CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO | The Green Death - Part 1 | REACTION

[@ftumschk]

9:24 "He looks familiar" - Correct; Talfryn Thomas played Mullins, hospital porter/press informer, in _Spearhead From Space_ Part 1.

[@MarieClaresWorld]

YES!

[@BronyDanProductions]

Barry Letts was one of the first people to actually be concerned about Global Warming and Climate Change in the 1970s, and Terrance Dicks advised him to write this story so that the children could understand the dangers of it, even though Terrance often poked fun at him for his political views. Also, Professor Jones was actually played by Katy Manning’s boyfriend at the time.

[@Loverboy19691]

Ah, finally, you have reached my all time favourite Doctor Who story. This story was filmed so very close to my former home town of Bargoed (Bar-goyd) which is a former mining town near Caerphilly and Cardiff. My grandfather Bill worked at this very mine. My friends went to the location to see them filming it. I met the cast, Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Nick Courney , Stuart Bevan, I didn't get to meet John Levine. My mate Lee saw Jon Pertwee flying over our school in a helicopter ringing a bell , Lee ran out in the yard thinking it was father Christmas LOL !! . People still talk about the time when Jon Pertwee and the BBC crew filmed in our area, we are very proud of that. The national coal board would not allow the BBC to film down the pit, so the the interior shots are in a studio. I have been to this location many times indeed, even filmed it with my camcorder, I mean to put on youtube. The mine has completely gone, but the nut hutch is still there, it's actually a farm house in real life. The whole area is now a beautiful country park called ''Parc Cwm Darran'' please check the park out on youtube. Jon Pertwee returned to this location on Friday the 8th of April 1994 to open the visiting centre. BBC Wales news was there and I appeared on the news with Jon Pertwee that evening, I am on ''The Green Death'' special edition DVD, one of the extra's. ''BBC Wales news report,'' I'm the one who pops in and out of shot as Jon Pertwee enters the doorway.

[@ftumschk]

Ringing a bell whilst flying over a school in a helicopter must have been a challenge for Pertwee... I mean, he was such a shy, un-theatrical person in real life ;)

[@Loverboy19691]

@@ftumschk I met him twice, when he returned in 1994 he was very friendly and forthcoming but seemed to be in a hurry, he also didn't like signing autographs, and you will see people saying this on the ''We love Deri'' page on facebook, the people that remember him make him out to be very distant, maybe this is why, that he was very shy, but he posed for a couple of photo's with me which is on facebook, but, he charged me for his autograph LOL . He said that would go to his charity, the desert rats.

[@iestyndavies7287]

Hey Andrew. The Global Chemicals factory was actually the old RCA factory in Brynmawr, which is where I grew up. Both my sisters and auntie worked there and I did my 6th form work experience there too! My older brother met Pertwee as he visited his school one day after shooting was finished for the day. I believe the scenes that were filmed closer to you were on the Common between Fochriw and Merthyr yes?

[@BronyDanProductions]

The parallels between the Doctor and Cliff are almost identical to how Jo first meets them, she accidently ruins their experiments.

[@ftumschk]

At least Prof Jones didn't call her a "ham-fisted bun vendor" :)

[@bananasaregood8655]

‘Me in the background just chillin’ nearly spat my tea oot laughing when u said that. The scene when jo meets prof jones and is being all clumsy and ditsy is meant to mirror her first time meetig the doctor way bak in the day

[@scarfhs1]

Now you know why Metebelis 3 scores so poorly on tripadvisor.

[@kemmdog4444]

The poor Doctor getting the crap kicked out of him just trying to get a crystal.

[@iansmith4023]

This is absolutely up there in my list of Greatest Who stories. It absolutely terrified me as a 9 year old - which is what all the best Who stories should do :)

[@whobp8]

The glowing green corpse is such a simple effect, but so well done. It makes for a very striking, memorable image. The actor who looked so familiar to you is Talfryn Thomas aka Talf the Teeth, who appeared in Pertwee's debut story as a hospital porter.

