The Stones of Blood Part One

The one where the Doctor pushes Romana over a cliff...

The Stones of Blood is Doctor Who's 100th story, and part 1 is the 488th episode. The production team at the time resisted the temptation to observe this landmark by saying it was the Doctor's birthday, complete with birthday cake, which is probably just as well as there's already enough time wasted in the TARDIS bringing Romana up to speed on the quest for the Key to Time. It serves as a handy reminder for the audience I suppose, but it's quite clunkily done.

The episode opens with a gorgeous effects shot of the TARDIS spinning in the vortex, then goes straight into the Key to Time catch-up, then shifts to an introductory scene on Earth inside a stone circle. One of my ambitions in life is to re-edit classic episodes of Doctor Who so that they have pre-credits sequences/ cold opens, as I much prefer these little teasers, or mini-cliffhangers, before the titles. It works well (sometimes) in 21st century Who, and I adore the cold open for Remembrance of the Daleks part 1, so have always wanted to see what old episodes looked like with this structure. In this case, I'd open with the brethren in the stone circle, ending with "Come, oh great one, come! Your time is now!" Cue titles, then go into the spinning TARDIS shot. Wouldn't that be better?

That first earthbound scene is like nectar to someone like me, who's been bought up on gothic Hammer horror films and spooky 70s anthology dramas. All the ingredients are there: an ancient stone circle, flaming torches, a sacrificial altar, mysterious cowled brethren, rhythmic chanting, an unusual blood sacrifice to the stones... It fits right in with other Wheatley-esque productions of the time, such as The Devil Rides Out, Children of the Stones and Quatermass IV.

The Doctor warns Romana she ought to wear more practical shoes, but Romana has little respect for her companion's sense of haute couture. "I'm no fashion expert," he says. "No..." replies Romana, dismissively. I love these two together, they just work. There's some gorgeously vivid and verdant location filming at Little Rollright (isn't that shot of the Doctor and his umbrella, with the TARDIS in the distance, beautiful?) and the nearby King's Men stones which double as the Nine Travellers of Boscombe Moor. Darrol Blake only directed for Doctor Who once, which is a shame as he brings a refreshing flair for composition and depth. Maybe his experience on similar telefantasy shows such as The Tomorrow People, Ace of Wands and Doomwatch gave him a greater understanding of what was needed on Doctor Who.

While perusing the stones, the Doctor and Romana meet the wonderfully eccentric Professor Amelia Rumford, a hale and hearty elderly lady who instantly grabs your attention and doesn't let go. It's actor Beatrix Lehmann's innate screen presence and natural eccentricity which pulls you in. She fearlessly takes the scenes on despite struggling with some of the lines (this was her final TV job before she suffered a stroke, and died in July 1979, aged 76), and you can tell how enamoured Tom Baker is with her. She charms through sheer presence, and the trouble she has with some of her lines just seeps into the character, and you accept it. I love how Baker dutifully lets Lehmann do her thing, giving occasional looks of desperation when Amelia starts rambling on about various papers and surveys. She's an instant hit.

Then we meet the much more elegant and serene Vivien Fay, dressed head to toe in delicate pink and wielding a theodolite. Susan Engel plays Vivien with a very slight edge, so that you get the sense she's hiding something, or knows something more than she's letting on. It's to do with the way she smiles constantly, those gritted teeth hiding some shrouded truth. She's immediately slightly untrustworthy, and the Doctor picks up on this when he tells Romana to keep an eye on them as he thinks "something very odd" is going on.

The Doctor makes off to see Mr De Vries at one of those wonderful big houses that proliferate in the Fourth Doctor's era (and more often than not get blown up!). Mr De Vries is the leader of BIDS - the British Institute of Druidic Studies - and also the man that was splashing bowls of blood onto the stones the previous night. It's great to see the Doctor creeping his way into the seemingly empty house, misquoting the 1946 blues hit Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens (also referenced by the Doctor in World War Three). It's best not to dwell on the dubious, probably racist origins of this phrase, though...

Mr De Vries is an odd 'un. I mean, we already know he's something of a devil worshipper (or at least a stone worshipper!), but when he meets the Doctor, he goes to the trouble of telling him all about the subjects of the paintings removed from the wall of the hallway, when it's clear they must have been removed for a good reason (and not cleaning). He talks of Lady Morgana Montcalm, who murdered her husband on their wedding night, the reclusive Mrs Trefusis, and Senora Camara, whose husband didn't survive the crossing from Brazil! Tragedy also befell Dr Thomas Borlase, who was killed when one of the stones fell on him in 1754. Yes, De Vries volunteers an awful lot of information to this perfect stranger (a stranger he's been expecting, and whose name he knows).

There's much mention of the sacred goddess Cailleach, also known as Morrigu or Nermintana. I love the way writer David Fisher shows he's done his homework, and the research enriches the story no end. The Cailleach was a divine hag in Gaelic mythology with power over the Winter, while Morrigu is a figure from Irish mythology who appears in the form of a crow and incites warriors to battle (Nermintana may allude to the war goddess Nemain from Irish mythology, who hung around with Morrigu). All of this points to there being a wicked old hag about the place somewhere, and the presence of ravens and crows near the stones, and in De Vries' house, suggests that Professor Rumford might be the Cailleach in disguise (note how, when the Doctor wonders if he should warn Amelia about falling stones, De Vries asserts: "She's quite safe", as if he has a reason to believe this). Of course, dear old Amelia isn't the Cailleach (I've seen this story before!), but it's interesting to see how Fisher is gently pushing us a red herring.

We're treated to a double cliffhanger, with De Vries clocking the Doctor over the head just after having seen one of those WTF Doctor Who moments where he's confronted with a crazy feathered bird creature. Then there's Romana's terrifying fate seemingly at the hands of the Doctor, who pushes her off a cliff to her supposed doom (great scream, Mary!). It's interesting that afterwards, you think you've seen the Doctor push her, but actually you never do. It's all suggested in the mind!

First broadcast: October 28th, 1978

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Beatrix Lehmann steals the show as the zany Amelia Rumford.
The Bad: The Key to Time recap is laborious and clunky.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

"Would you like a jelly baby?" tally: 18

NEXT TIME: Part Two...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Part Two; Part Three; Part Four

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: https://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-stones-of-blood.html

The Stones of Blood is available on BBC DVD as part of the Key to Time box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Key-Time-Re-issue/dp/B002TOKFNM