As I’ve written before,
there are certain Doctor Who stories about which I simply cannot be objective,
and 1977’s “The Face of Evil” may be at the top of that list. It’s easily Top
Ten Who
for me, but I’ve discovered time and again that few have the same kind of
admiration for it that I do. Screw it. Right here, right now - let’s give “The Face
of Evil” its proper due. It’s just as tight and smart as the rest of Season
Fourteen, of which it’s a major, important component, and it goes a long way
toward cementing that block of stories as very possibly the best straight run of the classic
series.
Having said goodbye to Sarah
Jane two stories prior in “The Hand of Fear,” and having recently engaged in an
epic battle against a decaying Master on their home planet of Gallifrey in “The Deadly Assassin,” the Doctor (Tom Baker) is now roaming the universe solo and
seemingly carefree. The TARDIS lands on an unnamed planet, in a dense, alien
looking jungle. There the Time Lord encounters two opposing factions: tribal
warriors known as the Sevateem, and the restrained technology-based Tesh. Their
mutual hatred and distrust is spurred on by their god, Xoanon. After he’s repeatedly
recognized as “The Evil One,” the Doctor soon learns that he’s been here
before, and the situation is something only he can fix. Along the way he forms
a close bond with a Sevateem woman known as Leela (Louise Jameson)…
It couldn’t have been an
easy task to find someone to take the place of Sarah Jane Smith, and, in fact,
Tom Baker wasn’t keen on having a companion at all. Despite the fact that
Robert Holmes and Philip Hinchcliffe were able to make the Doctor operating
solo work in “The Deadly Assassin,” his first scene in “The Face of Evil,” in
which he talks directly to the camera, sort of proves the necessity of a
companion. It’s a novel, mildly funny moment for sure, but not something the
series could’ve relied on over the long haul. Luckily he bumps into the savage Leela not long after arriving. She’s been banished from her tribe for speaking out
against their god Xoanon, and claiming that it doesn’t exist.
Right off the bat Leela grabs
attention, and not just because of her revealing costume and stunningly natural
looks. I’m not entirely sure if the character’s ever been given her proper due,
probably for a couple reasons, such as the fact that she was a companion for
only a season and a half, and also because when she wasn’t written by Chris
Boucher or Robert Holmes (between the pair they wrote five of her nine
stories), she wasn’t written to her true potential. However, if one is to judge
Leela on those five stories alone, she comes out looking like one of the most
dynamic and engaging companions in the history of the show, partly because she
was so unlike any of the others (although a case could probably be made that
she shares a fair amount of traits with Jamie McCrimmon before her), but also
because of her violent, primal behavior, and the Doctor’s reactions to that behavior. Likewise,
Jameson seems very sure of herself coming out of the gate (even though she
admits that she was anything but), and it would have been so easy for this
character to have been a misfire, especially if the wrong actress had been cast
in the part.
Jameson's knack for the role aside, Leela is given such a
perfect introductory storyline – one that ideally serves the essence of the
character - that it’s difficult to imagine it having gone any other way. “The
Face of Evil” is about the triumph of science and reason over religion and
superstition, which mirrors the journey Leela takes with the Doctor over the
course of their travels. I’ve said before that these types of stories are
amongst my very favorite in Doctor Who, because they reflect my
own world view, and “Face” was the strongest piece of science fiction I’d
experienced (at the age of 13) that explored these ideas, and therefore it has stuck with me ever since.
I’d already seen “Pyramids
of Mars,” “Planet of Evil,” and “The Masque of Mandragora” (the latter shares
some of the philosophy of “Face,” but the method of storytelling isn’t as
intricate) and several other “classic” classic Who stories that preceded
it, but “Face” is the one that, after having viewed it, cemented my lifelong
relationship with the series. In speaking about this particular serial, I can
think of no higher testimonial than the idea that while I enjoyed the bejeezus
out of “The Brain of Morbius” (and would also place it in my Top Ten) it was
“The Face of Evil” that taught me that this show really was about something beyond battling monsters
and aliens (possibly because this serial doesn't really feature either).
