The Mind of Evil
Previous: Terror of the Autons
The Mind of Evil
Ah yes, this one still needs to be colored in, doesn't it?
(Yeah, when I said I'd finished the entire black and white era of Doctor Who, I'd completely forgotten about these stories.)
"That looks like Dracula's castle!" I wonder if they're in Whitby...
Aww, Three's so happy waving to the camera and then the mean ol' security man comes and stops him.
Okay, they're not in Whitby, they're in the LOUDEST PRISON EVER.
So Three and Jo traveled out here to watch a man being executed out of "scientific curiosity." #familyentertainment
Ohhhhhh I get it, it's not an execution, it's Science.
A machine that extracts "evil impulses" from the human brain? Funny, I was just reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde earlier tonight...
So that one dude basically just announced that he has a box full of evil sitting around. GEE, I DON'T SEE THIS GOING WRONG AT ALL.
Actually, things went wrong a lot faster than I thought they were going to.
Ffffffttttttt that other guy's face is pretty priceless right now. Carried out satisfactorily indeed.
Ho boy, the Brig's not going to be happy when Three dumps even more work on his plate.
Chin Lee! I've heard of you! I think this is the first time we've had an Asian character in Who since the monks in The Abominable Snowmen.
And she starts by offending the Brig. This probably won't go down well.
OR SHE COULD MANAGE TO SILENCE THE BRIG WITH THE POWER OF GLARES. I LIKE THIS WOMAN VERY MUCH ALREADY.
And then she blames the theft on "those imperialist Americans." Hey, we weren't THAT bad in the 70's, were we? Oh wait... #vietnam
Aww, childrens. But wait...why is she setting something on fire near a playground?
Answer: because that somewhat conspicuous mind-control probe told her to. Of course, people don't usually look behind other people's ears.
Meanwhile back at Science Prison...there goes another slip of "is the Doctor several thousand years old?"
Wait wait wait WHO goes around accusing the Doctor of not being scientist?!?
"We've got real trouble this time, the Chinese delegate's dead!" Wow. The Brig sure knows how to end a scene.
Well, now we know: when you leave a box full of evil lying around, it will eventually become sentient and start killing people.
Okay, so it's not a box. Actually, it's a more literal version of how TV Tropes would probably put it: Sealed Evil in a Can. Or canister.
So it's pretty clear that the Box of Evil makes people die from their worst fear but...how exactly does it cause the physical evidence?
Uh oh, the evidence seems to be pointing towards mind-controlled Chin Lee being the murderer. And the Brig is catching on. To a degree.
AND she may have been the assistant for installing the Box of Evil. Welp. Can't say I was expecting that.
I only just realized: thank you, Jo, for having the sense to wear pants instead of mini-skirts all the time.
Yes, I know she wears mini-skirts in some stories, but this is not one of them.
Suddenly FIRE.
Jo Grant to the rescue! Aww, she gets to return the favor from her mind-screwing in the last story.
You know, Three, you could...like...I dunno...thank her, or something.
New Who tends to shy away from revealing the darkest corners of the Doctor's mind, but this one is being nice and giving us some outright.
To clarify: we never saw what was in his room in The God Complex, but here they're referring back to Inferno as the source of his fear.
Umm, Yates, rule of thumb: NEVER threaten to use force on Three. He WILL out-badass you.
Doctor, when will you learn that telling your companions to stay put and do as they're told only works about 10% of the time?
Meanwhile, Benton Coat Porn.
And now he's being attacked by the Box of Evil at long-distance through Chin Lee. I wonder what he's afraid of...
Oh, I guess we won't get to see it. Oh well.
Uh oh, Benton's got some s'plainin' to do to the Brig. And Brig is not happy.
"You're too delicate for intelligence work, Benton, you'd better go lie down." Too delicate. *Too delicate.* #toodelicate
The Brig is actually much more frightening and much less amusing when he's legitimately angry than when he's just annoyed.
Outside, the Master finally reveals himself. It was in-tents.
Funny thing is, that rubber disguise mask he was using doesn't look that different from his real face.
Awwww, all it takes to turn Three from a tiger to a kitten is assure him that you'll blow up that evil box he hates.
"Cheshire cat, Yates, Cheshire cat." UNIT IS A PACK OF KITTIES.
Cool, we get the Doctor speaking Chinese with subtitles!
"It is rare to meet a Westerner who knows my language." A little attention to culture goes a long way. #importantlifelessonsfromDoctorWho
Hang on, that wasn't Chinese, that was Hokkien. Never heard of that language before... #themoreyouknow
Now that Mao has come into the picture ever so slightly, I'm starting to see more blatant connections to the Red Scare in this story.
