The Doctor and Sarah tour the TARDIS, stopping off at the "boot cupboard".
Chris@KosmicKris I loved this opening scene! It felt like we were getting a proper insight into what it was like to be a companion.
They soon arrive at an alternative control room, which the Doctor calls "the second control room. You know, I could run the Tardis just as easily from here as I could from the old one. Come to think of it, this was the old one."
With old clothes including a velvet jacket and frilly shirt but the second Doctor's recorder also present, just when on Earth was this control room in use?
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Lovely scene, with added flute and frills...
Sarah's actually playing the tune the 2nd Doctor plays in The Power of the Daleks!
Brad Wolfe@bigbradwolf really??? Wow never noticed - what's the tune and how did Lis know?
Definitely same tune, not sure of the tune or how Lis knew - maybe a recorder standard?
Mark@Th3DarkMark it is rather tiny!
Simon Hart@Si_Hart There's not enough going on. It all seems so static in there. Lovely design work yes, but I like a flashy console!
Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin 8s console looked awesome. Console and library all in the same room!
Simon Pittman@LibraryPlayer Indeed, had more of a homely look and really felt bigger on the inside. And wooden look while being scifi. This one's my least favourite console. Think 8's console (my favourite) achieved this kind of look much more effectively. Was it ever explained why there was another console room? Was it the TARDIS archiving old rooms like in Doctors Wife? :-)
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Ooh! Italy (in Wales) - lucky Sarah decided not to have a "pink dungarees" day today...
Chris@KosmicKris Visually this whole story was a treat! Perhaps no coincidence that it was in the "Period Drama Comfort Zone" of the BBC?
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "Number two, the green dome, 15th century."
In the 15th Century Italian town of San Martino, Giuliano suspects his uncle, Count Federico & his fortune teller Hieronymous were behind his father, the Duke's death.
Hieronymous is always on the money when it comes to a high profile death that suits the Count, almost as if he makes sure his predictions come true somehow. Funny, that.
Giuliano is Duke now. But for how long?
Tim Piggot-Smith's great in this. (And everything, actually).
Back in Hieronymous' chambers, Federico orders a new "prediction": the death of Giuliano.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "Curse him and his hairdressing fantasies..."
The TARDIS is forced down not far from San Martino...
...where Sarah finds an orange grove.
The Doctor pins down the time period with the help of a local bottle.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart Lis Sladen's method of eating an orange is unique.
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly Sarah also helps herself to free samples of pic n' mix in shops.
Is this a new record for Sarah?
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "We were looking for a sacrifice and we found this..."
Mark@Th3DarkMark 4th Doc employs a bit of 3rd Doc Venusian Aikido - only to fall for the rock on the head from behind thing!
The sparking Mandragora energy exits the TARDIS, looking for havoc to wreak.
When he wakes to see the sparkler polishing off a local...
...The Doctor realizes that he's accidentally brought the Mandragora energy to Earth. D'oh!
You'll never guess what Hieronymous is predicting now, Giuliano...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "An orange and a football rattle" (I sense another book deal...)
Sarah is to be sacrificed to Demnos...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Lesterson's not got any better... "Sacred blade" indeed...
Mark@Th3DarkMark he's predicting MASSIVE Doctor Who news! Oh, wait... #Class
The odds seem against Giuliano until the Doctor arrives to turn the tide...
...with a little help from Terry Walsh.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Venables...? (Oh, hark at me bandying around a "footballing" reference like I know something about it)
That football rattle's gone to your head! ;-P
Always been a big supporter of Delchester United.
The Cult of Demnos welcome Sarah back.
"That old blowhard the Doge..." I beg your pardon?!
Oh dear, Sarah's been hypnotised. Again. She won't appreciate that.
Mark@Th3DarkMark I'm sure she's used to it by now. Probably even expects it.
The Count's men have captured Marco! Not Polo, sadly.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "...now, where's my Sharpie...?"
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "A hoarse, a hoarse..."
Brad Wolfe@bigbradwolf really??? Wow never noticed - what's the tune and how did Lis know?
"What's the Mandragora Helix?"
"It's a swirly thing in space!"
Always in 2 minds about this console room.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H I do so like that console room...
Chris@KosmicKris Oh yes! This wooden console room is fabulous!
"It's a swirly thing in space!"
