Classic Who "The Creature from the Pit" Parts 1&2 Reaction

Patreon for Full Reactions, Movie Reactions & More!:
/ sesskasays
Twitter:
/ sesskasays

[@Problembeing]

DOCTOR WHO TRIVIA - Geoffrey Bayldon who plays the old man, Organon, was the first choice to play The First Doctor, but he turned it down. He later played an alternative First Doctor in audio adventures.

[@SadBnnuy]

He was so charming in the shows Worzel Gummidge and Catweazle

[@Wannabe_Baby]

I love how protective you are of K9. It's so wholesome.

[@alexlee2237]

This is the first story Lalla Ward filmed as Romana II. Her performance is closer to Mary Tamm's, a bit sterner and more aloof.

[@kemmdog4444]

You might recognize the older lady in the beginning of the episode played “Old Woman” in the first Doctor Who story.

[@13dronid]

I believe she was in An Unearthly Child as Old Mother (first death in the series!) And also in the film version, Daleks: Invasion Earth - 2050AD

[@TheElderBlotch]

The Creature From The Pit is infamous as "the one where The Doctor makes out with a giant green phallus" but it has some genuinely good things about it namely an intimidating villain in Lady Adrasta, the scene of Romana telling off the bandits, and Geoffry Bayldon as Organon stealing the show. As you'd expect, the novelisation is heaps more atmospheric. And yeah, David Brierley takes over from John Leeson as the voice of K9 for a few adventures but thankfully, Leeson was eventually persuaded to return.

[@conscienceaginBlackadder]

It resembles a tortoise's head too, to be fair. I know a family who have inherited a 100 year old tortoise, and I been in the garden with him, and they walk faster than folks think

[@TheMoonRover]

Yeah, K9 has a different voice actor for a while. John Leeson decided not to return for season 17, so it's David Brierley instead. This was explained in _Destiny of the Daleks_ (with typical Douglas Adams humour) as K9 having laryngitis. Obviously you know that John Leeson eventually returns. I won't say when.

[@karlmortoniv2951]

I thought I remembered hearing an interview with John Leeson where he said he would have been happy to come back for this season but nobody ever called and booked him so he assumed he wouldn't be needed and took other work. Then like the day before rehearsals for this story someone at the BBC did get in touch but by then he wasn't available, AND a little bitched off that they would take him for granted like that so he took the year off from "Doctor Who." Tom Baker said the great thing about Leeson was that during rehearsals he would act out K-9 on all fours so Tom could rehearse with a K-9-sized actor but David Brierley wasn't into that at all. Brierley would read K-9's lines from a comfy chair - which was fair enough as he wouldn't be called on to appear on camera at all for the part but Tom missed acting opposite Leeson in rehearsals. That probably had as much to do with Lesson being asked back later as anything.

[@jonathanmurphy3141]

This was the last story directed by Christopher Barry. He stated directing Who on the first Dalek story in 1963. Barry directed a number of stories, including The Savages, Power of The Daleks, The Daemons,…

[@rogershore3128]

I think he was seriously unhappy with this story and for want of a better word "Unprofessional" people behind the scenes. I think he demanded special effects to be redone....

[@Payne2view]

I like how Romana 2 brings the "I'm a Timelord and must be treated with respect" attitude that Romana 1 would have.

[@conscienceaginBlackadder]

talking like she's still Princess Astra too

[@AubreySciFi]

Well, this WAS written with Romana 1 in mind and was filmed before Destiny, so Lalla and the writers were still coming to grips with the new version of the character. She's said in interviews that she was not at all satisfied with her look or overall performance here. Destiny and City are the way she wanted the character to be.

[@danniemadsen1996]

David Brierley took over as voice actor for K•9 this season. I believe he was originally supposed to be the permanent new voice, but John Leeson got back the next season. It was explained as K•9 suffering from some illness that only robots can get.

