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FIFTH DOCTOR | KINDA

 
"... An apple a day keeps the...
Ah..."


STORY PLOTLINE

The TARDIS visits the planet Deva Loka, where Nyssa remains behind in the ship to recover from a mild mental disorientation while the Doctor, Tegan and Adric explore. Tegan falls asleep under some wind chimes and becomes possessed by an evil force, a Mara.

Also on Deva Loka is a survey team assessing the planet for colonisation, but theee of their number have disappeared and the remainder - Sanders, his deputy Hindle and the scientist Todd - are encountering difficulties in their dealings with the outwardly primitive but telepathically gifted native people, the Kinda.

DVD EXTRAS

With a change of Doctor, from Fifth to Eleventh, and the CLASSIC SERIES four-parter, KINDA would become transformed into a NEW SERIES story such is the intelligence, creativity and absorbing content.

It is a remarkable story and worthy, even though it finished bottom of that year’s (1982) fan-voted Poll, of a DVD release, and it’s been a long time in waiting.

Christopher Bailey’s psychological thriller-character study is one of a handful of CLASSIC SERIES productions that have garnered greater appreciation as the years have passed.

The DVD release will throw a new light upon DOCTOR WHO – KINDA and I can confidently say that it will become a critical successful release, and with a re-imagineering of the episode four’s “special effects” fans will be reinvigorated to embrace the story anew.

The commentary for the story is exceedingly entertaining – witty, heart-felt and engrossing – under the stewardship of Peter Davison with Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse and KINDA’s guest star, Nerys Hughes (Todd).

Commentary highlights:

On waiting for this name to appear on-screen at the beginning of the title sequence, Peter Davison: Hold on! I just want to time it right.
(Then he was told it only appears at the end credits)
Still not me, and I’ve just been reliably informed that my name doesn’t appear in the opening titles.

On the plotline of KINDA, Nerys Hughes: I never really understood it. It was Zen; a Buddhist thing.

Peter Davison: One of the better stories as it was not written by a BBC “hack” writer.

On the youth-looking cast, Nerys Hughes: You look like a little baby, Matthew!

About Peter Davison, Nerys Hughes: I thought that you were the best-looking DOCTOR WHO. What do you think, Janet?

Janet Fielding: The competition wasn’t up to much.

On the legendary “acting coaching” from Matthew Waterhouse to Richard Todd, Peter Davison: He did benefit greatly from Matthew Waterhouse. He gave some advice; “The thing is Richard, don’t look at the camera!” Matthew Waterhouse: I always thought that it was fiction! I don’t remember it!

On DOCTOR WHO. Janet Fielding: It’s science fiction. No one smiles. The stakes are quite high. Too intense.

On previous DVD commentary, Peter Davison: I was told off for being denigrating our DOCTOR WHO.

Production Note: Actor, Jonny Lee Miller appeared as Kinda tribe child.

On her acting, Janet Fielding: Not the spirit of good acting.
Nerys Hughes: She’s off.
Peter Davison: Nice lipstick. A good pose, Janet!

Production Note: Matthew Waterhouse suggested that Tegan’s meeting with the two chess players were the alter egos of the Doctor and Nyssa.

On Peter Grimwade, Janet Fielding: A very keen gardener.

Peter Davison thought that Janet Fielding looked like actress Helena Bonham Carter in the “dream sequences”.

On Nerys Hughes’ cleavage, Janet Fielding: You’ve got a bit of decoupage there, Nerys. Bending over the test tubes!

On the Doctor’s costume, Nerys Hughes: What’s that piece of Parsley, Peter?
Peter Davison: It’s celery. We’ll continue this discussion in episode two.
Nerys Hughes: Come and have a bit of celery.
Janet Fielding: Have a nibble of my celery.
Peter Davison: Well, that’s censored!

On the opening titles, Peter Davison: These credits go on forever.

On one of the guest stars, Janet Fielding: Mary Morris – a proper actress. She used to turn up to rehearsals on her motorbike.
Janet Fielding: Look at her blind actor. She’s fantastic.

On one of the Kinda natives, Peter Davison: It looks as if he was going to have a pee in the buses.

On the Doctor’s costume, Janet Fielding: The question marks are an abomination.

Observing the dream sequence, Peter Davison: Janet’s acting with herself. Let’s pause.

On KINDA's plotline, Peter Davison: Am I the only person to understand this story?

On relationships in general, Matthew Waterhouse: how many ex-husbands have you had?
Janet Fielding: I don’t want to sound undesirable. One.