Always in 2 minds about this console room.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H I do so like that console room...
Chris@KosmicKris Oh yes! This wooden console room is fabulous!
Very effective and stylish but I do like a white console room. I don't mind it being dark as such but it seems cramped and more like a library then the control room of an alien ship.
Mark Faulkner@MarkFaulkner24 Nothing wrong with libraries!
Mark Faulkner@MarkFaulkner24 Nothing wrong with libraries! 
Mark@Th3DarkMark it is rather tiny!
Simon Hart@Si_Hart There's not enough going on. It all seems so static in there. Lovely design work yes, but I like a flashy console!
Isaac Dakin@IWhittakerDakin 8s console looked awesome. Console and library all in the same room!Simon Pittman@LibraryPlayer Indeed, had more of a homely look and really felt bigger on the inside. And wooden look while being scifi. This one's my least favourite console. Think 8's console (my favourite) achieved this kind of look much more effectively. Was it ever explained why there was another console room? Was it the TARDIS archiving old rooms like in Doctors Wife? :-)
The Doctor & Sarah audition for Breaking Bad with some giant blue crystals.
Look out, a sparkler!
Loving the echo effect on their voices.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Evil "Major Baker" laugh...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Some hilarious "dying" acting from the insolent peasants there. "Eeeuuuurrrgggghhhh!"
They're peasants, but they're not revolting!
Beautiful sets and costumes for the Renaissance setting.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart The beards slightly less so!
Look out, a sparkler!
Loving the echo effect on their voices.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Evil "Major Baker" laugh...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Some hilarious "dying" acting from the insolent peasants there. "Eeeuuuurrrgggghhhh!"
They're peasants, but they're not revolting!
Beautiful sets and costumes for the Renaissance setting.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart The beards slightly less so!
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Ooh! Italy (in Wales) - lucky Sarah decided not to have a "pink dungarees" day today...Chris@KosmicKris Visually this whole story was a treat! Perhaps no coincidence that it was in the "Period Drama Comfort Zone" of the BBC?MAW Holmes@MAW_H "Number two, the green dome, 15th century."
In the 15th Century Italian town of San Martino, Giuliano suspects his uncle, Count Federico & his fortune teller Hieronymous were behind his father, the Duke's death.
Giuliano is Duke now. But for how long?
Tim Piggot-Smith's great in this. (And everything, actually).
Back in Hieronymous' chambers, Federico orders a new "prediction": the death of Giuliano.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "Curse him and his hairdressing fantasies..."
The TARDIS is forced down not far from San Martino...
...where Sarah finds an orange grove.
The Doctor pins down the time period with the help of a local bottle.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart Lis Sladen's method of eating an orange is unique.
Simon Threadgold@dimwittedly Sarah also helps herself to free samples of pic n' mix in shops.Is this a new record for Sarah?
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "We were looking for a sacrifice and we found this..."
Mark@Th3DarkMark 4th Doc employs a bit of 3rd Doc Venusian Aikido - only to fall for the rock on the head from behind thing!
The sparking Mandragora energy exits the TARDIS, looking for havoc to wreak.
When he wakes to see the sparkler polishing off a local...
...The Doctor realizes that he's accidentally brought the Mandragora energy to Earth. D'oh!
You'll never guess what Hieronymous is predicting now, Giuliano...
The Doctor stops to ask for directions. Hilarious when he describes Sarah as “probably with orange juice on her chin.”
When he's accosted by Captain Rossini and his guards...
...the Doctor cannily spooks the horses with a football rattle then nicks one to make his getaway.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "An orange and a football rattle" (I sense another book deal...)
Sarah is to be sacrificed to Demnos...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Lesterson's not got any better... "Sacred blade" indeed...
Federico scoffs at the Doctor's Horoscope of Horrors...
Mark@Th3DarkMark he's predicting MASSIVE Doctor Who news! Oh, wait... #Class
The sparkler moseys on into town, which is bad news for Pat Gorman.
Federico tires of the Doctor's prognosis of doom and sentences him to death. Not yet, Peter Davison's only 25!
Sarah is offered a pre-sacrifice anaesthetic.
I love that Jon Laurimore basically plays Federico as Richard III.
Orf with his head!
The Doctor makes a fuss of taking his scarf off for the behaeading, and uses it to make his escape! Hurrah!