[@rhyscarroll6447]

Indeed, David Brierley was meant to return for Season 18 but he was interested in also playing a part in person, which JN-T was unwilling to guarantee and so he departed

[@Reppter66]

LMAO your reaction to the creature has me DYING

[@AnthonyP73]

The, ahem, unfortunately phallic nature of the creature has apparently gone unnoticed

[@Reppter66]

@@AnthonyP73 she says that some of the shots were weird in her discussion time

[@Problembeing]

"It looked interesting", I believe you mean "It looked rubbish" hahaha. It is, but I love it 🤣

[@cutthr0atjake]

I love this story. Its camp nonsense with a problematic monster design, but its huge fun! :-D

[@feanenatreides]

I don't think this episode is on anyone's top 10 list unless they're huge Geoffrey Bayldon fans (a totally fair reason!) but it has some very amusing moments and never bored me.And sometimes that's just what you need in a Doctor Who episode. Any episode that the legendary Douglas Adams had a hand in is bound to have some witty gems.

[@ryanpollard1166]

The Creature from the Pit is very infamous for one very obvious reason! While the plot isn't that bad and the filmed jungle scenes look brilliantly atmospheric, the story, as a whole, loses any sense of gravitas the moment we see the phallic creature itself in all its "glory". Producer/showrunner Graham Williams infamously described the creature in his own horrified internal BBC memo as a "giant green blancmange with a four-foot phallus". Behind the scenes, this was an absolute nightmare for Mat Irvine and his VFX department who were all burdened with the unfortunate task of creating the monster, with Mat designing it and consisted of meteorological balloons covered with a latex skin. Of course, the reaction from everyone ranged from enormous laughter (especially from Tom Baker who apparently found it very amusing) to outright shock and apprehension. Minor adjustments were made to the monster's "appendage" between parts 2 and 3 in a desperate attempt to make it look less phallic, which ultimately failed thanks to story's most memorable and iconic moment in part 3.

[@whobp8]

Hooray! It's not a snake! Rest assured, when you eventually get to the snake, it's pretty fake looking, I have confidence that you'll be able to handle it, which ironically would make you a snake handler. 😂 John Leeson (the original voice of K-9) wasn't interested in returning for this season, hence the recasting. The in continuity explanation for the change is the Doctor trying to repair K-9's laryngitis (from Destiny of the Daleks) and not getting the voice quite right. Lady Adrasta's right hand woman is played by Eileen Way, who previously appeared as the old woman in An Unearthly Child and was the first character ever killed in Doctor Who. The engineer who doesn't get thrown in the Pit is played by Morris Barry, who had previously directed The Moonbase, Tomb of the Cybermen and The Dominators for the series. Morris Barry was the cousin of Christopher Barry, who directed this story. This is the last Doctor Who story directed by Christopher Barry, who had directed for the series for years, beginning with the very first Dalek story. This is also the last story for stuntman Terry Walsh, who had worked on the show since 1966 and had been the main body double for both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker.

[@jonathanmurphy3141]

The creature is “interesting” 🤣🥳😊 Yes, fans of Who have commented of the “shapes” of The Creature, since broadcast in 1979. 🙄

[@bletheringfool]

David Brierley took over K-9 for this season but as you know John Leeson does come back as he still voices K-9 today

[@flaggerify]

Leeson should have redubbed this season.

[@TrashMammal2002]

I actually really like David's K9 if I'm gonna be honest, I wish that there's more of that.

[@bletheringfool]

@TrashMammal2002 there's nothing wrong with his performance, John wanted to do other things. But my personal preference is John Leeson. David did get some fantastic K9 moments

[@richwagener]

We knew this episode as “The killer tumble weeds one”.

[@AubreySciFi]

As I recall John Leeson was not available to voice K9 this season, so they hired David Brierley to replace him. The Creature from the Pit was actually the first Doctor Who story I happened across on PBS when I was a kid. Yes Tom Baker and the cast had a lot of laughs over the rather phallic creature of the title. Still its a fun story overall. This was actually shot before Destiny of the Daleks so Lalla Ward was still feeling out her new version of Romana. Hence why she's a bit like Romana 1 in this story.

[@darthken815]

Finally a fellow PBS Who watcher.