Perhaps I’ve gotten too
serious here, and forgotten to explain that “The Face of Evil” is also loads of
fun. All the little hallmarks that define the era are present here. Baker is in
prime form, working his way back and forth between deadly serious and
whimsically humorous. One of the most priceless, memorable moments occurs when
he threatens to kill a Sevateem tribesman with a jelly baby. He’s aided by a
truly spectacular guest cast, all of whom seem to totally believe in the world
they’re playing in. The Sevateem in particular are smartly written, most notably Leslie Schofield’s duplicitous Calib and David Garfield’s high priest
Neeva, who goes through a dramatically calculated breakdown upon realizing that
his entire belief system is a sham. This is the sort of sensitivity Boucher –
here, a first time Who writer – imbues the proceedings with; most Who
scribes before him would’ve glossed over such an angle.
The psychically endowed Tesh
don’t get nearly as much screentime, as they aren’t introduced until Episode
Three, but they are undeniably strange and creepy, partly because of the fact
that never once do we see a female Tesh. Further complicating this issue is the
claim by the captain of the Tesh guard, Jabel (Leon Eagles), that they “deny
the flesh so that our minds may find communion with Xoanon.” And yet somehow,
as a race, they’ve been reproducing for survival for numerous generations.
These are the kind of weirdoes who very likely keep their women locked away and
out of sight, to be used only for procreation. Granted, none of this is seen or
even hinted at onscreen, but on this viewing of “Face,” my mind began to ponder
such issues, and that’s where I arrived. Judging them on their fashion choices,
however, one might think that the Tesh have escaped en masse from the Emerald City
The working title of the
serial was “The Day God Went Mad,” and many a fan, myself included, has bemoaned
the fact that it wasn’t used. It would have been a fucking fantastic title, and indeed, had it been used, the perception of
this story would be entirely different today. It would not be thought of as
just “Leela’s first story” or as the filler in between “The Deadly Assassin”
and “The Robots of Death.” Yet let’s not
entirely discount what makes the title they did use almost as cool, and that’s
the fact that the face in question is that of the Doctor’s, and there are
numerous moments in this story where Tom Baker’s visage and voice are used as
chilling emblems of darkness, and it totally works. It’s difficult to imagine
the gimmick working with most of the other actors to have played the Doctor,
such is the strangeness of Baker’s face (although by all means, it’d be a
debate worth having).
Sometimes it's tough to know
where to stop talking in a DVD review, especially for a story that I’m as
enthusiastic about as this one. Many people reading this will not have seen
this serial, and the way it operates and unfolds is too clever to ruin by line
listing everything there is to adore about it. (Honestly, I feel as though I’ve
only scratched its surface; I didn’t even talk about the spectacular design
work or the atmospheric film sequences.) Last month of “The Caves of Androzani”
I said “there surely cannot be any safer Doctor Who DVD purchase this year.”
On a logical, critical level I stand by that, but on a personal, emotional level,
“The Face of Evil” trumps even the might of “Androzani.”
DVD Extras: Perhaps rather appropriately, the extras here are very
Louise Jameson heavy, playing almost as homage to Leela. On the other hand, Tom
Baker is completely absent from the proceedings as is, unfortunately, Chris
Boucher…well, mostly absent. A revolving commentary track moderated by Toby
Hadoke features Jameson and Hinchcliffe as well as actors Schofield, Garfield,
Mike Elles (Gentek) and Harry F. Fielder, who has a small role as a Sevateem
assassin in Part One, as well as film cameraman John McGlashan. Hadoke, it turns
out, has been in contact with Boucher and periodically reads e-mails from him,
so the writer is at least there in spirit.
There’s also a making of
entitled “Into the Wild,” which runs for 25 minutes as well as nine minutes of
leftover film footage. “Tomorrow’s Times – The Fourth Doctor” is another in the
ongoing series that takes a look at press reaction to the show. Given that the
Baker era lasted for seven seasons, at a mere 14 minutes, this particular
installment feels a bit on the brief side. “Doctor Who Stories: Louise Jameson”
is a 17-minute interview with the actress from 2003, and there’s also a short
vintage interview with her with Noel Edmonds from Swap Shop. A Denys Fisher
Toy commercial is a cool little tidbit, and there’s also a tremendously
impressive trailer for next month’s release of “The Daemons,” which any Who
fan will tell you has been a long time coming. Finally, there’s the usual photo
gallery, production notes subtitles option, and PDF material that includes Radio Times listings, loads of
advertising tie-ins for a product called Ty-Phoo Tea, and an extensive collection
of comics, stories and articles from a vintage magazine called The Amazing World of Doctor Who, which
was part of the Ty-Phoo promotion.
