The Web of Fear episode 5 discussion:
R: “Evans, come out from behind that board.”
H: Yeah, Nick Courtney just has a fully formed character here. Couldn’t you just hear him talking to Jon Pertwee?
R: Yeah. In some ways it’s even better because he’s not deferring to the Doctor. I mean, the Brigadier is always kind of independent, but in this he’s especially head strong. And actually right a lot of the time, I think.
K: They are keeping it a mystery if the “Colonial” is, in fact, the traitor. Especially when he chose the correct corridor. So it’s a bit annoying that we know who he becomes later.
P: But he still could be under the influence of the Intelligence, and then come out later. Not to just disagree with you, but he still could be it.
K: He could. Although it would lessen his character somewhat if he had previous weakness like that. And Evans is a really awful, isn’t he? I can’t stand him, and at this point I doubt they’d going to kill him, just because he’s so pathetic. But, oh my god, he’s so horrible.
H: I’ll say two things in defense of Evans – one, he’s certainly reacting the way a relatively normal person would react in these situations, although slightly exaggerated…
R: I don’t think a normal person would sell everybody up the river every opportunity they got.
H: And two, he’s funny.
K: He is funny. But he is also a horrible person. I don’t think he’ll die because he is funny, and killing him at this point would just be tragic. But he’s still a horrible human being.
R: I’m just glad that Arnold is still alive.
K: Yeah, Historian, you implied that Arnold might still be alive earlier.
H: I’m doing my best.
K: At giving us SPOILERS!
R: He’s about as brave as Evans is cowardly.
K: The brave one, as always, is Jamie. 🙂
R: “For Clan McCrimmon!” Oh, the actor playing Travers did a splendid, splendid job with his voice after being taken over by the Intelligence.
E: Yes, that was really creepy.
K: But apparently the Intelligence gives you asthma.
R: I thought it was kind of appropriate. The Intelligence is trying to work his body to get the sounds to come out, and is not necessarily skilled with it.
H: It’s also consistent with the Abominable Snowman.
P: I enjoyed them finishing the electronics that we’ve been waiting for for several episodes.
K: A week or two back Ronelyn pointed out that there was very effective and simple techno-babble to explain the doohickeys. This week, not so much. It very, very detailed with techno-babble.
R: No, I thought they did a good job with skimming the surface.
P: I have to agree that they did not introduce that they did not introduce very many new things.
R: They dropped in a couple of terms, but most of it was “and you cross that wire over there, and while you finish up I’ll be over here doing this.”
K: But just before the “you cross the wires” bit there was a string of technical jargon from the Doctor.
R: But compare that to something from Star Trek Next Gen?
K: Yeah, yeah, it was nothing like that level.
R: They lubricated the plot with some technical jargon, that’s it. Unlike Next Gen…
H: Where it’s the entire focus on the show.
R: “And knowing is half the battle. And what you knew is wrong!”
P: I have gone back and forth on whether or not Evans is actually really smart and being controlled and playing that dumb, or he’s really that dumb. Is this a persona of the Intelligence? Because this character was newly introduced. He’s like “I was a driver” and there was no validation that he was.
K: As I said in a previous commentary, there was a scene where Evans reacted as though he was not working for the Intelligence, when Arnold and the other guy disappeared, and there was no one else in the scene to see his reaction. I think that was credible evidence that he’s not working with the Intelligence. At least not voluntarily.
H: Just letting you all know that I’m just not saying anything about anything because I just don’t want to give you guys any more spoilers. Except to say that the last episode is really cool.
E: So, if we all just say in our final thoughts next time that it “was awesome” it’ll be accurate?
H: Yes!
E: Well then.
<laughter>
P: There’s Yeti balls to talk about. Specifically Yeti balls that you could direct. Hopefully.
H: That’d make a smashing toy!
P: They move around pretty cool. I wonder how much of that is actually from those who did the recon, verses those who actually did the filming.
H: We did see “Yeti balls” moving in both the Abominable Snowman and the existing episode of this story. So we kind of have an idea of how it would work – but it’s not likely as smooth as with the reconstruction.