[@tenmark7055]

Lala Ward's performance as Romana is a little different here than the rest of the stories due to this being the first one shot and shown out of order.

[@Clayton-S.]

Okay, I think we can agree this is not a GREAT story, but imho, worth watching for the legendary Geoffrey Bayldon's performance as Organon alone. For those who are not familiar with him, he was a much loved British actor perhaps best known for his starring role in the 1969/70 children's series Catweazle where he played a medæval sourcerer projected forwards in time to contemporary(at the time) England. It's a reasonably entertaining tale for all that and is a light, easy watch 😆👍

[@joshuajoshua2732]

Lalla Ward hated the dress Romana II was wearing in this as she felt it was too much of a carry over from Mary Tamm as this serial is the first one to be filmed for this season.

[@nesshane71]

Snake? Coming in Classic WHO? Wonder what that could be!?

[@ianweech]

This is certainly a strange episode. I kinda love it for how weird it is.

[@AnthonyP73]

I'm not the biggest fan of this season, but I'm excited that season 18 is drawing near. It's one of my favourite "latter day" classic seasons, can't wait to see your reactions. It was the first season that I saw "live" as in, as it was going out on first run.

[@mikalmos369]

Remember that K9 had laryngitis or at least that's the in-universe explanation from Destiny of the Daleks

[@JohnCallaghanMusic]

K9's voice change was explained by him having laryngitis two stories earlier in Destiny Of The Daleks. No, really!

[@Problembeing]

Wonder how Sesska will get on with Kinda 🤣

[@Payne2view]

It may depend on the special effects of the one she sees.

[@matthewclarke4127]

​@@Payne2viewI really hope it's the original cuddly draft extinguisher snake.

[@ilovecatweazle]

The old Sightseer is an actor who played a Medieval Wizard called Catweazle who travels into the future {its where I got my KZbin name) in an old chilren's tv series. His name is Geoffrey Bayldon. This actor was seriously considered to play the 3rd Doctor before the great Jon Pertwee but I believe he turned the role down. I think he may not of wanted that much exposure because he was gay and in those times they were still shunned by the press. Its a shame because as you can see he would've been an amazing Doctor.

[@conscienceaginBlackadder]

Others have said it was first Doctor. That he was the original choice for the character ! btw at this time he was appearing with Pertwee both with regular parts in another show, kids' comedy Worzel Gummidge, about scarecrows being alive. Classic Who reactor Marie-Clare Gauthey, whose favourite Doctor Pertwee became, also reacted to Worzel because of him.

[@ilovecatweazle]

@@conscienceaginBlackadder Yep just checked. He was actually considered for both the 1st and 2nd Doctors.

[@DEEJAYWAL]

He did eventually play the Doctor in the Unbound audio series. He was an alternate First Doctor who never left Gallifrey, at least as the story starts.

[@DWboy14]

I've been waiting for this episode 😂

[@frankshailes3205]

K-9 has a different voice because he caught laryngitis in Destiny of the Daleks, remember...

[@frankshailes3205]

For big snakes I recommend the Peter Capaldi film "The Lair of the White Worm"...

[@bananasaregood8655]

First story in the season to be filmed. New actor voicing k-9, however i rekon the tried to invent an explanation with the random opening to destiny of the daleks when the doctor says k-9 has laryngitis hahaha

[@SayGahTaah]

Hello Sesska! I love this ep.

[@joshuajoshua2732]

Oh yes the giant willy 😂 it was an unfortunate but funny design. The reason K9's voice was replaced by David Brierly was because John Leeson at the time got incredibly frustrated with the character while K-9 is a very popular character to the children and the audience he was not so much popular to the cast and crew on set.

[@neilmcdonald9164]

Female villains were a rare thing back then...🎩

[@matthewclarke4127]

In Doctor Who you mean? Because if you are talking other TV shows, there are plenty of female villains in the 60s and 70s.

[@scottboswell6406]

This is at the other end of the spectrum compared to 'City of Death', lol!! I do like Lady Adrasta, but those tumbleweed 'wolves'!! When I first saw them, I was ready for the creature to look as it does. Is this my least favorite Tom Baker story? It's between this and another story coming this season, but at least that one introduced a great monster that returned in New Who.