(Although I honestly don't know if the Red Scare was as big a deal in the UK as it was in the US.)
Miffed Brig is miffed. And when the Brig is miffed, he SHOOTS...em, SITS on something!
Aww, Jo's being so nice and sweet to the ex-con who got his mind scrambled. I guess they'd both have something to talk about...
The jail janitor just planted a gun under the pillow. Somehow I don't see this ending well.
This scene is giving me a tiny craving for tea. I'd gladly oblige myself if I had anything decaffeinated on hand.
Meanwhile, Brig...never change. Ever.
Also, this man REALLY doesn't like you. Trying repeatedly to talk to him might not be such a good idea.
Unexpected Introduction of Nuclear Warhead. I wonder where this plot could possibly be headed...
Delgado with a cigar. This episode just became about 5x classier.
Hello, Token American Guy! Accent's not too shabby.
Chinese trying to kill Americans in the 70's. Subtle, guys. Really subtle.
And the American even sees her as a dragon. ...Why.
So hopefully the fact that the American's attempted death scene happened as a cliffhanger is an implication that he gets saved. Let's see...
I was right, but HOLY CRAP CHIN LEE IS AN *ACTUAL* DRAGON?
"A collective hallucination, gentlemen, nothing more." That was my second guess. Thank you, Three.
Question of the evening: are all the Chinese dialects just the writer showing off or did they actually have to do serious research for this?
"If you've got any sense, you'll get some beddy-byes. Good night." Sound advice for half the people online ever. #gpoy
Cut from Benton yelling and being assertive to the Brig sleeping at his desk. Awwwwwww...
"It's Yates. He's had a hold-up with his...erm...cargo."
"Yes, well tell him to be careful with his, erm, cargo."
"Cargo" is now an innuendo. Thank you, gentlemen.
Displeased Master is displeased.
I just realized, Nicholas Courtney could've given quite the masterclass on telephone acting. So many reaction shots per episode.
And then Jo Grant graced the crisis with a touch of her badassery.
Even as Delgado, the Master liked to carry his own soundtrack around with him. #likeaboss
Wait, does the guy welcoming the Master right now look remarkably like Richard Nixon to anyone else?
Yikes, every gun in this prison seems to be loaded with Instant Kill Bullets.
Huh. Looks like Delgado's prowess at speaking through gas masks was wildly superior to Simm's.
Good ol' Three, brushing aside guns in your face is one thing, but only great men can brush aside rifles.
Oh Delgado!Master, you're such a Bond villain. Now if only I'd seen some actual '60s Bond to compare you to...
"Oh, it won't harm me. I created it!" On the other hand, you don't seem to be Genre Savvy enough to know just how wrong you are right now.
Hello again, Nuclear Missile Plot Device! I almost missed you, except I didn't.
Roger Delgado, you have quite possibly one of the shiniest foreheads I've ever seen on Doctor Who.
And once again the Doctor is saved by: a glass of water!
Close-ups of Jon Pertwee's starey-eyes will never not be some level of really creepy.
There's a "you...me...and handcuffs" joke staring me so hard in the face it's practically plucking my eyebrows.
Three does not look particularly happy about the Master feeling him up like that.
On the other hand, he IS Genre Savvy enough to challenge the Master on his hook-me-up-to-an-evil-machine-and-then-leave-the-room tactic.
Well Master, looks like your little scheme didn't go as planned after all. That's what you get for saying "I made it, so it's perfect, etc."
Awww, and now he's playing doctor to the Doctor.
Wow. I don't think I've seen Three in this bad a state since Inferno. Also he's got sweat EVERYWHERE.
Well at least he's reunited with Jo now, that ought to help things along.
So, whenever you guys hear someone say that the Doctor "needs a doctor," does that mar the drama of the scene at all? Or is that just me?
Huh. So it looks like the Box of Evil wasn't gaining sentience, it was sentient from the beginning. Can't say I was expecting that.
And the little bugger seems to be overpowering the Master. His greatest fear? Terrifying Pertwee.
(For the record, Jon Pertwee's Evil Laugh is pretty intense in its own right. I don't blame the Master for being freaked out by it.)
Jo Grant, you have entirely too many rings on your hand. #the70s
I just realized: Three is the first Doctor to only have one companion at a time, excluding the UNIT chaps...
...so he has a much more direct responsibility to his companions as a mentor figure, particularly with Jo.
Although, I'm honestly not sure if he counted much as a mentor figure to Liz, since she was already rather independent from the start.
Master says, time for a slideshow from my evil plans! I mean...vacation!
Jo Grant wants FOOD, dammit!
Now THAT'S what I call a food fight. #forgivethepun #imsorry
Huh. Considering Three seems to know what the Master's plan is, he's being remarkably cool and calm about it.
