Doctor Who: The Mutants

Interesting tidbit about “The Mutants”: Salman Rushdie mentions it in his famously controversial novel, The Satanic Verses, although not by name, but rather by bringing up the Mutts from the story and offering up a few observations. Some fans have derided Rushdie’s brief commentary as misinterpreting the messages of the story, but that’s a debate for another forum. What’s noteworthy, though, is that Rushdie was paying close enough attention to see any kind of message at all. It’s not that the messages are muddled, so much as they’re covered in enough layers of sci-fi that they don’t dominate the story. Ostensibly, “The Mutants” is something of a metaphor for colonialism, Apartheid and xenophobia, although one can hardly claim the story beats you over the head with any of these ideas. Certainly the messages are no more prevalent than in dozens of other similarly structured Who stories, but if somebody wants or needs to see them, they’re definitely there.

The action unfolds in the 30th century, and the Doctor (Jon Pertwee), with Jo Grant (Katy Manning) in tow, has been sent on a mission by the Time Lords to deliver a message to an unknown person on the planet Solos. Solos has for hundreds of years been under the rule of the Earth Empire and the indigenous population has long since grown not only restless, but rebellious even. But something else is happening to the Solonians – they’re mutating into a new race, which the humans refer to as Mutts, and they look something like giant cockroaches that walk on two legs. Why is this happening? Does it have anything to do with the poisonous atmosphere on Solos, or is it just a natural stage of their evolution?

Maybe the real reason this story gets singled out for its political content is because it feels more mature than not only other stories from its era, but also much of classic Who in general. The characters are complex and layered, but not always in the most engaging of ways. Likewise, the story either takes numerous needless detours to get where it’s going, or it’s a genuinely multifaceted piece of work. After two full viewings, I still can’t decide which, but I’d imagine much of one’s take on it would depend entirely on how much enjoyment one gets out of it. The tone of it frequently doesn’t feel as much Doctor Who as it does another great ‘70s British sci-fi series, Blake’s 7, and while viewing “The Mutants” I kept imagining Blake, Avon and the rest of the crew from the Liberator in charge of fixing the situation.

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Children of the Stones

The creepy English village is one of those TV and movie archetypes that’s been done to death, yet nevertheless remains an effective storytelling tool. Add into the mix another tried and true gimmick – the prehistoric stone circle – and you’ve got Children of the Stones, an unsettling little thriller made in 1977 for Britain’s ITV. The series, which spans seven 30-minute installments, was aimed at children, but as is often the case with fare from this time period, it will most definitely appeal to adults as well. You might even have vague memories of it if you were lucky enough to have Nickelodeon in the early 80s, as here in the States it was shown on the anthology series The Third Eye.

Astrophysicist Adam Brake (Gareth Thomas of Blake’s 7) and his son Matthew (Peter Demin) travel to the tiny hamlet of Milbury for the sole purpose of researching the stone circle that surrounds the town. They’re welcomed with open arms by the unusually polite townsfolk and quickly settle into a new (albeit temporary) life. Well, it’s supposed to be temporary. The father and son team will eventually discover that leaving Milbury is considerably more difficult than entering.

Read the rest of this DVD review by clicking here and visiting Bullz-Eye.

Blake's 7...finally?

Here's a project that's been on and off again so many times, I'm skeptical about it coming to fruition - but maybe now the time is actually right.

From today's Hollywood Reporter:

LONDON -- Hoping to cash in on the success of classic sci-fi revamps such as the BBC's Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica, Sky One is planning to remake cult '80s space series Blake's Seven.

Sky has commissioned two 60-minute scripts with the intention of creating a new sci-fi series of the hugely popular show, which followed the intergalactic tales of a small band of rebel fighters struggling to evade the dark forces of the Federation.

Memorable for its cardboard sets and leather-clad arch villainess Servalan, the show was the creation of sci-fi legend Terry Nation, himself responsible for Doctor Who's arch-nemesis the Daleks.

Sky One commissioning editor Elaine Pike said Seven was "ripe" for a revival, which will be jointly exec produced by Andrew Mark Sewell at B7 Prods. Most recently the show was released as a successful series of audio books starring a modern cast including This Life star Daniela Nardini.

Revamped television formats have proved a huge success in the U.K., with a reworking of Doctor Who also generating original spinoff Torchwood. But the cultural politics of revamps can be tricky, said Sky One head of programs Richard Woolfe, who two years ago abandoned much-trumpeted plans to remake The Prisoner.