[@MrPaulMorris]

I remember him most for his role in the first season of Survivors but he was a familiar face and voice in many series. Sadly, he died young, succumbing to a heart attack just a few days after his 60th birthday.

[@matthewjh138]

The Guy You Said You recognize was in Spearhead in Space As another Character. the Metebelis Planet sequence is one of my Favorites in Dr who History its so weird and creepy yet kind of funny. This is a great story and i cant wait for your reaction to it all!

[@williamcurry4868]

For some reason I just lol every time I see the Doctor sprinting and it looks like everything and everyone on the planet is out to get him just as he pops into the Tardis lol and then rushes out to get that phone

[@morningcoffeecat2271]

I love this one, 2nd ever Classic DVD I bought when I was 12

[@petersvillage7447]

Nice choice! I didn't see it until I was about 20, but I read the novelisation as a kid - that and a certain lighthouse-based story were probably my introduction to 'Horror' stories as a kid...

[@Alfwin]

I'm not personally a huge fan of this episode (although I don't _dislike_ it; my opinion of it's fairly neutral), but I do find it kind of amusing that they spent the entire season trying to get to Metebeles III, yet when the Doctor finally gets there, he just spends five minutes running around in the dark getting attacked by random things and then leaves. It's gotta be the most comically anticlimactic ending to a series arc in the show's history, and I kind of love it.

[@ftumschk]

That anticlimactic visit to Metebelis III is very funny, now that you mention it. I'd never thought of it like that before :)

[@PaulKeywood]

Great reaction as usual, just like watching modern Who for the 1st time when a series comes towards an end you always have the feeling that you might lose a favourite companion or Doctor. A proper real reaction!

[@CountScarlioni]

The Green Death is Doctor Who getting all political again, and in this case wholly prescient in its warnings. It's also a damn good story in my opinion!

[@toddbeilby6484]

Isn't nice to be constantly on edge 😱 We care! Imagine having to wait a week to watch the next episode (or the next night, as we got here in Australia). Enjoyable as always 💕😊

[@davidmckie7128]

The tilting at windmills quote was a reference to the book Don Quixote.

[@stimulusrespond]

My first experience with this story was the 1994 repeats. It's such a classic story. But then season 10 has been quite amazing, so far.

[@mark-s]

Another great story filled with happiness and sadness I have this story on dvd and always play it now again dr who between 1973 and 1976 where its classic era

[@joshbostock_2040]

The green death is a strong finale, just wait till you meet the creatures in this. Interesting predictions and another great reaction. Your flying by these 3rd doctor stories I remember watching spearhead in January when u were still not over 2, jamie and zoe

[@paulkennedy8701]

Be careful what you're saying.

[@seedhillbruisermusic7939]

this story is so vivid to me, I remember so well as a wee kid. I was terrified, genuinely hiding behind the sofa!

[@ElectroTherapyFTSoul]

Hartnell, Ian, Barbara, and Vicky are my favorite TARDIS team... but Pertwee and Jo are so close to taking over! Hot damn, their friendship is too precious!

[@medusacascade]

Hurrah! We've finally made it to Bargoed :D I don't live far from where this was filmed. (@Andrew Dexter - I'm off to investigate your Gladstone Villa story once lockdown ends with a script editor buddy of mine.) I'm sat pretending I'm not eagerly waiting for next week haha :D

[@robalexander8065]

I hope you made the right decision for you, Marie-Clare. Glad you have so many intriguing questions about this serial. Proof it is potentially another top drawer story. Great reaction as always.

[@stevesm4]

Yer Welsh actor Talfryn Thomas seemed to play every main Welsh character in every drama and comedy of the 1970s. At least he did in my memory. I do like the way this story tackles eco themes way before the modern show was criticised for doing so. Prof Jones even appears to have invented Quorn with his fungus food. n.b. Your anxiety is making me anxious too and I've already seen the story half a dozen times! It's a great story in so many ways and I's anticipating a "moment" when Sesska get to this episode. The sudden gratuitous appearance of a snake on Metebelis 3 will not go down well, I think.

