Doctor Who (TV Series) Mawdryn Undead: Part One (1983) User Reviews

Good To See The Return Of The Brigadier In A Very Forgettable Story

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 31 January 2014]

Arriving in 1983 England The Doctor is surprised to find his former friend Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart is teaching at a boarding school . One of the pupils there is a Trion called Turlough and The Black Guardian promises him passage home if he kills The Doctor

I was climbing the walls looking forward to this story when it was revealed that Lethbridge Stewart was returning to the show . The Brigadier was as much .as a part of my childhood as the third Doctor was . It's impossible to think of the Pertwee era without thinking of The Brigadier charging to the rescue of the Doctor and battling bullet proof monsters every Saturday afternoon . It might seem strange that Lethbridge Stewart is now a teacher but Ian Chesterton was supposedly written to be that character and due to William Russell being unavailable the role was changed to accommodate Lethbridge Stewart . This is a pity and once you know about this character change it does jar somewhat . If you're expecting a battle scene of soldiers against monsters that look like giant melted condoms then you'll be very disappointed . Perhaps that's why the highlight is the flashback scene in episode 2

It also leads to a very annoying continuity problem that wouldn't have happened with Ian Chesterton in the role that is the plot revolves around the Brigadier existing in two time streams , one in 1983 and one in 1977 set during the Queen's Silver jubilee . . " So what ? " Mr Casual Viewer asks and you'd be right but the UNIT era would always be set in a non specific near future and in 1977 Lethbridge Stewart would still be the commanding officer of UNIT .

I don't want to sound too anal but this plot point is very annoying It wouldn't have mattered if the continuity had been sacrificed for the sake of a great story but Mawdryn Undead is very average stuff . Perhaps even more sadly is that amongst the nostalgia there is a great story trying to get out . DOCTOR WHO in its original incarnation didn't really concern itself with the dynamics of time travel and used time travel as a mere plot device to send the Tardis on a new adventure every few weeks and director Peter Moffat fails to develop Peter Grimwade's script to its full potential . It should be pointed out that Moffat was much better in creating historical adventures and this type of glossy time travel space opera shows he's a bit out of his depth

Mawdryn Undead also features the debut of Mark Strickson as Turlough a humanoid with a dark secret . Turlough is slightly better regarded than Adric but that's not saying much and once again a character of great potential seems rather poorly developed . It's also noticeable that Strickson seems to be a little too old to be playing a public schoolboy and lacks a menacing edge needed for the character . Perhaps if the premise had Lethbridge Stewart teaching at a dead end school on a rough council estate we'd see a working class character with a Scouse or Glasgow accent played with a violent intensity by an unknown actor with a big future like Robert Carlyle . This confirms a criticism that the original series did pander to the middle classes too much and Russell T Davies made the new show identifiable to the proletariat

Now this is good!

[ianweech · 8/10 · 24 January 2021]

After an ok first 2 episodes, this was a breath of fresh air. A great part 1. I'm looking forward to the next parts!

Meet the Black Guardian, Devil; Meet Turlough, Devil's Henchman

[godzilla77 · 8/10 · 17 December 2015]

Turlough is a Devil's henchman of a companion, time travel shenanigans begin, and the Brigadier turns out to be a boys' school maths teacher.

This is the beginning of a very clever and a rather creepy story. It's also briefly a hard core nostalgia-fest.

The Brigadier returns, and it's fun to see him, certainly. But his return is greatly about being a bit of a PTSD sufferer. He's terrific to watch and, along with the new dark and wonderful companion, Turlough, right at the center of the plot. In this first episode, he's not got a huge amount to do besides just show up at a school and sound wonderfully crusty.

The Black Guardian returns. And it's the great and horrifying Valentine Dyall scaring us all again with his black as midnight villainy voice. He does mean to kill the Doctor -- after embarrassing him -- might as well be the Master again. But this Guardian fellow is a huge monster of a demon, Bad Q, perhaps, to take a Star Trek reference. But Satan is basically here, tempting a young and vulnerable humanoid trapped on Earth to be his assistant and kill the Doctor for him.

Turlough's set up takes up at least half of this first episode, and it's lumbered with a few of the more embarrassing moments of 80s Who. But it's also Valentine Dyall and Mark Strickson, greatly -- both totally entertaining fellows. Strickson's Turlough weasels and menaces and cowers all over the place. And Dyall's nothing if not terrifying.