On Janet Fielding's aMara acting, Peter Davison: Here we go; she’s getting saucy.
Nerys Fielding: Oh my God! Look at the red teeth.

On the hallucination power of the Mara infestation, Janet Fielding: It’s good stuff that Mara. “Feeling under the weather a bit of Mara will perk you up no end!”

On Richard Todd, Janet Fielding: He won World War II.

On the possessed Tegan, Peter Davison: A it bit Mae West.
Janet Fielding: I’m thinking Lauren Bacall.
Nerys Hughes: It the layers of it.
Peter Davison: “Come to me, big boy”!
Matthew Waterhouse: You can cut the sexual tense with a knife!

Note: whilst episode four’s snake was a new re-CGI effect, why wasn’t the “snake-transfer” process (from arm-to-arm) not re-created?

On the end of episode two, Nerys Hughes: It wasn’t quite the right scream for opening the box.

On looking up Arris’s costume, Janet Fielding: Am I staring up his sarong?

On a character in THE PRISONER, Janet Fielding: I know what a “number 2” is…
Peter Davison: I would like to apologise for anything Janet Fielding says.

On the set, Peter Davison: I can see creases in the backcloth. Sorry.

Note: in episode three as the Doctor re-enters the cave to witness the death of Panna, you can see the microphone boom disappearing out of shot.

On Peter Davison, Nerys Hughes: You’ve no ego.

On Arris, Janet Fielding: He DID have a big part. Sorry, but those sarongs look ridiculous.

Janet Fielding: I think Richard Todd’s moustache is sitting lower.
Peter Davison: I think it’s a stick-on.

On Matthew Waterhouse's acting, Peter Davison: I think Tony Blair has been looking at your acting.
Nerys Hughes: Very “Blairish”.

On Hindle’s demonstrative nature, Janet Fielding: It’s CLOCKWORK ORANGE-y.

On the end credits, Peter Davison: If I’m below Matthew Waterhouse I’m in deep trouble!

On Peter Davison, Nerys Hughes: Your terribly critical, aren’t you; Very picky.

The DVD EXTRAS for KINDA.

Basically, DREAMTIME is the “making of…” of KINDA and, thankfully, it ‘s thoroughly comprehensive. The CLASSIC SERIES Script Editor, Anthony Root, in a rare appearance, discusses the “texture of Kinda” and the fact that the story was “very seductive” as written by Christopher Bailey. However, there was not enthusiasm for the story from the series’ producer, John Nathan-Turner.

Intriguingly, Bailey described the process of working on DOCTOR WHO as “a cow to be milked” whilst he was concerned that the true paradise of Deva Loka was not realised on-screen as he had expected and had been like a “garden centre”.

During this documentary you’ll discover who Nerys Hughes describes as “butch” (Matthew Waterhouse or Mary Morris?), and who NEW SERIES writer Robert Shearman describes as portraying the ultimate performance of madness in a DOCTOR WHO story ever.

Interesting, Janet Fielding states, “You can intellectualise anything with crap. And that’s what I did.”

The documentary PETER GRIMWADE – DIRECTING WITH ATTITUDE remembers that diligent and resourceful professionalism of the director as he filmed DOCTOR WHO though, at times, as Eric Saward recalled that he was “intense and wound-up” and whilst directing from the studio floor he was described for having “neurotic energy”. However, it was his very success that curtailed his involvement with the series; the appreciation surrendered by fandom was not welcomed by John Nathan-Turner and refused to engage Grimwade as director after MAWDRYN UNDEAD (1983) though his involvement continued as writer and novel writer.

The DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES demonstrate that with more diligent & tighter editing, KINDA may have been an even more substantial production.

The OPTICAL CGI EFFECTS SEQUENCE and the CGI EFFECTS COMPARISON provide salvation for a story that was affected with one of the programme’s most critical “less-than-special effects”. In this 2011 edition the manifestation of the Mara is chillingly menacing and only whets the appetite for the 2012 re-working of the 1973, DOCTOR WHO – THE DINOSAUR INVASION.

Overall, DOCTOR WHO – KINDA is always had a mixed reaction amongst DOCTOR WHO fans over the last 25 years, however with this DVD release a new appreciation of Bailey’s layered plot, energised script and deceptively creative acting will win over critics and NEW SERIES fans alike.

EOH CONTRIBUTOR
MATTHEW WALTER
EOH RATING

eyeofhorus.org.uk rating: 8/10

INFORMATION
DOCTOR WHO - PETER DAVISON is the Doctor


DOCTOR WHO MARA TALES KINDA
ENLARGE IMAGE




DVD Release 07.03.2011


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