British countryside and...oh my god...there he is...with a hat...
Alrighty, I've kept you guys waiting long enough. This very special occasion deserves its own mega-Tweet:
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
They see me rollin', they hatin', patrollin' and tryin' to catch me riding dirty...
Oh wow. Only 3 minutes in and he's already having an out-of-body experience. Which takes place in video-game-graphics-land, apparently.
"What's the damage at your end, Brigadier?" HOLY CRAP HOW DID I FORGET THAT THE BRIG WAS IN THIS STORY TOO.
Also, hello again, Black Guardian! Haven't seen you since The Armageddon Factor.
Wait. He shaved. The Brig shaved. Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart shaved. There is no more Brigstache. The Brigstache is gone.
"You will destroy one of the most evil creatures in the universe! He calls himself 'The Doctor'."
Hello Five! It's been a while! Oh...looking srys-faced today. And Tegan! Oh right, you're still recovering from the events of Snakedance.
Something that really annoys me about this section of the show: the opening TARDIS scenes are CONSTANT RAMBLINGS about the previous story.
Also, come on, Fivey, give the woman a hug. She really looks like she could use one pretty badly right now.
NYSSA! You're wearing......something completely different now. This is going to take a little getting used to.
Turlough obtained: Mysterious Crystal!
Wow. You're a lying little creeper with god-knows-what-issues, but why do you have to have such an innocent face...*ruffles his hair*
Just turned the CGI effects on and WOW does it make a different for this "collision course" scene!
Also, the music in this scene is WAY different from anything else I've heard outside Seven's serials. I wonder who did the incidentals here.
Clever Brig sees through Turlough's accusations! Also, I'll be very amused if he bitches about his wrecked car for the rest of the story.
So it looks like we're about to learn the connection between the statue Turlough's pushing and the weird ship that Team Fivey is on.
"What IS that?"
"A transmat capsule. Don't you know ANYTHING?"
That looks almost EXACTLY like the egg that carried the Nimons in The Horns of Nimon. I wonder what this one has inside...
Nothing, apparently. Just coming to collect Turlough and bring him up to the ship. And he stands at the bridge like a preacher at a pulpit.
No seriously, he's got the stained glass behind him and everything.
The crystal seems to be magically glued to his hand. Kinda like when Spongebob tries to throw his hat away. But that was funny, this isn't.
Dear Hannah, I can't believe you actually just made a Spongebob reference in the middle of a Doctor Who commentary. Shame. -Your Conscience.
"Take it from me, boy: a solid object CAN'T dematerialize." Oh Brig, I love you.
I can tell this is when they started loosening the reigns on the No Touching Companions rule: Five's hands on Nyssa's shoulders just now.
I mean, that and the whole "the girls are wearing a lot less this season than last" thing.
Woah, pulsing actiony drumkit music! Unexpected-awesome!Five-running!
It is just me, or is that ship console smoking slightly? There seems to be something wispy radiating off of it.
Five, stop messing around with the TARDIS console and notice that you've got another stowaway standing in plain sight in front of you.
Okay, so he isn't really a stowaway per se, since he didn't really...well...stow away.
So I guess the only people who ACTUALLY stow away on the TARDIS are teen geniuses with super-shiny black hair (Zoe, Adric, lookin' at you).
Well, whadaya know. The transmat capsule is Bigger On The Inside, too.
What's that box that Five's carrying? And why are Nyssa and Tegan carrying stools into the TARDIS console room? I don't know yet.
"In the name of all that is evil, I order you to DESTROY HIM NOW!" But Doctor Who villains never even use the word "evil!"
Of course, since the Black Guardian's hair is LITERALLY a bird, my argument is invalid.
Oh look, that box has the same pattern as Fivey's cricket togs OH MY GOD TURLOUGH PUT THAT GIANT HEAVY ROCK DOWN.
Pleased to say that, one episode in, I already approve of Turlough. He's looking like a pretty interesting character.
Doctor-murder interrupted by a s'plosion! Time for the girls to take off.
So the TARDIS materialized briefly and then disappeared, but Nyssa and Tegan seem to be in the right place. Bet they're in the wrong time.
Wait, did Five just pull out a new sonic screwdriver from that toolbox?
Brig and Doctor reunited once more! I'm surprised he hasn't recognized the regeneration yet.
WOAH THAT GUY IS BURNED. Looks like they ARE in 1977 and this is when the transmat capsule first landed on Earth.
WAIT THAT GUY'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE DOCTOR?!? Oh wait, they probably just THINK it's him because he's supposed to be in the capsule.
Okay, now I'm REALLY surprised that the Brig still doesn't know it's the Doctor. Maybe this is part of the plot...
Wait, IS THAT FOUR'S BURGUNDY COAT THEY'RE USING? *turns on InfoText* IT IS!
I think this is the first time we've seen inside the Brig's house (I know it shows up again in Battlefield...)
I just noticed something very strange: If UNIT is a secret organization and Brigadier was his title, why does everyone still call him that?
"I've lost my TARDIS, you've lost your memory. I'd be surprised if the two events weren't connected." Okay, so it IS part of the plot.
Awwww... Benton, Harry, and Jo are all getting Where Are They Now mentions! And Jo even has a musical cue!
And Sarah Jane! And Liz Shaw!
"Someone just walked over my grave."
"Perhaps it was a Yeti, Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart."
We can has flashback sequence now?