At episode's end, we're left wondering, though -- not whether the Doctor will get killed by Turlough so much -- even as that's the crux of this and the next 11 episodes -- but whether the Doctor actually knows Turlough has it in for him. And, really, the other question: how will Turlough get out of this horrible situation?

The most interesting protagonist of the show, really, is suddenly Turlough... until the end of Enlightenment.

The arrival of one new friend and the return of another.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 28 October 2019]

The TARDIS crew are hurtling towards a ship and must land on board, unaware that an old foe wants revenge on The Doctor.

It has a very different feel to many of the previous stories, we have the intrigue of the plush ship, and the complexity surrounding The Black Guardian and Turlough. It is well written and complex, it's a very strong start.

I like how we get the hangover from the previous story, Tegan is feeling rough after the events of Snakedance.

Mawdryn undead is the first of a trilogy of Black Guardian stories. There are some really nice elements here, some familiar faces, some new. We get the introduction of schoolboy companion Turlough, we also see two faces from the past, The Brigadier, last seen in Terror of the Zygons, and The Black Guardian who last battled Doctor number four.

Strong production values, the ship looks amazing, I also love the music, it adds intrigue. Well acted by all, I wasn't a fan of Turlough in the his early stories, no fault of Strickson, I just didn't care for the character, he'd grow on me later on. Turlough is unique in that he didn't exactly have the warmest of welcomes from his fellow travellers, which isn't surprising given his intention.

I really enjoyed this first part.

Brigadier Undimmed

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 13 November 2019]

Review of all 4 parts:

This brilliant story sees the return of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, one of the most important friends in the Doctor's whole history and he returns in a full, very involved role not just a cameo. The story involves a complex plot with time travel/time loops which in modern day Whoniverse would be referred to as 'Timey Wimey'. It is brilliant.

The TARDIS arrives aboard an alien spaceship in Earth year 1983 and The Doctor travels via a Transmat to Earth in that year but his companions following him in the TARDIS end up in the same place but in 1977. This brings about great. clever and interesting time related ideas with them meeting the Brigadier in both time periods and trying to reunite without the Brigadier meeting himself. There is only one flaw in the whole story which is that the 1977 period seems to clash with our understanding of the Brigadier's work with UNIT. It would have been better if they had used the Royal Wedding of 1981 rather than the Silver Jubilee of 1977 and maybe had a near future 1986 instead of 1983. Anyway it is insignificant compared to all the strengths of this adventure.

As well as the time travel to two Earth years with the Brigadier in both and the complexities that introduces we also get two other strong plot aspects. First is the Black Guardian arc which begins with the mysterious villain influencing a young man Turlough to try to kill the Doctor. This is given further depth by the mystery surrounding Turlough himself. It is extremely intriguing and well done. Turlough is a great character and the Black Guardian is a suitably menacing figure.

The other plot aspect is the alien travellers aboard the spaceship lead by Mawdryn. It brings further intriguing, exciting and sometimes macabre elements which further strengthen an already superb serial. Mawdryn himself is excellent and the events of all 3 plot threads move along fantastically well and come together cleverly.

The added effects in a later re-release add wonderful sheen to the already high production standards but most importantly the storyline, dialogue and acting is of the highest quality. There are intelligent ideas, thrilling scenes, absorbing drama, strong characters and great camaraderie. The return of the Brigadier is a master-stroke with Nicholas Courtney as wonderful as ever.

In addition to the Brigadier and new companion Turlough we get a top level performance from Peter Davison as The Doctor. Tegan and Nyssa are OK and are used well.

Overall this is a 10/10 classic across all 4 episodes.

The Brigadier: Eight Years Later

[wetmars · 9/10 · 7 March 2020]

It's extremely interesting to see how an british GINGER scientists will try to kill the Doctor, this episode is kinda forgettable but what's good about it is that the Bridger is back!

Also, very surprising fact is that William Russell was originally scripted to reprise his role as Ian Chesterton, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. This resulted in the choice to instead bring back the Brigadier.

Clumsy

[richard.fuller1 · 5/10 · 30 December 2006]

The return of the Black Guardian for this trilogy of adventures should have been better than this.

It wasn't the story with Mawdryn that mucked things up, nor was it the Brigadier General story (utterly original).

