Dr Who - The Mutants [VHS] [1972]

 

 

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It's perhaps appropriate, given this adventure's underlying message, that The Mutants seems to have changed in the near-40 years since its first broadcast - and only for the better. Long-vilified by seasoned fans, here it emerges on DVD (and immediately after fellow miserable outcast Meglos) looking slightly mad, very spangly and all rather good fun.

There are no utterly-lost Pertwee adventures (technical issues still affect the future DVD release of classics like Ambassadors of Death, Mind of Evil, The Daemons and The Dinosaur Invasion, for now), but critical cold-shouldering means The Mutants is in some ways the closest we come to such a creature. It's shaping up as a vintage year for Pertwee fans, with Terror of the Autons, a revised Day of the Daleks and Three Doctors, plus swansong Planet of the Spiders, all in the DVD pipeline, but these we know and love. For many, the rummy six-parter presented here is undiscovered country and, coupled with unavoidable low expectations, means pleasant surprised lie ahead.

It's got a loose, relaxed, undercooked (but sometimes overheated) feel, and unfolds in a charmingly offhand manner, developments seeming to surprise the cast as much as the viewer in a way that keeps the adventure effervescent and wards off typical six-parter fatigue.

The lead himself is in fine form (and has the third Doctor even looked quite so swankily third-Doctor-ish?). Pertwee mixes a strange, Troughon-esque feyness and amused distance into his usual impressive performance, as the still-officially-exiled Doctor is suddenly whisked off by his Gallifreyan gaolers to the year 3000, and tasked with sorting out trouble at t'Skybase, an Earth Empire-run space station (the exteriors of which, at least, are spiffily done) that's orbiting high over turbulent planet Solos at a time of flux with apparent cosmic implications.

Relishing his return to off-Earth adventure, but resenting his errand-boy status, Pertwee's urgent, imperious, impatient Doctor switches moods slickly here as he bears down on new problem after new problem while his mission endlessly changes shape. His hilariously-efficient, explosive dispatch of sort-off-baddie-scientist Jaegar (Who fave George Pravda), after the Doctor quickly sizes him up as first necessary help, then a nuisance, then nothing more, is one of the great Pertwee moments no one ever talks about. They should!

Space-and-time travel always brings the best out in companion Jo Grant, we know, and Katy Manning shines in shrewd mode, showing Jo as not just a blinky-eyed little kitten-face but someone evolving into a smart improviser in the image of her Doctor. She pulls, of course, and her scenes with Solnian rebel Ky (proto-Johnny Depp Garrick Hagon; he's on the commentary track) hold much sub-textual fun, especially when Solos' poisonous atmosphere makes Jo feel a bit, er, faint...

For the admission fee you also get a fine, watchable supporting cast: Geoffrey Palmer shimmers in (and out a bit too soon, alack); John Hollis is a striking, stranded scientist and helpmeet dressed in Anita Roddick cast-offs; and Christopher Coll charms as a Scouse space security guard. Fans have often poked fun at Rick James' performance as Skybase servotor Cotton, but I dunno... it has a certain memorable charm.

Tristram Cary's squelchy, squonky, synth-heavy soundtrack (already out on CD, but better heard in context here) adds another layer of distinctiveness, providing as it does the precise sound of ropey-but-head-spinning CSO effects. There's a genuine sense of weirdness crackling throughout all six episodes that never fails to beguile and is undiminished by repeat plays.

By year's end, all of season nine should be out on DVD; from the fug of Accepted Fan Wisdom, The Mutants could well have emerged by then in a new light and deserving place among the best of the Pertwee years.

Oh, and it's a deliberate nod to Monty Python at the start, by the way.

Hmm.. The Mutants often a much maligned story of the Pertwee era. Personally I agree that at six episodes it is too long, nonetheless with the exception of Rick James, the rest of the cast deliver an acceptable performance.

Even though he was the Doctor long before I was born (Peter Davison was my first Who), Jon Pertwee has firmly established himself as my favourite of the lot due mainly to his presence and persona, and the interesting and intelligent scripts he was given. Received fan wisdom has it that this story is a bit of a dud, but only in comparison to other Pertwee stories. The worst of the Pertwee years is still miles ahead of some others, so in absolute terms this is actually a pretty good and entertaining tale, with, as is usual for a Bob Baker and David Martin script, a strong message and some interesting concepts.

It is a complex story, with several threads running through it. The two main lines are first the cruel oppression of a planet and it's inhabitants by the Earth Empire in the form of a deranged Marshall, culminating in an attempt at genocide. The second is the mysterious plague afflicting the locals, and their gradual mutation into... what? The Doctor and Jo are thrust into the middle of all this by the Time Lords, who want a message delivered. The Doctor has to suss out the mystery of the mutations, prevent the genocide and deliver the message. All in a day's work!

There is more than enough here to fill the six part run time adequately. The exploration of the evils of apartheid and the Doctor's revulsion at such ideas is well done and not too overpowering. The scientific ideas presented are interesting and never totally unbelievable, which is another thing I like about this era of Who. And Pertwee managaes to talk about particle reversal for a whole six episodes without ever changing the polarity! The basic idea behind the mutations, and the way the Doctor solves it is an interesting and well laid out tale. All in all I really enjoyed this adventure and the 6 episodes flew by.

This is a two disc special edition from 2Entertain. As usual the picture quality is the best possible (The Who team are really leading the way in how classic TV should be restored and presented on DVD) and the two discs are stuffed with interesting extras. The info text is informative, with discussions of the history of South Africa through to the frustration of the Director at the set builders. The second disc is packed with various documentaries, including a fascinating look at the history of black actors in Dr. Who over the years.

An excellent presentation of a very entertaining and thought provoking story. 5 stars.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Dr Who - The Mutants
First of all I have to say that I'm rather concerned, and not only as a historian by training, that some fans seem to want CSO in classic Dr Who stories replaced with... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Guy Blythman

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Who
Jon Pertwee at his best set against the backdrop of an alien landscape, cool space ship and a evil dictator to contend with. Read more

Published 10 months ago by P. Mooney

4.0 out of 5 stars "Who Goes Political"
How I managed to miss Dr Who 6 weeks in a row I don't know but this is a story I've never seen before and it's a good one. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Bob Marlowe

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice alternative to the UNIT based stories
During the Pertwee years, there were very few historical or alien world based stories, the producers preferring to set most stories on earth with the UNIT brigade and sometimes... Read more

Published 12 months ago by R. Mier

2.0 out of 5 stars For Completists Only
Let me start by saying I'm a "Pertwee Doctor" fan and find this colourful era evocative of growing up in the early 70s. Read more

Published 12 months ago by M. Hevingham

3.0 out of 5 stars Evolution in action
The penultimate story from Jon Pertwee's third season as the Doctor comes to dvd.

This is a two disc set. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Paul Tapner

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story overlooked for flashier gimmicks!
The Three Doctors, The Daemons, Day of the Daleks, all gimmicky, all fan favourites, all basically nonsense.

Then we have the Mutants. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Mistymisterwisty

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent story
This excellent story from 1972 contains some of the best elements of the Pertwee era: intelligent plotting with a socio-political theme combined with strong performances by the... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Mark G. Goacher

4.0 out of 5 stars Nowhere near as bad as people have told me
Have bought it having never seen it and not knowing what to expect i have to say i absoutly enjoyed it. Not as bad as people have told me. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Gordon G. Razey

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Dr Who Story..but the DVD..
The Mutants is an excellent story with strong characterisations in it. I remember it vaguely back in 1972 as a youngster, then viewed it on UKGOLD in the early 1990s... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Luke73

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