P: I was kind of wondering if they were going to be reprogramming as they go. Now that they have a sphere that works they’d reprogram it. So they would take the ball that they modified, put it in the Yeti, take the old one out, modify that one next, put that in the next Yeti, etc.
H: Alas, they don’t have the time or the parts. That’s not really a spoiler.
P: Well, in this case I guess they could walk up to a Yeti, paralyze it’s controller, take the ball, move on.
H: Yes, they could in theory do that.
P: The handkerchief trick worked well. I actually liked the fact that it was put in the plot.
K: It was a fairly classic “dropping of breadcrumbs” maneuver.
P: It was Evans who told them that it’s not a good idea to go up and out, which is another evidence to me that he’s maneuvering them as the Intelligence. Which is more evidence to me that he is “it.”
K: Or he’s consistent with always picking the cowardly option.
P: That’s true. I also enjoyed that they apparently filmed in Piccadilly station?
H: They didn’t.
P: The signage?
H: That’s all set.
P: Well, they had me fooled.
H: And the London Underground. You’re in good company. But still, and amazing set. Full props to the designer.
K: I think we’re getting ready for final thoughts here. We’re a small group tonight.
E:<Intelligence voice> It was creepy.
H: That’s it.
E:<Intelligence voice> Yeah.
P: There were a couple of points where they showed footage that was moving, and I assumed that this was from censor ville, and I thought “uh oh! This is where someone’s going to get hurt” and of course, it didn’t happen.
R: <Australian accent>Yeah, us Australians just don’t like to hear a Sheila scream.
H: Some of the footage was clearly re-purposed from the first existing episode. The stuff of the people walking down the tracks. But the Yeti attack was, I believe, censor footage. Did you like the episode?
P: I did like the episode. The previous episode where we had a plot involving mine carts and bombs and things like that was interesting because you are seeing the humans adapt, or trying to adapt to the situation. Whereas this episode had a more straight forward plot, and that is just deal with what you are presented. Someone is kidnapped – alright, we’ll go find them – for example.
K: Cool.
R: Yes, Doctor. You have fallen into my horribly over complicated, overwrought, implausible, inexplicable, unnecessarily tortured… trap.
H: You’d almost think it was a Cyberman, with how incredibly all of those things this trap is.
K: It’s a trap?
H: The Intelligence called it a trap. And to be fair, it did trap the TARDIS in time and space, and try to specifically send it to a exact location. Which the Doctor kind of was able to get out of by moving the TARDIS a little bit, but not entirely.
K: Moving the TARDIS just slowed the Intelligence’s plan a bit.
H: By 20 minutes.
R: <Intelligence voice> “Crap. I’ll have to walk all this way on these flimsy little legs. Next time I’m building snow leopards.”
H: Yeti are slightly more plausible than… I don’t know, living Snowman? Who would think of that.
K: Actually, that sort of makes sense because he started with the snowmen, realized they sucked, and then went on to the Yeti.
H: Let’s not go there.
K: Okay. I have observation. The Intelligence is not very. Really – 20 minutes. Why does he give the Doctor 20 minutes to decide ANYTHING. That guarantees that the Doctor will come up with some kind of plan to defeat him. Stupid Intelligence. Just say “come with me, or I’ll kill the girl NOW”
E: Don’t most villains go “you have 24 hours.”
K: Yes, and most villains are stupid.
H: Fair point.
K: Anyway. Other than something called “Intelligence” being not – talk about a misnomer – I am continuing to enjoy this story. But I think that, like, 55% of that is due to the Briga-Colonel.
H: Alright well I just want to add something. Schmallterm is not taking part, but I just wanted to add his observations that the Yetis look like Owlbears from D&D. Other than that, I’ll just say I’m enjoying myself tremendously, and I’m really pleased that the team seems to like this story at least 2/3rds as much as I do.
E: You’re probably just enjoying our reactions too.
H: That’s certainly part of it.
P: <Yeti whistle> I enjoyed seeing the web come through the wall in the recon, and kind of wish I’d seen what it was like in the original airing.
H: In the other recon that I saw of this a few years ago I did see the telesnap for it, and it did look like the web broke through the wall. I would love to see that too.