YETI! CYBERMEN! DAEMONS! SILURIANS! MASTER! TWO! ONE! FOUR! THREE! EVERYTHING IS SOLVED WITH TEA!
Woah. Unexpected Angry!Brig.
Brig's teaching math now? I must not use some stupid pun resulting in the phrase "Brig Trig." ...............DAMMIT.
One of those boys is even wearing a shirt that says "1977" on it. I wonder when they're going to figure that out.
The Brig remembers Tegan, further confirming my suspicious that his memory loss has something to do with Nyssa and Tegan's shenanigans.
Anyone else notice how I've become quite attached to the word "shenanigans" lately?
Younger!Brig! And he's got what looks like a comb-over! AND THE BRIGSTACHE!
I'm surprised Turlough actually told the headmaster the truth, especially since he's shown a great propensity for lying.
Aaaaaaaand the headmaster turns out to be the Black Guardian in disguise. Natch.
"Waking or sleeping, you can never escape me, Turlough." Wait why are there suddenly two Turloughs.
I'm also surprised that Turlough's so defensive of the Doctor when he's barely spent much time with him so far.
I seem to be finding a lot of things surprising in this story.
Awww, I'm actually feeling bad for poor panicked traumatized Turlough.
Looks like everyone (except Nyssa) has their times straightened out now.
The narrative structure of this is getting very interesting. I wonder which time zone is going to wind up taking the bulk of the plot.
Or maybe they'll be split evenly down the middle. I guess we'll see.
"I, Mawdryn, shall be a Time Lord!" He said while clutching TOM BAKER'S COAT.
HOLY SHIT IS THAT HIS BRAIN EXPOSED OH GOD WHY DID YOU SHOW US THAT
Wait, DAVID COLLINGS is playing Mawdryn? A NAME I ACTUALLY KNOW. Hello again, Ander Poul!
I have a very strange appreciation for Five's tight cross-legged pose here.
Just want to say, if Mawdryn winds up wearing Four's coat for the entire rest of the story, it will feel REALLY weird.
Turlough, this is your Fivey speaking. I am very very disappointed in you. I r srys Doktor, this r my srys face.
I still don't quite understand how Mawdryn knows who everybody is. Is he borrowing the Doctors memories or something?
So Five, would you mind actually explaining what the Blinovitch Limitation Effect actually IS? Though I can hazard a few guesses...
Is it just me, or does Tegan seem to be the one with the most good sense in this episode? You're winning good favor with me, girl.
And the coat finally comes off. And those ribbons kinda make him look like a papery jellyfish-mermaid...thing.
I guess that was the Brig's way of politely saying "stay in the kitchen." Except, of course, it's the TARDIS and not a kitchen...
"And what about the danger you implied?"
"It still exists, but if you're so concerned about Turlough, set an example and stay behind!"
"...moral blackmail..."
Oh man, I sense an impending Meeting of the Brigs...
Strange knob on the wall opens up to reveal...some sort of TARDIS-like structure?
Considering the crystal's not glowing, I think Turlough might just be talking to himself, or just looking for better reception.
Then again, with the Black Guardian being its controller, it probably has some form of universal roaming.
It's a whole room full of Papery Jellyfish-Mermaid Things!
PASSING OF THE BRIGS. SO CLOSE.
"I'm going after the Doctor. The REAL Doctor."
*Five enters* "Right!"
"DOCTOR!"
*Five leaves*
Uh oh, looks like Mawdryn's managed to trick the Brig as well.
Or not! The Brig figured it out pretty fast, AND Mawdryn fessed up just as quickly.
"You will obey me." Channeling the Master today, are we, Black Guardian?
Turlough, he sent you to find younger!Brig. HE'S RIGHT THERE. YOU'RE STARING AT HIM.
There you go. Have fun explaining the situation.
"So, this Doctor, what does he look like?"
"Older than me, younger than you."
"No, I mean, is he...normal?"
"Of course!"
Brig, Id've thought you'd known by now that there IS no "normal" for the Doctor. Not in your sense of the word, anyway.
At first I thought the Brig was going to try and summon a lock by taking out his keys. He should be able to make locks magically appear.
Did I just say that the Brig should be able to make locks magically appear? Dear god, how sleep-deprived AM I?
Well it looks like Turlough's fudging with the controls did something after alOH DEAR GOD WHAT'S HAPPENING TO NYSSA AND TEGAN.
And the solution might be REVERSING THE POLARITY OF THE NEUTRON FLOW!
...or that could just turn Nyssa and Tegan into little girls. Give me a minute to figure out of this is cute or creepy.
So it's not until this one quiet intense scene that I notice that both Nyssa and Tegan are wearing necklaces for some reason.
Younger!Brig, that's the third time in the past 2 minutes you've tossed that homing device. Maybe you should give it a rest.
LESS THAN 20 SECONDS TO SAVE THE DOCTOR!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...MEETING OF THE BRIGS! *FLASH*
Alright, we're in the last 5 minutes, time to get everything and everyone straightened out.
Apparently, the Doctor is finally adept enough at flying the TARDIS to land the Brigs EXACTLY where/when they need to be.
"Doctor...may I join you?"
"...I think you already have."
Reluctant Nyssa and Tegan look reluctant.
And, say it with me...THEN THERE WAS A S'PLOSION!
Welcome aboard, Turlough! Glad to have you with us! And I'll be even gladder when you stop working for the Black Guardian.
Next: The Black Guardian Trilogy Part 2: Terminus