|
Doctor Who - The Androids of Tara (The Key to Time Series, Part 4)Rating:
Release Date: 01 October, 2002 Retail Price: $19.98 OUR Price: $17.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: Complete Cast (10 total) |
Doctor Who - The Androids of Tara (The Key to Time Series, Part 4) Reviews
Not the best of the Key to Time
I recently re-watched the Androids of Tara for the first time in several years and I found out just why it had been collected dust in the back of my video collection for so long. Simply put, Androids of Tara just isn't that great a story.
It's arguably the weakest of the Key to Time season (Power of Kroll gives it a run for the money in that department), simply because it's too predictable. The search for the Key to Time occupies only the first few moments of episode one and the final moemnts of episode four. It's a book end story designed to get us into the main story--that of Count Grendel and his mechanizations to take power on the planet of Tara. Before you can say "double double" there are androids on top of androids, dopplegangers and the Doctor and Romana embroiled in local politics. The story has potential--but most of it's wasted halfway through. The serial never gels and it feels as though the creative team and the production team were wearying of the entire Key to Time concept by this story.
So, if you're a Who completist, check this one out. If you're new to Who and want to see some great Who, look for "Genesis of the Daleks" or "Pyramids of Mars" as examples of how good the fourth Doctor's era can be.
"Well, it has been done before!"
The search for the Key to Time is half over. The Doctor, Romana and K9 have recovered the first three segments and, unhappily, the best three stories of the season are over. The last half of the Key to Time quest is definitely the weaker. This is not to say, though, that "The Androids of Tara" is bad. It's quite fun, even if it feels a little inconsequential. The criticism it has attracted from most fan circles is that it draws too heavily upon the one source, Anthony Hope's "The Prisoner of Zenda" and displays this quite blatantly. However, most of Doctor Who (like the works of William Shakespeare) is plagiarised from one source or another. How stylishly it is done is the best indicator of how it succeeds. With the case of Doctor Who, it succeeds most of the time. "The Androids of Tara" is a fun, swashbuckling adventure. The villain, Count Grendel, is a wonderfully over the top cad, scoundrel and all round baddie. The usual ingredients for the genre - Princes, Princesses and swordsmen - are all here. There's also the obligatory swordfight at the end. The story is low key - it revolves around the political machinations of the world of Tara - there is no planet to save from invasion or destruction, no populace to save from alien oppression. This story will never be regarded as a classic; it won't be in any all time top 10 lists - but it is a breath of fresh air. It's a nice diversion, however unoriginal. (There's an awful monster, so it's not really that different from the rest of Doctor Who!) Sure, it feels inconsequential. But it has the usual charm that the program always succeeds in pulling off.
More Customer Reviews (8 total)
You like Doctor Who - The Androids of Tara (The Key to Time Series, Part 4)?
|
© 2004, 2005, 2006 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey!
Hosting made possible by donations from debt free, Debt Consolidation, and credit card debt