[@ftumschk]

Talfryn also appeared in Dad's Army for a few episodes as Private Cheeseman, a performance that made some of the cast jealous. John Laurie (Private Frazer) asked "Is the Welshman in the next series?" and, when told he was, continued "Well, shove him out. We don't need him. He's too funny" - Jimmy Perry, Dad's Army co-writer, in a newspaper interview.

[@dubliam8064]

Cliff Jones is played by Katy Mannings actual boyfriend

[@whobp8]

@@Trev359 They weren't married. I don't think Katy has ever been married, though she has had two long running relationships that probably qualify as common law, one with Dean Harris (with whom she has two children) and one with Barry Crocker. Professor Jones is played by Stewart Bevan, whom she was dating at the time

[@ftumschk]

@@whobp8 You think correctly; Katy Manning has never married.

[@kemmdog4444]

That green paint on the actors is the same paint you use on roadsigns to make them reflective.

[@alexfletcher5192]

My first visual memory of 'The Green Death' is not from the TV show (after all, I was only a few weeks old at the time!) but from illustrations in the Target Books novelization. Target had acquired the rights to reprint three adaptations of television stories in 1973 (these were 'Doctor Who & The Daleks' and 'Doctor Who and the Crusaders' by David Whitaker, and 'Doctor Who and The Zarbi' by Bill Strutton - from which you can guess the original stories!); originally published in the mid-1960s. When their hugely successful range of script-to-screen novels continued, they featured occasional pictures illustrating moments in the story - which could become frustrating for young readers who had never seen the original episode and imagined something grander!

[@bananasaregood8655]

Had this on vhs growing up, one of those stories that got watched a lot haha. Yes this is the final story of season 10, usually only 5 stories per season in classic who

[@Faerie_Kim]

My favourite Jon Pertwee story.

[@Clayton-S.]

Brilliant, eh? Love a cliffhanger☺ The actor you recognized was a very well known Welsh character actor called Talfryn Thomas. He played the hospital porter Mullins in Spearhead From Space. He was also(amongst MANY other roles), Tom Price in the 1975 series Survivors, by Terry Nation.

[@DoctorWhoFanAudioAdventures]

Green Death...what a great story. Enjoyed the video!

[@stecurrell5863]

This scared the hell out of me as a kid

[@petersvillage7447]

Blimey, so the Fifth Doctor was attempting a Jo Grant Cosplay all along...

[@johng5859]

A green dress for The Green Death - very appropriate! This story was another co-write between Barry Letts and Robert Sloman, but was very much Letts' baby, born out of his growing worries about pollution and environmental destruction. It does have thematic similarities to Inferno (and indeed Who had been flirting with environmental themes since Planet of Giants in 1964), but the message is more overt here, and indeed this is one of the most political of Classic Who stories, though I think, unlike some recent episodes, that it avoids becoming too preachy and taking you out of the drama. The Welsh mining setting, and the industrial unrest we see, is also tapping into the zeitgeist, as there had been a major coal strike the year before and another one would take place some months after this was broadcast. Some lovely scenes between the Doctor and Jo early on, though they may as well have got out a flashing sign to say that she would be leaving at the end of the story (no spoilers here, as Marie-Clare has already seen the whole thing). As Jo herself says, Cliff is meant to be a younger version of the Doctor, hence his appeal to her, though I do find the scene where they meet annoying, as it seems to undo all of Jo's character development and return to her to the clumsy ditz she was when we first met her. I know Letts and Sloman were drawing a deliberate parallel to her meeting with the Doctor in Terror of the Autons, but it still irritates me and I do wish Jo would snap back at Cliff's patronising remarks by telling him about all the wonderful things she had seen and done, things he can only begin to imagine. Still, they do have chemistry, no doubt helped by the fact that Cliff is played by Stewart Bevan, who was Katy's boyfriend at the time.

