Classic Doctor Who - Season 15 - Horror Of Fang Rock (1977) - Review
Starring: Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, Colin Douglas & John Abbott
Written By: Terrance Dicks
Directed By: Paddy Russell
The
start of Doctor Who's fifteenth season marked yet another time
of change for the show. After three very successful seasons as
producer of the show, Philip Hinchcliffe stepped down from the role
and was succeeded by Graham Williams. The violence and Gothic horror
tone of Hinchcliffe's era, while popular with the majority of fans,
had also attracted a certain degree of criticism, most famously from
Mary Whitehouse. As a result, when Graham Williams was introduced, he
was asked to tone down the horror and violence Doctor Who had
acquired, and re-introduce a bit of light-heartedness. Yet
ironically, his very first story, Horror Of Fang Rock,
ended up incredibly dark and sinister, and feels like exactly the
opposite of what he'd eventually go on to do with the show...
The
Doctor and Leela arrive on the island of Fang Rock, just off the
south coast of England in the early 20th Century. When the
Doctor notices the island's lighthouse isn't functioning properly,
the two decide to investigate. It isn't long until something starts
killing off the lighthouse keepers one by one, and draining huge
amounts of electricity to do it. Making matters worse, the Doctor
learns of a mythical beast that apparently once terrorized the
island, and when the foggy weather causes a luxury yacht to crash on
to the island, time starts running short...
The
thing that stands out the most with Horror Of Fang Rock
is just how haunting, isolated and confined it feels. This is a story
laced throughout with atmosphere and it's a fantastic-looking trip
into early 20th Century history. Unusually for a
historical story, Horror Of Fang Rock also doubles as a
cracking base under siege story, and one that cuts our characters off
almost completely from the outside world. Not only do they have
little contact with anywhere off the island, they are forced to spend
the majority of time in the really quite small area of the lighthouse
itself. There's just so much shadow and menace looming around every
corner in this one, and it's up there as one of the most bleak
entries to Doctor Who's catalogue of tales. That early shot of
the TARDIS landing on a rocky, dark and windy landscape sums up
perfectly the feel and tone that gets carried on over the next ninety
or so minutes.
Not
even the Doctor or Leela do much to lighten things up, and while they
may not be all laughs and giggles, Terrance Dicks' script and the
actors' performances do bring out the best in both characters.
Watching the behind the scenes material for this one, Tom Baker
didn't exactly help an already challenging story to film by being
very hostile and snappy to both his fellow actors and the production
team (although this had started to become quite a common occurrence).
But while he may have been difficult to work with on this one, in
this particular case, his off-screen attitude almost enhances the
story, as you can see it starting to seep into his performance as the
Doctor. Here the Doctor is impatient and feels truly alien. This is a
Doctor who says with a smile to the people he's trapped with:
“Gentlemen, I've got good news for you. This lighthouse is under
attack and by morning, we may all be dead.” Leela hardly offers
much in the way of sympathy either, and Horror Of Fang Rock is
easily one of her best stories. Leela was an already great companion
as it is, and here she works so well because she just gets stuff
done, whether it's working with the Doctor or going off on her own to
do it. As ever, she can easily take care of herself, and while I
don't know if it was intentional, the contrast between her and
Adelaide (who feels very reminiscent of your stereotypical screaming
Doctor Who companion), feels like a nice subtle jab at the
handling of previous companions such as Victoria, where the writers
often gave her little to do but stand and scream.
The
Doctor and Leela aren't the only characters to benefit from such a
strong script, as our supporting cast comes across as strong too.
Some of the characters appear to represent a divide between the old
and new. You've got the money-obsessed and patriarchal toff, Lord
Palmerdale, who's someone you love to hate, as well as the
superstitious and old-fashioned lighthouse keeper, Reuben, who still
maintains that oil is a more efficient power source than the then-new
and innovative electricity generators. On the other side of the
divide, you've got characters like Vince, who don't buy into the
superstition and believes electricity generation is the way
forward. Vince is a surprisingly effective supporting character, as
while he may not do a huge amount to advance the plot, his young and friendly nature really gets you to like
him. This makes his eventual death at the hands of the Rutan a real
gut-punch moment. Colin Douglas also brings a bit of endearment to
the character of Reuben, and to some extent gets us sympathizing with
him despite his superstitions and occasional hints of xenophobia.
While the performance as human Reuben is certainly very good, Colin
Douglas takes it up to another level when he gets possessed by the
Rutan. At one point he confronts Harker in the boiler room, and the
look and smile he gives him, together with the mildly green eyes,
makes it such a creepy moment.
A
dark tone, threat and great characterization all round is topped off
by some excellent technical design and production values. As I've
said, this was in no way an easy production to complete, neither was
the task of convincing the audience that these characters were in a
remote Edwardian lighthouse. Yet with some excellent sound design,
lighting, Paddy Russell's direction and more, it all really works.
Listen closely and you can hear the periodic repeated sound of a fog
horn blaring in the background, and together with things like the gas
lights which leave plenty of shadowy spaces, it all provides one
immersive experience. Horror Of Fang Rock may not have
worked anywhere near as well as it does if it didn't have a talented
director at the helm, but with Paddy Russell, that's exactly what it
has. Through a variety of clever visual tricks with the camera, she
makes the already cramped lighthouse sets feel even more restrictive
and uncomfortable, and is able to use the established foggy weather
to her advantage by having it limit our view of any potentially
dubious-looking elements. There's even some pretty decent CSO work
going on, which many will know is rare for classic Doctor Who
(and something that Underworld completely butchered
later in this season.)
There's
only one disappointing aspect to Horror Of Fang Rock,
and it's sadly the Rutan itself. The big problem is that it's far
more sinister and threatening when it's possessing Reuben, than when
it's eventually revealed to basically be a big green blob of jelly.
It's a classic case of the build-up being far more effective
than the threat, and if it weren't for the fact that the Rutan pretty
much ends up killing every supporting character, it would've left far
less of an impact. The Doctor describes it as an enemy with greater
power than we could dream of … yet it seems to barely be able to
slither its way up the stairs! Not even its voice was particularly
impressive, as it felt like a poor imitation of something between the
Morbius creature and a Dalek. It's hardly the worst alien Doctor
Who has seen, but it isn't good either. At the very least, I did
like the nice links back to previous stories, and the Doctor bringing
up the Rutans' history with the Sontarans. It's a good bit of
continuity, and I just can't get why more than forty years later, the
Sontarans and the Rutans have yet to be seen on screen together.
In
conclusion, with the exception of the last few moments where the
Rutan is revealed, Horror Of Fang Rock is a gem of a
story. Together with City Of Death, it's one of my two
favourite stories from the Graham Williams era, and given that this
was his first serial as producer, that's a pretty great start! Huge
on atmosphere and dread, with a strong script and a production team
able to overcome the huge challenges that faced them, this is a story
that's definitely worth checking out.
Horror Of Fang Rock
9/10