Leela (Louise Jameson), time-displaced warrior of the Sevateem, is about to discover that knives are useless against the “Horror of Fang Rock.”
usual. Although it is a season-opener, “Horror of Fang Rock” is also a rushed replacement story necessitated after the BBC pulled the plug on a vampire serial (eventually made in 1980 as “State of Decay”) so as not to compete with their own adaptation of COUNT DRACULA made the same year. It’s probably no coincidence that Dicks gave one of his characters the name “Harker.” Script editor Holmes assigned the lighthouse idea to Dicks, due to its budgetary advantages; Dicks took Wilfred Wilson Gibson’s poem “Flannan Isle” (based on a true story about three lighthouse keep- ers who mysteriously disappeared in 1900) as the inspiration, and the Doctor even quotes from it at the end of the serial. (No mention is made of THE THING’s source novel, John W. Campbell, Jr.’s WHO GOES THERE?, nor the 1962 version of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS and its lighthouse scenes, as possible sources of inspiration.) Again, the big- gest flaw is the monster, in this case a hastily im- provised alien that one of the audio commentators likens to the beach ball creature in Carpenter’s DARK STAR. It’s not that bad, but it’s not good either. Some of the staging is also awkward, and one character’s demise is edited in such a way as to make it seem that part of the scene is missing.
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As to be expected, the special effects overall are weak, from obvious model-work to cheesy video- generated effects, but the period details are solid and it’s all held together by a good script and uni- formly strong performances, notably that of Colin Douglas (THE CRAWLING EYE) as superstitious lighthouse keeper Reuben. Baker is particularly excellent, giving us a Doctor who’s even a bit more eccentric than usual. At one point he takes time to examine some (barely visible) naughty post- cards, despite being involved in a life-and-death situation and supposedly in a bit of a hurry. “Horror of Fang Rock” was directed by Paddy Russell, one of the first female directors in the BBC; it was her final DOCTOR WHO serial. Extras include cast bios, a photo and storyboard gallery set to appropriate sound effects from the show (3m 26s), an interesting look at some Doctor Who col- lectibles (4m 48s), and two profiles of key creative personnel. The section devoted to Russell (14m 3s) includes clips from other DOCTOR WHO serials she directed as well as the original QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, which she worked on as floor man- ager, while writer Terrance Dicks’ profile (36m 2s), features numerous clips from his long involvement with the Doctor. There is also a commentary by
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