The Curse of Peladon is a well-acted and well-written political thriller. It's not the most exciting or original of serials but creates dramatic tension surprisingly well.
Story: 8
This serial has a lovely beginning. The argument at the beginning in King Peladon's court is a great way to set-up tension and it's well-acted. Then we see the TARDIS materialize in a scene similar to the beginning of The Romans before the Doctor and Jo have to go on a daring climb up a mountainside in weather conditions similar to those in The Brains of Morbius.
I'm in two minds about the way the Ice Warriors have been depicted here. I've always found them to be clumsy and talkative villains, so seeing them being good and noble for a change is refreshing. It's like what Moffat did with the Siluarians and the Sontarans during the Eleventh Doctor's era. On the other hand, I cannot help but think how this story would have turned out to be had the Ice Warriors been the main villains.
The story is a mix of Christie-like whodunit and a political thriller. It paints the Ice Warriors as the villains throughout most of its runtime, relying on the fact that viewers know them as such. That makes the truth of the matter all the more interesting. The twist doesn't work as well when you know it beforehand, but it is well built-up. The mystery id kept alive before the reveal in Episode 4. Brian Hayles has written a sort of a Shakespearean drama that could have fitted the First Doctor as well as the Third Doctor.
Unusually, this serial has a proper ending and sendoff, giving the story a satisfying close.
Acting: 11
What gives the political thriller of this sort a bigger value is a great cast. Former Doctor Patrick Troughton's son David Troughton is great as King Peladon, as is Geoffrey Toone (who appeared as Temmosus in the non-official Doctor who movie Dr Who and the Daleks) and Henry Gilbert as his uncles. Most further scenes with Troughton and Toone contain some of the best actings I've seen since The Crusade.
Ysanne Churchman does the voice for Alpha Centauri, probably the silliest and most annoying alien voice in the series' history. It's memorable though, and that's why she returned for the Peladon sequel The Monster of Peladon as well as an episode of the 2017 series of the revived show!
The Ice Warriors' voices have been improved to include less hissing and more intelligible words. That's a good thing since the hissing and whispering became a bit much in the earlier stories.
The Doctor: 8
The Doctor gets into trouble for impersonating an Earth delegate during the conference. At the end of Episode 3, he engages in a combat scene that together with the swashbuckling sequence in The Sea Devils is one of the better combats in the entire classic series.
This story shows that the Third Doctor fits these political thrillers perfectly.
The Companions: 9
I love the way Jo is depicted here. This is one of her better stories, together with her exit in The Green Death. She's given a lot to do and plays an important part in the story. She's brave, quick-witted and fascinating. Katy Manning is enjoying herself and puts a great spin to the character.
The Monster/Villain: 8
Aggedor isn't much of a menace really, at least not in from of the Doctor. Hepesh is a perfectly Shakesperean villain, only caring about keeping the royal blood alive.
Production: 9
The Curse of Peladon has some great production design, from the rather stylish hairpieces of the Peladonians to the funny design of Alpha Centauri. And we shan't forget Aggedor, who is pretty well realized despite the limitations of the puppet.
Musically, this story contains some of Dudley Simpson's better scores, perfectly fit the atmosphere of the story. The direction and editing also work very well.
This story has some of the best-choreographed fight and action sequences in the entire series.
Pacing: 7
The Curse of Peladon is slower than most four-parters but significantly faster than its sequel. The dramatic tensions of the episode keep it going at a brisk and even pace.
Atmosphere: 7
Despite its sufficiently slow pace, the script creates dramatic tension surprisingly well. The actors help to make the tensions high with their great performances. This isn't a particularly scary or exciting serial, but the acting keeps it tense nonetheless.
Impact: 8
The Curse of Peladon gave us the Third Doctor in a political thriller on an alien planet, without the Master or UNIT - oh the excitement! The story was successful enough to lead to a weaker sequel two years later and is still fondly remembered today.
Replay Value: 8
Not my first pick for a replay if I have other four-parters to choose from, but one of the better slower political thrillers the show has made.
Random Observations:
The Doctor: "May I present the royal Highness, Princess Josephine of TARDIS".
Yet another Doctor Who trial, this time (quite unusually) a trial by combat. The Doctor must fight the mute champion Grun, who is another lovingly memorable supporting character.
Episode 3 has that iconic Third Doctor moment, where the Doctor sings a Venusian Lullaby to make Aggedor fall asleep (Pertwee sang the nonsensical lyrics to the melody of the Christmas carol God Rest, Ye Merry Gentlemen).
This story ends with a funny little comedic scene featuring the REAL Earth delegate name-dropping the title of the show. Oh, those times...