[@CRINOTH]

Why does the Doctor never get to enjoy his holidays? :D Metebelis 3, the planet the Doctor visits, gets a mention in the 11th Doctor story Hide - except Matt Smith mispronounces it. :/

[@joshsimmons6156]

Jo meets the Doctor in Terror of the Autons THEN Jo meets Cliff Jones in this. Spot the similarities in those 2 introductory scenes.

[@johntomlinson6849]

Welcome to one of my very favourite stories ever! And for many years, my absolute favourite! Now, I am NOT saying when the next season begins, but looking ahead (and I don't know how far ahead you work), don't look at the story titles for the third and fifth stories.

[@Indigo_Polarity]

Are you sure you don’t mean the fourth story not the fifth story?

[@johntomlinson6849]

@@Indigo_Polarity No. The fourth story is pretty obvious from the opening shot. The reason I say the fifth story is as follows (and I'm putting this in such a way so as not to be a spoiler) - check what Marie-Claire says at 27 seconds of episode 1 of the 13th broadcast story, and at 15 seconds of episode 1 of the 41st broadcast story and you'll see what I mean!!!

[@AdamTheUltimateWhovian]

I reckon you’ll love this story by the end!!

[@darthknight1]

keep in mind people had to wait a whole week for the next episode back in the day.

[@Payne2view]

The bloke operating the winding gear break was the go-to "rent a welshman" actor in the 1970s. He was the stereotypical Welsh reporter in later episodes of "Dads Army" with lots of "yes indeed boyo" and all that. Llanfairfach is prounounced... oh nevermind. Just remember an "f" in Welsh is not the same letter as an "f" in English. f=v, and "ch" is prounounced like you are clearing your throat. It isn't Liam Fairfatch anyway, whoever he is :-)

[@paulkennedy8701]

Talfryn Thomas. His character was completely wrong in Dad's Army, at least after they tried to make him in to a new regular (after James Beck's unexpected death). A comedy Welshman, but also just the wrong sort of enthusiastic amateur. (When Clive Jones was playing the perfect enthusiastic amateur.) But I love him in this, especially at 10:30 here: a perfect bit of earnest, urgent professionalism.

[@carlh429]

I can never resist smiling whenever I hear an English person mangling a Welsh word! 😆

[@paulkennedy8701]

@@fp7026 I certainly do! Now I'm wondering who Clive Jones is and why the name didn't sound wrong in my head.

[@darkerbit]

One of the better Third Doctor stories! Might the title be referring to The Doctor's outfit?

[@memoir4you]

And in case youre wondering, the Welsh name means " little St.Mary's church" .

[@duralinium1]

wealth in our time, - peace in our time, Chamberlain and Hitler

[@evandavid2816]

Heh, wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that you'd marathoned this story in one go - after all, like I hinted at before, this is both an all-time classic and personal favourite of mine for several reasons, as follows: a) A very well-written script, with some very poignant lines - the '...younger you...' and '...fledgling flies the coop...' bits in particular are very moving, and excellently performed by Jon and Katy to boot, yes? b) Speaking of Katy, I would be remiss not to mention that she wears three wildly different but still cute outfits just in this one episode...my favourite is probably the Fifth Doctor-esque crickety-cricket ensemble at the beginning, but somehow she even makes that miner's outfit at the end look good, yes?! (A bit like that old story about Marilyn Monroe being able to wear a potato sack and still look as...well...Marilyn Monroe-level gorgeous as ever, but I digress...). c) Being Welsh myself, this story is almost literally right up my street so to speak...granted, I live in a part of Wales that's always been more about ex-quarries than ex-mines, but the point still stands, yes? (Nice job on your own Welsh pronunciation, by the way...a little more of a hiss-like sound as you say the 'Ll' bits, and I reckon you'll be more-or-less perfect, yes?! Cymru am Byth...!!!) All that, plus some very interesting and unique monsters/villains, as you will by now have seen, make for a top-notch tale, yes? Really looking forward to seeing what you make of the rest of it...so Stay Safe in the meantime, yes...?

