Marco Polo: my review
jph...@aol.com
7 episodes: The Roof of the World, The Singing Sands, The Cave of Five
Hundred Eyes, The Wall of Lies, Rider from Shang-Tu, Mighty Kublai
Khan, Assassin at Peking.
THE PLOT
In the wake of the strain put on it during the previous adventure, a
key component has broken, leaving the TARDIS stranded in the
Himalayas, circa 1289. The time travelers are rescued by Marco Polo
(Mark Eden), the Venetian servant of the Kublai Khan. However, it soon
becomes apparent that they have traded one serious problem for
another. Polo plans to trade the TARDIS to the Khan for his freedom to
return to Venice. Polo isn't the only member of the party with his
eyes on the caravan, however. The Mongol warlord Tegana (Derren
Nesbitt), an emissary traveling to the Khan's court to make peace,
sees the Doctor's "flying caravan" as a chance to turn defeat into
victory, and "bring the mighty Kublai Khan to his knees!"
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: Though not centerstage for much of this story (indeed, he
all but sits out Episode Two), there is still a great deal of good
character material for the Doctor. He is quite crafty in finding ways
to keep getting back into the TARDIS while it's under Marco's guard to
effect the needed repairs. Even when forced to surrender the key to
Marco, he makes sure that the Venetian knows that he cannot simply use
the key to get inside.
Hartnell, always more at home in the historicals than in the outer
space serials, is wonderful from start to finish. I mentioned in the
reviews of the previous two stories that Hartnell's infamous line
fluffs had already become noticeable. In this 7-episode serial, where
he is given a very reasonable amount to do, he barely has any line
fluffs, and has no bad ones. Even without all of the visual
information, one can sense Hartnell sparking to a particularly fine
script and a director in whom he has confidence, delivering his finest
performance since the show's very first episode.
Ian: Forms a friendship of sorts with Marco, and it's not that
surprising. Both are thirtiesh men, both with sharp minds, and both
born leaders. Even when Marco starts to distrust Ian, the two
frequently seem to be on the same page when discussing and dealing
with their various dilemmas, particularly when fighting off a bandit
attack in Episode Five.
Barbara: Her background as a history teacher allows her to put the
pieces together very quickly after meeting Polo, and identify their
new captor/companion. She shows a sharp eye for detail, as well,
observing when the caravan reaches the oasis that there is no sign of
a fire or of any bandit group, leading her to realize - ahead of Ian
and the Doctor, and well ahead of Marco - that Tegana cannot be
trusted.
Susan: For the first time in the series, Susan gets the chance to
spend time with someone her own age, the young Ping-Cho (Zienia
Merton). She is instinctively trusting of her new friend, and their
closeness botches the team's first major escape attempt, at the end of
Episode Five. Her influence on Ping-Cho also creates a crisis late in
the serial, as Ping-Cho attempts to flee her arranged marriage largely
because of Susan's view of the arrangement.
THOUGHTS
Marco Polo is regarded as one of the great achievements of '60's
Doctor Who, and is a regular staple in lists of the series' best
offerings. It is a tremendously well-scripted outing, directed with
confidence by Waris Hussein, and wonderfully-acted by both regulars
and guest cast.
The story itself isn't the most intricate. The regulars journey with a
historical figure and a vaguely Iago-like enemy, and encounter a
series of adventures along the way. It's not the story that counts
here, it's the journey. Seeing these characters interact in this
setting is the principal appeal. In structure, it is basically a 13th-
century "road movie."
Lucarotti's three historicals are highlights of the Hartnell era, and
it's rather sad that only one of the three actually survives. He has
great skill at making different settings and time periods come to
life. As with earlier serials, it's the details that are so critical.
Ian describing the reason why water doesn't boil properly at high
elevations, that it's not the cold but the air, not only feeds into
the program's educational remit but is a nicely-observed moment (cut
from the condensed DVD cut). Crossing the Gobi Desert in Episodes Two
and Three, we observe the importance of water conservation. We hear
the sound of a dust storm, battering against the tents, with Marco
describing all the different things "the singing sands" have been
mistaken for: music, voices, and devils out of hell. The painstaking
trudge to the oasis, with Ian and Marco observing that without water,
none of them will survive another 24 hours. Ping-Cho telling a story
to the assembled listeners at a way station. So many tiny little
moments, that don't always necessary feed the plot, but that do make
it feel authentic.
I think this is why '60's Who is my favorite. As enjoyable as I find
many of the later stories, the show increasingly had - and has - less
and less time for this type of detail, and so with rare exceptions, I
find myself getting a little less enveloped in the worlds of the later
stories than in those of the very early stories.
Character work has been a particular strength of these very early Who
serials, and remains excellent here. All of the regulars are well-
characterized. The cast clearly recognizes that this is a strong
production of a particularly fine script, and seem to give a little
bit more in their performances. Lucarotti gives each of the regulars
something to do, and allows them to interact with the major guest
characters in their own unique ways.
He also creates strong guest characters. Marco and Tegana are well
enough acted and characterized that they could probably have carried a
story all on their own. Tegana is definitely the series' best villain
of the first four serials. He is no idiot thug. Instead, he is crafty,
well-spoken, and patient. A key scene for his character is the chess
match in Episode Two. He sits back and watches Ian and Marco play,
allowing that he finds the game a fascinating "test," with each player
wanting to be the one to call out, "The king is dead!" He sits and
patiently watches Ian and Marco play the game out, occasionally
throwing out a comment on the proceedings - comments which show that
he is following every move.
