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Monster Mondays posts may be fiction, film reviews, book reviews or me waxing lyrical about a particular monster. Monsters can be paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy or even simply human. So basically, anything monster goes. I also invite anyone who would like to, to join in with their own post. (See end for details).
Original Doctor Who did it BEST!
When I think monster few things bring back more childhood memories than Doctor Who. I grew up with Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as my doctors and I love them all. Yes the monsters are often cheesy and look a little silly next to modern special effects, but they scared the beejeesus out of me as a child.
The one who springs to mind instantly is Davros. Now the Daleks frightened me, but they were never quite as bad as their creator, Davros, because he still had a humanoid face. That almost made is worse somehow.
Davros is a scientist with a great mind who set out to save his people, but he forgot about conscience and caring and everything that makes people great. His megalomania took over. He created Daleks to be the best, to be conquerors and he left out all emotion and mercy because he believed it made them weak. In his frenzy of creation he forgot everything good. I remember seeing him when I was very small and his face and his semi-human voice seemed to be showing the death of the Kaled man he once was. The above image is from Genesis of the Daleks.
Another Doctor Who original I remember trying to make a mask of was the Fendahleen from Image of the Fendahl.
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Sticking with the idea of snakelike monsters, another one I always liked was the Mara from Kinda and Snakedance.
The Mara manefests as a giant snake when it is forced to, but it is so dangerous because it mostly lives unseen in the minds of the unwary. In Kinda the Mara uses Tegan to cross to the real world from the void where it is trapped, possessing her and using her until it finds a more useful host in the form of Aris, one of the natives of the planet they are on. The hosts of the Mara are marked by a snake symbol on their arm and if they cover it up there is no way to tell they are possessed. A lot of people don't like Kinda, but it was one of my fav episodes.
Finally I have to mention the Haemovores from The Curse of Fenric. I adored this episode when I first saw it; not only does it make the Doctor far more interesting, but it also has vampires, okay Haemovores, but same difference.
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I think what I liked most was they weren't the ultimate baddies either. They were monstrous and could only be defeated by a psychic shield created by absolute faith in something, but they were being used as well. They were scary and yet sad as well. The perfect monster.
I love original Doctor Who, I think some of the stories are absolutely amazing. I like some of New Who too, but I'm not so completely attached like I am to original Who. Yes the monsters were people in rubber suits, or glowing balls surrounded in bubble wrap, or giant rubber snakes or metal work and silver painted plastic balls, but the stories were all better for it. With limited special effects the story has to convince the audience to believe and believe we did.
Are you a Doctor Who fan? Do you miss the days of bubble wrap and light-bulbs or do you prefer CGI and moulded latex? What is your favourite Doctor Who monster?
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If you would like to join in, please feel free to make your Monster Monday post and add it to the list.
If you would like to join in, please feel free to make your Monster Monday post and add it to the list.
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I'm not familiar with all the monsters here, but Mara sounds especially creepy! I agree that the story has to work harder when the special effects are limited. Nowadays, a lot of big budget movies rely on overly slick effects in place of any story.
ReplyDeleteIt becomes very monotonous when there is just CGI after CGI and not plot doesn't it? :)
DeleteI adore old Dr Who, and yes, it's the stories that make it so good - the special effects are awful, but the stories are fantastic (most of the time, they did have some howlers as well).
ReplyDeleteMy favourite monster is a difficult one, because there are so many good ones. I think I'll do a post too :) http://sophiesthoughtsandfunmbles.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/monster-monday-doctor-who-monsters.html
Ooh, popping over to see what you picked :) (nearly typed pooping ... that would be unpleasant :P)
DeleteI haven't found a favorite classic Who villain. Still working my way through the episodes.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are enjoying them :) My husband and I watched "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" this evening.
DeleteI've been watching Doctor Who since the days of William Hartnell, the first Doctor. So lots of memorable monsters to choose from. I think the Cybermen always freaked me out more that the Daleks, although it's one of the more recent ones that sticks in the mind: the Weeping Angels that first appeared in 'Blink' (2007) when David Tennant was the Doctor... and returned in other episodes.
ReplyDeleteVery good choice , dear Lady (we really love the Daleks)... and there are some cool shots and some gifs of the Fendahl (at the blog "Not Tonight Dalek" many great archived images)...
ReplyDelete