No, it was Turlough. Hands down, one of the most unacceptable assistants this side of Melanie, but his introduction was absolutely clumsy beyond all belief.

Without a doubt, the worst bit has to be that he was an alien on Earth. Of course once we saw him as an earthling, we thought he was such, but the little bit with him and the Black Guardian and Turlough going "I'm bored with the Earth." The first time I saw this, I was completely confused as to what was going on.

Made worse by Tegan and Nyssa's initial belief that Mawdryn was the Doctor. Why on Earth think that? Saving grace was without a doubt Nicholas Courtney.

In rewatching this story again, I can't help but view Mawdryn and his co-horts as some strange drag queens.

Nothing to write home about.

[poolandrews · 4/10 · 8 June 2008]

Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead: Part One starts at Brendon Boy's Boarding School in England during 1983 where pupil's Turlough (Mark Strickson) & Hippo (Stephen Garlick) steal a 1929 Humber 1650 Open Tourer Imperial classic car belonging to one of the school's teacher's, an ex-army officer named Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) who teaches mathematics. Trying to avoid a head on collision Turlough crashes the car & while unconscious is momentarily contacted by the Black Guardian (Valentine Dyall) who says he will get Turlough away from Earth if he kills the Doctor (Peter Davison) first to which Turlough agrees. Meanwhile the TARDIS runs into the warp ellipse field of a giant spaceship that has a fixed perpetual orbit in time & space, materialising the TARDIS on-board the Doctor discovers the spaceship has been in orbit for 3,000 years, passing Earth every 6 years. With the Doctor so close the Black Guardian decides to act & send Turlough to kill him...

Episode 9 from season 20 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during February 1983 & was the third story from Peter Davison's second season as the Doctor. Mawdryn Undead was the start of producer John Nathan-Turner's third Doctor Who trilogy, the Guardian Trilogy which also comprised the following two stories Terminus (1983) & Enlightenment (1983) after the relative perceived success of The E-Space Trilogy which included Full Circle (1980), State of Decay (1980) & Warrior's Gate (1980) from season eighteen & the Master Trilogy which included The Keeper of Traken (1981), Logopolis (1981) & Castrovalva (1982) which spanned the end of season eighteen & the start of season nineteen. The script by Peter Grimwade carries on the celebratory feel of the 20th anniversary season with the popular return of Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart after not featuring in the show for eight years since Terror of the Zygons (1975) although this is at odds with the show's established continuity & it's hard to believe he would retire from UNIT to become a maths teacher. As well as a recurring good guy the scripts introduced an old enemy just like the previous two season twenty stories (Omega in Arc of Infinity (1983) & the Mara in Snakedance (1983)), in this case the Black Guardian last seen in The Armageddon Factor (1979) at the end of season sixteen. To be honest this episode is largely forgettable, not that much actually happens & the entire events of this could probably have been cut down to half the length & still made perfect sense. Mawdryn Undead is not a particularly strong start for future regular companion Turlough either, it's just hard to like him although the production team apparently wanted an evil assistant to heighten tensions. The start of this episode also sees a little exposition from the previous story Snakedance as the Doctor & Tegan discuss the events of that story & provide a few explanations which if you haven't seen it will make you wonder what the hell they are on about.

Production wise this is a largely forgettable episode too, the special effect at the start when the Black Guardian talks to Turlough looks like it was made on a late 70's BBC Micro computer it's that bad. Other than that there aren't really any other effects. Mark Strickson turned down a regular role on hospital drama Angels (1975 - 1983) to accept the part of Turlough but it was felt he looked too much like Peter Davison so producer Nathan-Turner asked him to shave his head which Strickson agreed to but asked for extra money so in the end they decided to just dye his hair ginger to create the desired contrast. Also it wasn't the Brigadier who was meant to return, originally Ian Chesterton (who was a teacher & that's where the school setting came from) one of the very first companions from the William Hartnell era was the choice of companion to return but actor William Russell had other plans, then the production team thought about Harry Sullivan but again actor Ian Marter couldn't do it so eventually it was decided the Brigadier would return.

Mawdryn Undead: Part One is a uniformly forgettable start to the Black Guardian trilogy & the Mawdryn Undead story on it's own, the only real notable aspect is the return of the Brigadier & the introduction of a new companion.