Portmierion looks fantastic. Dunno if I buy it being Italy, but it doesn't look like Wales either, to be fair.
Heeeeeere's Tommy!
Obviously a set, but the catacombs are well-lit (or under-lit!) enough to make a very effective setting.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Sarah's (sacrificial) smocked up again...
"Nah, I ain't goin' in there, Giovani, you slaaag." Didn't know Ray Winstone was in this.
Mark@Th3DarkMark sounds very Italian indeed!
The masks the cult wear are quite fancy, aren't they?
MAW Holmes@MAW_H I do like the masks; very simple, very scary... and now for some Hieronymous Bosch...
The Doctor's able to snatch Sarah away...
...as the cult receives a visitation from the Mandragora energy.
Giuliano and Marco have never seen anything like the Blue Horror before!
The leader of the Cult of Demnos is now possessed by the Mandragora Helix. Wonder who that could be...
Hieronymous' beard is crazy. It's like a whole separate character.
Sarah and the Doctor are captured...
...but thankfully it's Giuliano and his companion, Marco, that they're brought before.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Who are just good friends, obviously.
I assume much of the production team and/or audience just didn't pick up on this, mostly as they're simply and pleasingly played as normal human beings! Brilliantly matter-of-fact for the time (1970s), though!
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Quite right, too. Us kiddies were blissfully unaware of such complicated things back then, though...
Giuliano is a would-be scientist, and craves "for contact with men of intellect and understanding."
Giuliano is sceptical because the science of Mandragora is so advanced it seems like the magic he doesn't believe in.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Arturo da Clarki's law...
Dudley Simpson's enjoying this one.
Hieronymous is tired of not being taken seriously, and believes the Mandragora Helix is Demnos, the god of his cult, communicating its promises of greatness with him.
The Doctor has figured out that the Helix is using the cult as a ready-made power base and determines to destroy the temple.
Giuliano leads the Doctor back down to the cave entrance.
But Federico is tipped off...
...and dispatches his men to kill his nephew.
The Helix is giving Tom double-vision.
Sarah flees Federico's men and goes to warn the Doctor, but she runs stright into danger.
"Demnos will not be cheated of his pleasure, little one!" Gulp!
While Sarah is taken away...
...the Doctor experiences a vision of the temple at the height of its' "glory".
DEATH TO GIULIANO!
Federico tires of the Doctor's prognosis of doom and sentences him to death. Not yet, Peter Davison's only 25!
I love that Jon Laurimore basically plays Federico as Richard III.
Orf with his head!
The Doctor makes a fuss of taking his scarf off for the behaeading, and uses it to make his escape! Hurrah!
Portmierion looks fantastic. Dunno if I buy it being Italy, but it doesn't look like Wales either, to be fair.
Heeeeeere's Tommy!
Obviously a set, but the catacombs are well-lit (or under-lit!) enough to make a very effective setting.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Sarah's (sacrificial) smocked up again...
"Nah, I ain't goin' in there, Giovani, you slaaag." Didn't know Ray Winstone was in this.
Mark@Th3DarkMark sounds very Italian indeed!
The masks the cult wear are quite fancy, aren't they?
MAW Holmes@MAW_H I do like the masks; very simple, very scary... and now for some Hieronymous Bosch...
The Doctor's able to snatch Sarah away...
...as the cult receives a visitation from the Mandragora energy.
Giuliano and Marco have never seen anything like the Blue Horror before!
The leader of the Cult of Demnos is now possessed by the Mandragora Helix. Wonder who that could be...
Hieronymous' beard is crazy. It's like a whole separate character.
Sarah and the Doctor are captured...
...but thankfully it's Giuliano and his companion, Marco, that they're brought before.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Who are just good friends, obviously.
I assume much of the production team and/or audience just didn't pick up on this, mostly as they're simply and pleasingly played as normal human beings! Brilliantly matter-of-fact for the time (1970s), though!
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Quite right, too. Us kiddies were blissfully unaware of such complicated things back then, though...
Giuliano is a would-be scientist, and craves "for contact with men of intellect and understanding."
Giuliano is sceptical because the science of Mandragora is so advanced it seems like the magic he doesn't believe in.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Arturo da Clarki's law...
Dudley Simpson's enjoying this one.
