CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO | Four To Doomsday - Part 1 | REACTION

[@whobp8]

You're right about Peter Davison's hair. The original story that was intended for the Fifth Doctor's debut was going through a lot of scripting problems and was eventually abandoned to be replaced by Castrovalva. Four to Doomsday was subsequently recorded first as it's scripts were ready whilst Castrovalva was still being written. Rewatching this story now, it seems like a real pity that Tegan gave up her job as a top fashion designer for Armani to become an air hostess. It's also fortuitous that, out of the 250 to 300+ Australian Aboriginal dialects that exist, she is able to speak the exact one that Kurkutji does.

[@thequietguy1648]

@1:51 "It's cold outside... There's no kind of atmosphere..." All that's missing is Lister. And (an 'eck of a lot) red paint. :D ;) :p

[@sixstanger00]

Boys from the Dwarf!

[@CRINOTH]

This story, and this episode in particular, always feels like a bit of a throwback. It's paced and structured very oddly for 1980s Doctor Who and, to me, feels like it really ought to be in the Hartnell era - which is certainly not a complaint as I love the Hartnell era... it's that familiar old formula of exploring a new location and slowly making new discoveries and talking about them a lot. :)

[@frankshailes3205]

Not to mention 90% of its plot and setting is "The Ark"...

[@CRINOTH]

@@frankshailes3205 This is true! I assume that's total coincidence though. I like this story well enough but it just seems odd that JNT would produce this when you consider how hard he tried to strike a new tone and direction for the show the previous season.

[@Problembeing]

Agreed :)

[@johng5859]

@@CRINOTH I think at this time JNT (influenced by Ian Levine in his role as an unofficial fan/continuity adviser) was actually quite keen to revisit certain aspects of the Hartnell era. A less dominant Doctor, three companions and stories that tended to follow on from each other were all elements that were taking the show back to the 60s.

[@CRINOTH]

@@johng5859 Yes, good points. :) That makes a lot of sense.

[@alexfletcher5192]

As with Terrance Dicks' famous line about Jon Pertwee's bouffant hair telling you whereabouts in his era you were in, so Peter Davison's barnet reveals exactly the production order of Season 19. Like Jodie Whittaker (born the summer after this series finished!), his hair was given some trademark blonde hi-lites to match the ensemble. In fact the overly 'branded' look of the Tardis crew at this point has often been a bone of contention in fandom; some arguing that it's the triumph of style over substance. But it was the 1980s. This is not even as designed as it could get!

[@jeremythomaswebb1485]

Yeah, four to doomsday was the first story to be filmed. Castrovalva had story issues so it needed more time to be developed so it was pushed back in production.

[@johng5859]

Not only was this the first story Peter made, but the first day of studio recording happened to coincide with his 30th birthday - strange to think he is 70 now! After all the upheavals and drama of the last few stories, you do get a sense in this episode of things settling down a bit, despite the weirdness on display. We now know that, if air hostessing and time travelling don’t work out for her, Tegan can always fall back on art or become an interpreter… Monarch is played by Stratford Johns, a big star on British TV at that time thanks to his long-standing role in police show Z Cars and its spin-off, Softly Softly. Apparently he hated having all that frog make-up applied, as it took ages.

[@phantomsidious2934]

Love the energy and enthusiasm the fifth doctor has in this story, such a contrast to the fourth doctors last season. Plus this was the first story Peter Davison filmed as the Doctor

[@johnreid9959]

Yes as Marie Claire guessed by his hair length

[@julessherwood]

Peter Davison was filming two other series as well as his first season of Doctor Who, he had not long finished filming All Creatures Great and Small that's why his hair was short and this story was the first one he filmed on his 30th Birthday, also it was the first one that was completed so it could be filmed. His first 4 stories were filmed out of order so they shot Four to Doomsday, Kinda, The Visitation and then Castrovalva in order for Peter to get into a rhythm of playing the Doctor his way.

[@jcortese3300]

I can see how you'd think it was Cybermen, there's very much a "Wheel in Space" to this that I was unaware of when it aired, having never seen any Troughton episodes at that point. But there is a similarity, wandering through dimly lit cargo holds ...

[@robert_bbiii]

Davison is one of my favorite Doctors. He always seems perturbed by everything. Loved how he give Tegan the key, showing he trusts her. Tegan speaking aborigine gets some people odd but I will just give it to her, Maybe the translation circuit only works if no one speaks the lanauge.

[@frankshailes3205]

It's no odder than Britain landing men on Mars in the 1970s. The Whoniverse is not our universe.

[@bananasaregood8655]

I think this story is really underrated, its usually ranked quite low in the davison era. First story of the season to be filmed, tegan looks quite different here than in castrovalva

[@stecurrell5863]

I love tegan I real energy to her

[@leslieride5813]

This was the very first Story Peter Davision recorded in his first season note the shorter haircut.

[@forkinhell3545]

Tegan the professional fashion designer. Good job she's so gifted otherwise Enlightenment and Persuasion might have looked like a Picasso painting!

[@ShamrockParticle]

Lovely episode, this one! Tegan may he contrived as an artist, but nobody would expect to actually appear and as a fantastic cliffhanger. Add in the old standby of "aliens kidnapping humans" throughout history... This is an underrated little gem.

