Doctor Who: City of Death

 

 

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The Doctor and Romana visit Paris to see some great art. When time begins to repeat itself, the Doctor suspects something is wrong. This adventure has possibly the best witty lines, as in:

"That Would look silly. We'll thake the lift"
"My dear, no one can be stupid as he seems"

and a lot more lines!

THE GOOD

There's alot going for this story. The location filming is excellent, some pretty funny dialogue(my favourite is the Doctor's "What a wonderful butler. He's so violent") and some intersting indeas and if you like detective stories it is a bit of a throwback to old gumshoe stories of years ago. But........

THE BAD

Cut away all that and you get a pretty routine story who's overall plot is just rehash of The Daemons and Image of the Fendhal(two stories I highly recommend). This story is the Doctor Who equivalent of a boy-band cd. You get all these bells and whistles in the story but very little substance and nothing really you haven't gotten before. Also Scaroth has to be the most unoriginal and generic villain in the shows history(even more unoriginal than the Mandril from Nightmare of Eden). I think this is a case where people have confused popularity with greatness. Sure the story is popular, but so what? Hey the Spice Girls outsold the Beatles does that mean the Spice Girls were the better band? Of course not. Just remember just because its popular doesen't mean its one of the best.

THE UGLY

While Scaroth maybe unoriginal he sure is ugly.

City of Death is distinguished from the other Tom Baker Who episodes by virtue of two things: 1) it is essentially a comedy, rather than a campy drama with strong tongue-in-cheek humor (like most Who episodes) and 2) there is a definite, quasi-romantic vibe going between Tom Baker and his wife (and ex-wife) to be, Lala Ward. Maybe it was the Paris setting; maybe Tom and Lala were so ga-ga for each other at this point they couldn't hide it; but I can't recall any episode with any female companion where the relationship seems quite so intimate. These two factors make "City" a bit of a departure from the norm. I am not as enamored of this episode as many fans are, but it is still very enjoyable. On the downside, I found the long travelogue shots of Paris to be a bit boring and time-consuming, the actor who plays Professor Kirinsky to be a giant ham, and some of the plot elements to be absurd beyond the usual level of absurdity (no one in that cafe seems to care about the goons who keep coming in to stick up the Doctor at gunpoint). Those are, however, pretty weak criticisms. On the plus side, Baker, who was beginning to flag a bit in his enthusiasm for the role at this point in his seven-year run, clearly had a ball with the fast-paced, completely comedic script. His biggest strength as an actor was always his ability to recognize when a plot moment or bit of dialogue was ridiculous, and then use humor to make it fly. In this episode he gets plenty of chances and clearly enjoyed all of them. The Duggan character was hackneyed (nice trenchcoat) but also quite funny as a sort of male Leela who is not terribly bright but terribly keen on breaking things and punching people in the face. His interplay with the Doctor is very good ("Duggan, if you do that again I am going to take very severe measures with you." "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do?" "I'm going to ask you not to do it again."), and he works equally well with Romana. Skaroth's polite, homicidal butler is also a huge kick ("Kill those two fools please, Harold," says Skarroth. "With pleasure, sir," replies the butler). The brass ring however goes to Julian Glover as Skarroth/Count Scarleoni, who sci-fi fans will always remember as General Veers in "The Empire Strikes Back", one of the fortunate imperial officers who Vader does not strangle for ineptitude. Glover has beautifully campy dialogue and he plays it out with relish as a profoundly evil villain who never loses his sense of whimsy or humor ("This is going to be a treat. Please remain here while I bring the instruments of torture.") even when he has to wear the disgusting Jaggeroth costume. The plot seemed thin and somewhat confusing at times as it goes along, but everything ties in very nicely at the end....except for the fact that for such a warlike race, the Jaggeroth don't seem to be able to take a punch very well. I guess that's why they're extinct. Anyway, while I don't regard "City of Death" as a classic, it remains a must-have for the true fan's collection.

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1.0 out of 5 stars more tom baker crap
Shall we take the lift or fly? (...) Really! Other than that moment, this is witty. Then again, most of this season is more or less witty, even Destiny of the Daleks and Craeture... Read more

Published on May 9 2004 by tonisherlock

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Dr Who "gold" stories
Not just for fans, City Of Death is for those folks who either have never seen Dr Who or were unfortunate enough to see one of the truly BAD ones and never watched again. Read more

Published on Feb 10 2003 by T. J. Perhai

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite, simply exquisite!
The Doctor and Romana are on holiday in Paris, 1979, which among the vintage of years, is "more of a table wine. Lacks true distinction. Read more

Published on Jan 8 2003 by Daniel J. Hamlow

5.0 out of 5 stars "my dear, no one could be as stupid as he is appears to be."
the title of this review is not a knock on the program but a praise. This is very funny stuff, and it is also very interesting. Read more

Published on Jun 25 2002 by Black Cat de La Bear

5.0 out of 5 stars Classy and Classic
In addition to some front line actors (Julian Glover for one) and a great comic relief cameo by John Cleese (who's details I will not spoil here) this episode has some one of the... Read more

Published on April 14 2002 by Peter Ingemi

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greats
City of Death is considered to be one of the greatest Dr. Whos ever. This was when the Doctor had the 2nd Romana (and K9 although he doesn't appear in the story) as a companion... Read more

Published on Jan 3 2002 by Matthew L. Roffman

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Who ever!!!!
Nearly an all-star cast, including Julian Glover, studs this sterling script. John Cleese makes a cameo appearance as one of two art-buffs critiquing the TARDIS where it stands in... Read more

Published on Nov 20 2001 by Nicholas J. Guetti

5.0 out of 5 stars The Finest Tom Baker
Paris and the good Doctor (Tom Baker, that is) - what a splendid combination. For many years this has been my favorite Doctor Who episode; it shines with exceptional writing and... Read more

Published on Sep 15 2001 by John Kwok

5.0 out of 5 stars "What a wonderful butler, he's so violent!"
This Tom Baker adventure is one of the most original and satisfying Doctor Who stories that has ever been my pleasure to enjoy. Read more

Published on May 4 2001 by Brian May

2.0 out of 5 stars One of Doctor Who's most overrated stories
A lot of fans are quick to state that "City of Death" is one of the greatest Doctor Who stories ever made. I couldn't disagree more. Read more

Published on Nov 6 2000 by Michael Hickerson

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