Hieronymous is tired of not being taken seriously, and believes the Mandragora Helix is Demnos, the god of his cult, communicating its promises of greatness with him.
The Doctor has figured out that the Helix is using the cult as a ready-made power base and determines to destroy the temple.
Giuliano leads the Doctor back down to the cave entrance.
But Federico is tipped off...
...and dispatches his men to kill his nephew.
The Helix is giving Tom double-vision.
Sarah flees Federico's men and goes to warn the Doctor, but she runs stright into danger.
"Demnos will not be cheated of his pleasure, little one!" Gulp!
While Sarah is taken away...
...the Doctor experiences a vision of the temple at the height of its' "glory".
Is that the Monk's TARDIS in the ruins?
DEATH TO GIULIANO!
The odds seem against Giuliano until the Doctor arrives to turn the tide...
...with a little help from Terry Walsh.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Venables...? (Oh, hark at me bandying around a "footballing" reference like I know something about it)
That football rattle's gone to your head! ;-P
Always been a big supporter of Delchester United.
The Cult of Demnos welcome Sarah back.
"That old blowhard the Doge..." I beg your pardon?!
Oh dear, Sarah's been hypnotised. Again. She won't appreciate that.
Mark@Th3DarkMark I'm sure she's used to it by now. Probably even expects it.
The Count's men have captured Marco! Not Polo, sadly.
The Doctor and Giuliano find Sarah seemingly unconscious in the tunnels...
...but she's acting rather suspiciously.
"Only the dead fail to stand in my presence." Great lines in this. I detect Robert Holmes' script-editing.
If Hieronymous is an "old spider" they should just splat him with a slipper.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H or try the old "upturned glass and envelope" manoeuvre... ("All praise the Great One!")
The Doctor wants to meet Leonardo Da Vinci. Has some great ideas for a painting.
...but she's acting rather suspiciously.
"Only the dead fail to stand in my presence." Great lines in this. I detect Robert Holmes' script-editing.
If Hieronymous is an "old spider" they should just splat him with a slipper.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H or try the old "upturned glass and envelope" manoeuvre... ("All praise the Great One!")
The Doctor wants to meet Leonardo Da Vinci. Has some great ideas for a painting.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "...now, where's my Sharpie...?"
Federico pumps Marco for information. Determined to find those Missing Episodes.
The Doctor pays Hieronymous a visit, with Hypno-Sarah hot on his heels.
He seemed to know Sarah was hypnotised all along. He usually does.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Extract from 500 year diary "Got bored, hypnotised Sarah (again) - made her think she was a kangaroo."
With the Doctor captured, Federico thinks victory is in his grasp.
Just Giuliano to bump off & then for Hieronymous...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "Hieronymous is an old slyboots!" Love that.
The captain of the guard brings the news that the Cult are revolting! We already knew that.
Hieronymous and the Helix start to cook up their plan.
The Doctor and Federico have taken a trip into the red light district of the caves.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart I love Fredrico's cry of "You Trrrrrrraitor!"
The Doctor pays Hieronymous a visit, with Hypno-Sarah hot on his heels.
He seemed to know Sarah was hypnotised all along. He usually does.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Extract from 500 year diary "Got bored, hypnotised Sarah (again) - made her think she was a kangaroo."
With the Doctor captured, Federico thinks victory is in his grasp.
Just Giuliano to bump off & then for Hieronymous...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "Hieronymous is an old slyboots!" Love that.
The captain of the guard brings the news that the Cult are revolting! We already knew that.
Hieronymous and the Helix start to cook up their plan.
The Doctor and Federico have taken a trip into the red light district of the caves.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart I love Fredrico's cry of "You Trrrrrrraitor!"
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "A hoarse, a hoarse..."
Way to milk your final moments! Jon Laurimore, take a bow! :-D
Simon Hart@Si_Hart It's overplayed to exactly the right degree. It's a classy cliffhanger all round.
Cliffhanger: Federico sparks up and Hieronymous is totally off his face.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Hieronymous knows all about where the missing eps of "The Faceless Ones" are...
I've never been a massive fan of this story, but it bombs along nicely. Part 4 already.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart I've always been really fond of it. Much more than some of the so-called classics close by it.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart It's overplayed to exactly the right degree. It's a classy cliffhanger all round. Cliffhanger: Federico sparks up and Hieronymous is totally off his face.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Hieronymous knows all about where the missing eps of "The Faceless Ones" are...I've never been a massive fan of this story, but it bombs along nicely. Part 4 already.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart I've always been really fond of it. Much more than some of the so-called classics close by it.