[@awall1701]

OMG!!! I have not seen a donkey jacket in years!

[@coltonbrantley9713]

New Month New Slate Same Old Whovian Routine As Usual Marie-Clare I Absolutely Loved The Video And Keep Up The Good Work As Always,Lord Colton Of Gallifrey

[@alexfletcher5192]

Given that the Tardis had been everywhere from Antarctica to Aridius, it seems curious that this is only the second time in ten years that the show had visited another region of the UK. Of course it turns out to be relevant, in that mining was very much a thing at the time (!); wthout having to go into the ecological repercussions of multinationals doing essentially what they like - which is still very much with us. But after the day-glo colours of Season 10, the show comes down to earth with a bump - with a serial that shouldn't have been out of place two years earlier.

[@philippaine8970]

Great reaction as always 😀

[@PizzaTimeFanatic]

Absolutely love this story hope you enjoy it :)

[@alexfletcher5192]

Quite fond of Jo's outfit at the start of this episode. Perhaps one day we'll see a blonde Doctor in something similar.

[@ListerDavid]

You never told us you had a cameo in classic Who. 😉

[@Cruithneach]

I don't mind this one, but the hackneyed Welsh stereotypes were more than a little patronising

[@579enact]

I held my tongue (or keypad?) during Planet of the Daleks but phew, I'm glad it's over & done with as I've just never liked that one. Not sure why, and I seem to be firmly in the minority with that opinion, but there you go. (Ah yes, one reason does come to mind: it's so-called cliffhangers are pants...) But anyway, I digress. This is my favourite JP story, hope you enjoy! Coming up soon (not the next story, but the one after that) there is a sort of "titles" issue, but it's a bit odd: You can look at the title of Part 1 when it appears in the opening credits, but NOT as it appears on the top of your screen on Britbox! The reason being that they deliberately shortened the on-screen title of Part 1 so as not to spoil it! (Eg, say the story was called The Return Of Patrick Troughton, on the Part 1 opening sequence it just says "The Return", see what I mean). But probably Britbox will just show the whole title, hence this little heads-up.

[@alexfletcher5192]

It's unfortunate that the scene of the distressed Dai on the phone to the surface is very obviously cued by a hand from the right-hand side of the screen - no, really. Just watch it again...

[@Jamienomore]

I can tell you the Green Death is similar to the Blue Death. GOD knows what that is.

[@themaestrosfolly]

You need a strong stomach for this one.... 🤢

[@Concreteowl]

Doctor Who is getting too political.😉

[@paulkennedy8701]

Exactly. It's supposed to be stories about saving the earth. Not stories about saving the earth. It all went down the plughole when they made "Planet of the Giants" in 1964.

[@JakobLumley1978]

Delboy359 you think this story is subtle? I mean I love the green death, but subtle is not the way I’d describe its political points.

[@fp7026]

PA K There's a difference between a well observed political backdrop that compliments the story being told, and outright proselytism where the political messages are blatant, impartial and take precedence over story-telling. Doctor Who's quality for story-telling has plummeted since Chibnall took over.

[@tjdw5251]

PA K the difference is, is that the story was made almost 50 years ago, this was when this would actually be telling and teaching people about the dangers of global warming and not only that does it give solutions to the problem, like fungi and windmills, it also shows the other side of the coin, like the lower class who have to work at the mines and cannot afford to live the way that professor Jones does, that and its a great story, unlike the way that they do things now

[@Concreteowl]

@@Trev359 nothing says subtle like an ecological peril where people die... Green called the Green Death😁