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-06-12T19:57:20Z
The Curse of Peladon is a well-acted and well-written political thriller. It's not the most exciting or original of serials but creates dramatic tension surprisingly well.
Story: 8
This serial has a lovely beginning. The argument at the beginning in King Peladon's court is a great way to set-up tension and it's well-acted. Then we see the TARDIS materialize in a scene similar to the beginning of The Romans before the Doctor and Jo have to go on a daring climb up a mountainside in weather conditions similar to those in The Brains of Morbius.
I'm in two minds about the way the Ice Warriors have been depicted here. I've always found them to be clumsy and talkative villains, so seeing them being good and noble for a change is refreshing. It's like what Moffat did with the Siluarians and the Sontarans during the Eleventh Doctor's era. On the other hand, I cannot help but think how this story would have turned out to be had the Ice Warriors been the main villains.
The story is a mix of Christie-like whodunit and a political thriller. It paints the Ice Warriors as the villains throughout most of its runtime, relying on the fact that viewers know them as such. That makes the truth of the matter all the more interesting. The twist doesn't work as well when you know it beforehand, but it is well built-up. The mystery id kept alive before the reveal in Episode 4. Brian Hayles has written a sort of a Shakespearean drama that could have fitted the First Doctor as well as the Third Doctor.
Unusually, this serial has a proper ending and sendoff, giving the story a satisfying close.
Acting: 11
What gives the political thriller of this sort a bigger value is a great cast. Former Doctor Patrick Troughton's son David Troughton is great as King Peladon, as is Geoffrey Toone (who appeared as Temmosus in the non-official Doctor who movie Dr Who and the Daleks) and Henry Gilbert as his uncles. Most further scenes with Troughton and Toone contain some of the best actings I've seen since The Crusade.
Ysanne Churchman does the voice for Alpha Centauri, probably the silliest and most annoying alien voice in the series' history. It's memorable though, and that's why she returned for the Peladon sequel The Monster of Peladon as well as an episode of the 2017 series of the revived show!
The Ice Warriors' voices have been improved to include less hissing and more intelligible words. That's a good thing since the hissing and whispering became a bit much in the earlier stories.
The Doctor: 8
The Doctor gets into trouble for impersonating an Earth delegate during the conference. At the end of Episode 3, he engages in a combat scene that together with the swashbuckling sequence in The Sea Devils is one of the better combats in the entire classic series.
This story shows that the Third Doctor fits these political thrillers perfectly.
The Companions: 9
I love the way Jo is depicted here. This is one of her better stories, together with her exit in The Green Death. She's given a lot to do and plays an important part in the story. She's brave, quick-witted and fascinating. Katy Manning is enjoying herself and puts a great spin to the character.
The Monster/Villain: 8
Aggedor isn't much of a menace really, at least not in from of the Doctor. Hepesh is a perfectly Shakesperean villain, only caring about keeping the royal blood alive.
Production: 9
The Curse of Peladon has some great production design, from the rather stylish hairpieces of the Peladonians to the funny design of Alpha Centauri. And we shan't forget Aggedor, who is pretty well realized despite the limitations of the puppet.
Musically, this story contains some of Dudley Simpson's better scores, perfectly fit the atmosphere of the story. The direction and editing also work very well.
This story has some of the best-choreographed fight and action sequences in the entire series.
Pacing: 7
The Curse of Peladon is slower than most four-parters but significantly faster than its sequel. The dramatic tensions of the episode keep it going at a brisk and even pace.
Atmosphere: 7
Despite its sufficiently slow pace, the script creates dramatic tension surprisingly well. The actors help to make the tensions high with their great performances. This isn't a particularly scary or exciting serial, but the acting keeps it tense nonetheless.
Impact: 8
The Curse of Peladon gave us the Third Doctor in a political thriller on an alien planet, without the Master or UNIT - oh the excitement! The story was successful enough to lead to a weaker sequel two years later and is still fondly remembered today.
Replay Value: 8
Not my first pick for a replay if I have other four-parters to choose from, but one of the better slower political thrillers the show has made.
Random Observations:
The Doctor: "May I present the royal Highness, Princess Josephine of TARDIS".
Yet another Doctor Who trial, this time (quite unusually) a trial by combat. The Doctor must fight the mute champion Grun, who is another lovingly memorable supporting character.
Episode 3 has that iconic Third Doctor moment, where the Doctor sings a Venusian Lullaby to make Aggedor fall asleep (Pertwee sang the nonsensical lyrics to the melody of the Christmas carol God Rest, Ye Merry Gentlemen).
This story ends with a funny little comedic scene featuring the REAL Earth delegate name-dropping the title of the show. Oh, those times...
Score: 83/120