[@simonforey6631]

This was the first episode I can remember watching when it first came out. I must have been about 8 at the time.

[@1nelsondj]

I always liked the Unofficial Guide's essay title on this one: "Four WHATS to Doomsday?"

[@sixstanger00]

I think the story title is a play on how people ordered train tickets back in the day. "Two to Cardiff," for example. In this case, "four" refers to the Doctor, Tegan, Adric, & Nyssa, and "Doomsday" is the destination.

[@paulrichards4452]

This episode is totally bonkers but I find it very amusing. The set design looks great. Paul Shelley who plays Persuasion I’ve always thought would have made a great Doctor.

[@geoffmason7215]

this story develops slowly but is a good one..enjoy...great reaction..thankyou

[@conscienceaginBlackadder]

"It is home." Does Nyssa then see possibility of retrieved existence for Traken?

[@geoffbrundell4685]

Love your reactions this be one last reactions I will watch in a while as we moving house and won’t have internet on for a while. 🙂

[@keithsolley]

this was the very first story Peter Davison filmed and so explains why his hair is much shorter than in the previous story

[@eddherring4972]

One of very few stories I haven’t seen. I have a guess as to what’s happening with the two Enlightenment and Persuasion but it could inadvertently be spoilers so I’ll keep my theory to myself and see in the coming episodes if I’m right. This is a whole new experience, an unknown classic Who. I get to feel how you feel, only edited. Looking forward to the next part, just as classic Who was designed to do.

[@eclecticdog2k901]

I thought you might enjoy the sets in this one! This is a little-talked-about story but I find it fascinating and delightful.

[@deggsymarley]

I like this Tardis team with new doctor, thought might be to many hands on deck But seems to work so far

[@bananasaregood8655]

‘Last time i was here they were doing some strange things to terminal 3’ is that meant to be a vague reference to the faceless ones?🤔

[@sdball01]

I wouldn't have thought so since the former story was set in Gatwick, whilst the Fifth Doctor was aiming to get Tegan to Heathrow. ;-)

[@damiankarrassj9225]

Hi there.. always look forward to your reactions and looking forward to the 5th doctors adventures and love your guess work on each episode. You did ask a question that i have never thought of before and that was ... the doctor gave the key of the Tardis to Tegan.... but later on in the episode, Adric just walked into the Tardis as it was not locked .... so what was the point of Tegan having the key as the Doctor never locked the door in the first place? In all the years i watched this and never thought of that. Well done! Always look forward to your videos. Look forward for your reactions for the rest of this story and future adventures. Bye for now.

[@blakesliberator3197]

Those people could have been from near contemporary times on Earth.

[@alexfletcher5192]

Scanning the Radio Times listings at the start of the 1980s revealed nothing more about a Dr Who story than it does today, really. What do titles like 'Four to Doomsday' tell you, without paying close attention? We know that this is Peter Davison's first studio session as the Doctor and it does rather suit his back-to-basics characterisation; an episode that might fit comfortably into the same slot in a 1960s season. But with a rather startling and - at first- inexplicable alien menace. And of all the stories from this period, it's the one that often gets forgotten completely. In fact, DWM ran a cut-out pin-up from it in an issue a year or so after and somebody wrote in weeks later to ask what episode it was from!

[@stimulusrespond]

I realise you are a little bit ahead, and you've probably noticed that the titles at the moment don't give much away - I feel like they are intended as teasers, rather than spelling out the entire story in less than a sentence. Which is not to say that you shouldn't avoid them if possible!

[@krannok]

First story I watched as it came out. I'd seen old episodes, but I started watching current episodes with this one. Tegan speaking the language just doesn't make sense. There are over 300 indigenous languages, and they have certainly evolved in 40,000 years. The chances that Tegan knows any indigenous languages is very slim, let alone his language, and certainly not in a form he could have understood.

[@easty74]

Don't overthink it lol it's 80s Doctor Who

[@davidbull7210]

It's a very odd story this one, in part as it's the first one Davison shot. He is rather like Hartnell in this one, quite abrupt and tetchy. Something I've always noticed in this story is how different Monarch looks when he's not in the "throne room". I suspect his make-up was changed considerably from one recording block to the other.

[@Jamienomore]

I can tell you, in the next Episode it's a continuation of this Episode. Didn't know that did you? Ha! Ha!I liked your wondering Reactions.

[@joshbostock_2040]

I have mixed opinions on Four to Doomsday. I love the set design of the spaceship and I think the Fifth Doctor and Tegan are really good. This story does make Adric irritating which unfortunately makes me like him less.

[@kemmdog4444]

A Doomsday also killed Superman once.😊

[@mark-s]

Not a favourite story of mine I forgot around this point it was years since the daleks appeared in season 17

[@markbelsom3174]

Well that episode completely confused you.

[@thomasstevens2746]

Never the biggest fan of this story

[@tombaxter6228]

Hmmm. Not a favourite of mine, this one. As has been mentioned, it feels like a 1st or 2nd Doctor story. Not a bad thing, but the pacing feels very laggy, compared with the rest of S19..

[@robalexander8065]

Someone once observed many of the Davison serials were like the Hartnell stories - only in colour.