Suddenly, AMBUSH. And Yates goes skidding away, complete with cartoon sound effects.
Just a rule of thumb for next time: please don't leave Benton for dead. He'll be fine for quite a while yet.
For some reason, I feel like there's an obvious joke to be made about Yates riding a motorcycle, but I honestly have no idea why.
Yates is captured, Benton's patched up, and srys Three is srys. Looks like the missile plot is overtaking the Box of Evil plot here.
Or maybe they're running side by side now.
Woah. Apparently the Box has teleportation powers. Or something.
Aww, baby's first steps. Of DEATH.
So I take it every single cliffhanger in this story is going to involve someone being attacked by the Box? Only one more to find out.
Aww, I love how the reformed ex-con is such an innocent docile creature now. He hears loud scary noises and goes looking for his Jo.
(Seriously, if something bad happens to him between now and the end, I will be a sad panda.)
Huh. I think that's the first UNIT officer I've seen with glasses on. Pretty big ones, too.
Yikes. I've never seen any human get under the Master's skin quite like Mailer is here. Seriously, that's frighteningly impressive.
Yates seems rather calm and collected about the prospect of being held as a hostage. "It did cross my mind..."
Master, Three and Jo aren't interested in your plans to blow the world to crap, can't you see they're playing checkers?
Looks like Benton's being temporarily replaced by Major Glasses while his head gets better. Still, I like this new guy.
Oh wait, never mind, Benton walked in literally right after I typed that.
"Benton you're supposed to be suffering from severe concussion!" The way he says that almost sounds like "Benton, why aren't you suffering?"
Meanwhile in the Mastercave, Yates escapes! Except not really.
Except yes really! Mike SMASH.
Okay. The Master is being Three's lab assistant to literally help him lasso the Box of Evil before it runs away. This show, you guys.
Aaaaand now the lasso's catching fire. This may or may not end well.
Hey Mailer, somehow I don't think scratching your nose with a gun barrel is really the best idea. (But in your case, go ahead.)
Awww, I love how Jo gets to be so motherly towards Three here. I love any companion who gets to look after the Doctor like that.
Three was once in the Tower of London with Sir Walter Raleigh after a dispute with Elizabeth I about potatoes? So many Blackadder jokes...
Cockney-Brig. This is happening, you guys. COCKNEY-BRIG.
Hey guy on the roof, general rule of thumb: do NOT shoot the megaphone out of the Brig's hands when he's talking. He doesn't like that.
Okay, so I guess not every cliffhanger involved the Box screwing with somebody, but MAILER YOU JUST SHOT THE DOCTOR.
And of course the shot missed because BRIG TO THE RESCUE!
"Thank you, Brigadier, but do you think for once in your life you could arrive BEFORE the nick of time?"
"It's nice to see you too, Doctor."
Wow. The Brig almost never looks sheepish, but sweet holy hell he looks downright dumbstruck-by-his-own-fail in this shot.
More importantly, Yates to the rescue! Beginning of the last episode and we know where to find our main villain/weapon...
"No need to worry about the Master anymore, this time we've got him." Ohhhhhhhhhhh you say that NOW but just. you. wait.
Pfffffftt. It's kind of hilarious how you can tell that they achieved this shot by just waving the camera violently around. Very violently.
Wait. NO. BENTON. YOU DID NOT JUST SET IN MOTION THE SERIES OF EVENTS THAT I THINK YOU DID.
Oh. Hang on, never mind, that actually might be doing more good than harm.
To clarify: it looks like the brainwashed guy's newfound innocence is taming the Box of Evil instead of the Box killing him.
And now we finally get to see into the Box to behold the creature within: it kinda looks like Scaroth's liquified head.
"Acting Governor Sergeant Benton here."
"...Who?"
I almost want to say that there's a prank-calling-UNIT joke in here somewhere.
Dr. Summers comes in, doesn't listen to Jo, and things, as they apparently say in the UK, look about to go tits up.
Or maybe not. On the other hand, Three, somehow I don't think the Master will want to leave now that he knows you're here.
So the brainwashed ex-con's name is Barnham. Only took me nearly the entire serial to figure that out.
The Master's air-car-driving-hands will never not be hilarious.
Wait. NO. NO BARNHAM. DON'T STOP TO HELP THE MASTER. HE'S THE BAD GUY. BAD. GUY.
And now he's gone and run you over with a fucking van. And now you're *dead.* Not cool, guys. Just...not cool.
Three, I'm sorry to be such a Debbie Downer but...this is the Master we're talking about. Of COURSE he has the circuit.
Also, "not for quite some time" means "until the next serial."
Aww, Brig looks so happy to have Three stuck on Earth with him.
Next: The Claws of Axos