[@josephryan362]

Geoffrey bayldon would have made a good first doctor and I am going to start the creature from the pit at some point when I get the dvd because i watched have not watched it all the way through

[@glenmcculla6843]

I still dream of Organon.

[@matthewt1772]

I think I know what you’re referring to, but I’m too tired to look it up. You could say that I’m bushed.

[@andrewroberts299]

Had Shada (the last story of the season) been completed and transmitted, I think season 17 would be much more appreciated than it currently is. Destiny of the Daleks, whilst being a bit generic, at least had an interesting premise and a reason why the Daleks needed to revive their creator. City of Death, an absolute classic story, raised the bar considerably in its script, acting and production. Yes, Creature from the Pit does have its negative points (the main one being the creature design), but I quite like the revelation of why it’s on the planet! The 4th story of the season also has an interesting premise, only let down by cheap production and monster design. It’s only the 5th story of the season that is classed as an absolute stinker by fans, with no redeeming features going for it at all. This story is always down the bottom of the Doctor Who story poll list, and for all the right reasons. Terrible script, terrible acting, terrible direction, terrible monster design and terrible production design. A sad way to end a season which had started so well. Thankfully, season 18 would see a new producer and script editor take over the reins, and by and large the stories were an immediate upgrade on season 17, will all the failings of that season being replaced with more science driven stories and having much less outrageous humour. I think you will see it as a much better season after having sat through the excesses of season 17!

[@keithsolley]

9:00 the Doctor presumably lost the ability to speak Tibetan after he regenerated-he could obviously speak it very fluently before🤔

[@pennie2387]

I mean, it's not a snake yet it does resemble a trouser snake *ahem*

[@conscienceaginBlackadder]

or a tortoise head

[@Aaron17988]

Doctor who vs Rick from rick and morty in death battle

[@Allancarlostani]

And this is where Season 17 starts to lose me. It's honestly shocking how we went from a perfect story like "City of Death" to... whatever the hell "The Creature from the Pit" is (and just to be clear, even if you turn a blind eye to the creature design , I honestly still find the rest of the story itself quite generic and forgettable). Tom Baker and Lalla Ward are the redeeming elements.

[@someguy3752]

Yeah, it's genuinely kind of impressive how a season can have City of Death in it and still be so utterly, utterly shit.

[@robertkramer2271]

I think this is where this season took a bad turn. It started off good with "Destiny of the Daleks" and "City of Death". Then it kinda takes a strange turn with the rest of the season. I think it had to do with the impending strike that happened at the BBC in 1979. Everything seems rushed.

[@Sandman_jazz1983]

Hyperinflation paid a major factor as well, Graham Williams was making the show with effectively about a third less money as previously

[@ClintBandito]

"Let's stay clear of the reptile" ...but Jess... It could have been a dinosaur 🦖🦕 (Also I'm sorry Jess but that thing is even more off-putting to me than a snake and I'm not ok with it😅 I was watching it for the first time yesterday with my sister and she was enjoying the rare event of me squirming for a change)

[@highvoltage7797]

I know Season 17 has its defenders but apart from City of death and Shada it really is a low point for the show. Season 18 in hindsight is such a good season and gets overlooked.

[@Jaketherobonrd]

Oh this story features in my opinion one of the worst Monsters in the show. I think it’s pathetic and uninteresting. Basically it’s a blob with a (unintentionally) Gentleman’s Sausage, i’ll put it like that.

[@chrisjackson5210]

This is absolute trash TV, it's because of stories like this that Tom Baker had to go. The previous story was the rare exception but this one's a total insult to the audience's intelligence... sorry, did I mention I don't like this?

[@cooluncle4242]

I would disagree with you on that. While this is one of the worst Tom Baker stories, it would have still been terrible with any of the Doctors and Tom Baker's humour actually saves the story a bit for me. I know a lot of people didn't like the humour of the later Tom Baker stories though.