Tegana plays his own match against Marco like a chess game. Tegana
makes various aggressive moves - slashing the water barrels, arranging
for the bandits to attack the caravan - and when each fails, he finds
a way to turn it to his advantage. He does not allow a single
opportunity to pass by that will make himself look good to Marco,
either, starting with when he brings Susan and Ping-Cho back to camp
in the Gobi Desert. Gradually, over the course of the story, Tegana
wins Marco's trust through a few well-judged whispers in the
Venetian's ear, and makes Marco distrust Ian and the Doctor. To Marco,
the regulars seem treacherous, and the villain trustworthy - and the
longer the story runs, the more this situation escalates, culminating
in the desperate situation of the serial's end: Tegana is in a
position of trust; Ian in prison; and Marco facing disgrace. Watching
this situation unfold creates a great deal of tension, which again
builds so much more convincingly for being allowed to unfold
gradually, rather than all in a rush.
Rating: 10/10. The best story yet, and a fine conclusion to a very
fine first set of Hartnell adventures.
jph...@aol.com
If, in the '60's, one had been asked which Doctor Who story was most
likely to survive, Marco Polo would probably have seemed a fair bet.
It was the first season's largest production, with a rather large cast
of characters and extras. It was the most promoted of the first
season's stories, and the most widely distributed worldwide. By all
rights, once the BBC started actively seeking the programs it had
junked in the '70's, it should have been a near-certainty that at
least one or two episodes of this would be recovered.
Not a single episode - indeed, not a single second, not counting the
cliffhanger from Edge of Destruction - survives, but there are still
several options for experiencing the story.
The Loose Cannon Recon. The review above was completed after a viewing
of the Loose Cannon color reconstruction.
Telesnaps were recovered only within the last decade, meaning that the
best available full-length reconstruction (the Loose Cannon color
recon) was left to make do with publicity photos and on-set photos.
Remarkable, then, that the reconstruction works so very well. The
wealth of photographs taken during the production is a boon, and I
confess to enjoying the color, which allows the viewer to really
appreciate the detail that went into sets and costuming. The action is
always clear and easy to follow, and even the action climax is
reasonably well-rendered.
Recon Rating: 9/10. I would love to see an update using the telesnaps
at some point, but it remains an excellent recon, and one of Loose
Cannon's earliest "great" achievements.
The BBC Audio
On this run through, I used the Loose Cannon recon. However, I did
listen to the BBC Audio release of this last year, on a drive to Los
Angeles. The audio is variable in places - a consequence of the sound
source - but quite clear, and William Russell's narration is sparingly
used and used to good effect.
Where the audio release falls down, compared to the recon, is in the
highly visual nature of this particular story. One simply cannot get
the effect of the set design on audio, particularly in the Cave of
Five Hundred Eyes or the Khan's summer palace. Various visuals from
the recon are as strong as anything from an existing story: Tegana,
pouring water into the sand at the oasis while calling for Marco to
"come and get it." Tegana, lounging like a lazy lion in the background
as he watches and comments on Marco and Ian's chess game. The bandit,
holding his knife to the throat of the bound and gagged Barbara.
Without these very effect visual moments, the story does lose
something. The CD version is splendidly done... but while many of the
missing Who stories lose nothing on audio (a couple even gain), this
is one that really does require the visual element for its full
effect.
CD rating: 7/10.
The Beginning Box Set "Abridged" Recon
There is also a severely condensed reconstruction of this story on The
Beginning box set. Of the various ways to experience this story...
This is not the one to use.
The condensed BBC recon has two advantages: It uses the actual
telesnaps, and it has far stronger sound quality than the Loose Cannon
version. Unfortunately, this wonderful 7-parter has been reduced to 30
minutes. Given the rather loose narrative of the full story, the story
itself remains coherent. However, it's undeniably choppy. And with so
many character beats and memorable dialogue exchanges removed, the
story loses its soul. Anyone otherwise unfamiliar with Marco Polo
approaching it strictly from this 30-minute version would wonder what
possible appeal this rather thin, dull story could possibly have
had... because with most of its best moments removed, and most of the
character scenes struck, the 30 minute version is rather dull, and
does feel quite thin.
Watch the Loose Cannon version, or listen to the BBC audio - both are
extremely effective recreations of this missing masterpiece. But only
watch this DVD extra as a curiosity, and only if you're already
familiar with the story. It's like comparing a corpse to a live person
- the form is roughly all there, but the spirit is gone.
BBC Condensed Recon Rating: 3/10.
The Doctor
jph...@aol.com <jph...@aol.com> wrote:
>MARCO POLO
>
>
>Rating: 10/10. The best story yet, and a fine conclusion to a very
>fine first set of Hartnell adventures.
>
IAWTP. John Lucarotti the person who wrote that script, did a fine
novelisation. Very plausible.
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solar penguin
> Recon Rating: 9/10. I would love to see an update using the telesnaps
> at some point, but it remains an excellent recon, and one of Loose
> Cannon's earliest "great" achievements.
There's a fairly good fan reconstruction using telesnaps at:
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/xtuz2_recon_mission_004-marco-polo/video/x87kru_marco-polo-episode-11_shortfilms
or http://qwer.org/MarcoPoloRecon
The only trouble is that many of the telesnaps were scanned in from
DWM complete with printed frame/border round the edges. But apart from
that, it's really good.
The Lonely God
really is wonderful and interesting. Does the route in this story actually
match up with the one Marco Polo took in the 13th Century?
It's fascinating to learn about different cultures and periods in history.
Why can't they do that in the new series?
The Doctor
Have you read the novel by John Lucarotti? Very nicely done.
Also there isan unofficial reproduction available.
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