The Mutants Episode Three

The one where we see the mutated Solonians...

All hail Frank Cresswell, the lighting designer for this story, for his exemplary work on location at Chislehurst Caves (and let's not forget film cameraman Fred Hamilton). He casts verdant greens and ruby reds onto the textured cave walls, creating a wonderfully otherworldly, phosphorescent atmosphere quite different to the almost colourless planet surface. He uses silhouette to great effect too, and although the firestorms outside are obviously fireworks, the effect works beautifully, casting sparks of blue, red and green onto Katy Manning's startled face, like a kid on Bonfire night. The coloured lights also make Jon Pertwee's fuzzy bouffant glow amusingly too!

I really enjoyed this episode, principally because it is almost all shot on location in Kent and looks stunning. The scene where Varan escapes from the cave mouth, heading for his village, is directed so well, as he runs towards camera, weaving between explosions as he is chased by Overlord guards (to be honest, I can't help thinking they're Federation troops from Blake's 7!). Then we see Varan standing atop a hill, a cloudy-blue spring sky behind him. It all looks stunning, thanks to Christopher Barry's expert direction. The Mutants is one of those Doctor Who stories which boasts high production values, but appalling acting.

On that front, the list just gets longer. The roll call of poor performers already included Paul Whitsun-Jones, Rick James, Christopher Coll and George Pravda, but it's only now, despite his presence throughout, that I register just how bad James Mellor is as Varan. The cast is not treating this script with the respect it deserves, and seem content to either over-play their scenes, mumble through them, or barely try at all, just so they can pick up their pay cheques. When Varan reached his Studio Village and made his demands of the one pathetic villager left - "Summon my council! Beat the war gong!" - I utterly despaired. When Varan finds he has a mutant rash on his left hand, my heart skipped a beat because I'm hoping it means he'll be dead soon.

In the caves, the Solonian mutants come out of the stonework in droves, attacking Ky and Jo en masse from all sides. The insectoid costumes look impressive, wisely kept in the half-light and in silhouette by Barry, and it makes me think that perhaps this is how the ant-like Zarbi should have been realised for The Web Planet, rather than the bulky fibreglass shells. I think the Mutts would look fab in eerie monochrome. I notice the mutants have the trademark Season 9 Boggly Eyes though, which seem to have been a passing obsession in 1972 (see also Alpha Centauri and the Sea Devils).

Katy Manning doesn't have a lot to do, but Jo does manage to enjoy some weird trippy episode when she walks into a CSO dream and faints when she sees a silver spacesuit lumber towards her. Predictably, the Colour Separation Overlay is disappointing.

The main plot progression is that Ky finally gets to open the capsule, and lo and behold, it contains a bunch of stone tablets decorated with an ancient script. This is the language of the old ones, says Ky, the secret of which has been lost, along with the entire Solonian culture. The writing is just "meaningless squiggles", which made me laugh because I don't expect the word "squiggles" in classic Doctor Who!

Some snap observations about the episode:

• Why does the Doctor keep referring to Jo as "Miss Grant", as if he barely knows her? It's a very formal way to talk about the girl you've been risking life and limb with these last couple of years. It sounds perfect coming from the First Doctor, but somehow feels out of place with the Third, despite his gentlemanly aura. Come on, Doctor, you know "Miss Grant" far better than that!
• Tristram Cary is on music duties, his last Doctor Who credit after six years away. The spooky themes he created for The Daleks have been reused in the show ever since, and this score complements his contribution to the series well. There's a kind of bibbly-bobbly soundscape underscoring many scenes, as well as the occasional protracted electronic tone, and it works in a way that similarly experimental electronic scores haven't (such as Carey Blyton's awful Doctor Who and the Silurians score).
• Kudos to set designer Jeremy Bear for that magnificent Skybase laboratory set, which I only really appreciated in wide-shot here.
• The "old man" credited here - the villager with the long white hair and beard and the mutated spine - is played by Sidney Johnson, but is not the same "old man" who goes uncredited in the opening scene of episode one (you know, the man with the long white hair and beard and the mutated spine). That was David J Grahame. They look remarkably similar though.

Despite this episode metaphorically treading water on location in the caves, it looks stunning, and for that, I rate it highly.

First broadcast: April 22nd, 1972

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The location filming is excellent, in every way.
The Bad: How did Christopher Barry manage to employ so many bad actors on one story?
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

"Now listen to me" tally: 18 - just over a minute into the episode, the Doctor says: "You listen to me, Varan" after extricating himself from the warlord's headlock.
Neck-rub tally: 6

NEXT TIME: Episode Four...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode One; Episode Two; Episode Four; Episode Five; Episode Six

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: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-mutants.html

The Mutants is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Mutants-Jon-Pertwee/dp/B004DNWDYQ