Don't get me wrong, it looks great - it's certainly a luxurious production - and it is a very enjoyable story, just not a fave.
Professor Who@ProfessorWho_ brilliant story in my top ten.
Professor Who@ProfessorWho_ brilliant story in my top ten.
"Let's say Hieronymous gave him a blank look." Oh, top marks.
Simon Hart@Si_Hart It's said with such relish by Tom, that it must have been an adlib!
One of the hardest to tell, for me: with Bob Holmes editing, Tom freewheeling & Louis Marks no slouch, it's not as obvious as some!
"At last you can rule without fear!" Not for some time yet, Marco, old chum.
"The King of Naples said to keep the noise down!"
The Doctor does some maths & works out when the Helix will align...
I can only assume Major Baker is doing all this so he can unleash the Helix on the saboteurs in the caves.
The Doctor prepares for sparks to fly when he goes up against the Helix.
Remember the French at Agincourt!
The worse the situation, the worse your jokes get!
"I don't think I'll ever get to meet Leonardo!" Yet he has by the time of City Of Death!
Simon Hart@Si_Hart Nice music over that scene of the Doctor and Sarah. Tom and Lis get some lovely little scenes in this story. Really nicely played.
As Hieronymous and co. leave to get ready for the party...
...so the coast is clear.
Ah yes, the actual Masque!
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Masque Masks. There's a much better party going on over on the other side of town...
That hairdo ages Sarah at least 10 years.
The Doctor's laying a trap by the Monk's TARDIS. Plus ca change...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "usual horrid self" is nice, too.
"You can drop all that Bosch..." Oh ho ho.
Pretty sure that one was Tom.
The cult invade the Masque.
They weren't invited, the cheeky beggars!
The Helix descends...
...wiping out the cult...
...but falling into the Doctor's trap, and earthing itself, in the process.
So the cult are all spark out and Tom's trying a bit of ventroloquism. Abrupt ending.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "I wouldn't say no to a salami sandwich" (phnarf!) ...and a setup for a sequel that never happened...
The Doctor didn't get to meet Leonardo this time, but there are consolations...
Seems the Doctor's only postponed a rematch with the Helix...
TTFN! K.
Coming Soon... The Enemy of the World
Simon Hart@Si_Hart It's said with such relish by Tom, that it must have been an adlib!One of the hardest to tell, for me: with Bob Holmes editing, Tom freewheeling & Louis Marks no slouch, it's not as obvious as some!
"At last you can rule without fear!" Not for some time yet, Marco, old chum.
"The King of Naples said to keep the noise down!"
The Doctor does some maths & works out when the Helix will align...
I can only assume Major Baker is doing all this so he can unleash the Helix on the saboteurs in the caves.
The Doctor prepares for sparks to fly when he goes up against the Helix.
Remember the French at Agincourt!
The worse the situation, the worse your jokes get!
"I don't think I'll ever get to meet Leonardo!" Yet he has by the time of City Of Death!
Simon Hart@Si_Hart Nice music over that scene of the Doctor and Sarah. Tom and Lis get some lovely little scenes in this story. Really nicely played.
As Hieronymous and co. leave to get ready for the party...
...so the coast is clear.
Ah yes, the actual Masque!
MAW Holmes@MAW_H Masque Masks. There's a much better party going on over on the other side of town...
That hairdo ages Sarah at least 10 years.
The Doctor's laying a trap by the Monk's TARDIS. Plus ca change...
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "usual horrid self" is nice, too.
"You can drop all that Bosch..." Oh ho ho.
Pretty sure that one was Tom.
The cult invade the Masque.
They weren't invited, the cheeky beggars!
The Helix descends...
...wiping out the cult...
So the cult are all spark out and Tom's trying a bit of ventroloquism. Abrupt ending.
MAW Holmes@MAW_H "I wouldn't say no to a salami sandwich" (phnarf!) ...and a setup for a sequel that never happened...
The Doctor didn't get to meet Leonardo this time, but there are consolations...
Seems the Doctor's only postponed a rematch with the Helix...
Coming Soon... The Enemy of the World
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