"This isn't a haunted house, is it?"
Writer: Marc Platt
Format: TV
Broadcast: 4th-18th October 1989
Season: 26.02
Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace
Synopsis
London, 1983: an old house mysteriously burns to the ground. One hundred years earlier, the Doctor and Ace arrive at a sinister mansion in the rural hamlet of Perivale. Horrors old and new await the Doctor amongst the peculiar residents of Gabriel Chase... but it is Ace who must confront her own worst nightmares when she discovers that her past and the house's future are inextricably linked...
Verdict
Ghost Light was a great little story! It really is quite unique in the Doctor Who history as there is just nothing anywhere close to being like it. It is whacky from the get go and wastes absolutely no time in getting started which I liked. I remember reading the Target novelisation of this one and finding it a little challenging to understand just what was happening, but the visuals that come with the televised format eradicate that. Now don't get me wrong, I am not going to try and claim that I perfectly comprehended everything that occurred in this story (I definitely didn't), but I don't mind that as I just enjoyed what I was watching. I do definitely think that it could have benefitted from a fourth part as things would surely have been a little clearer, but it was still brilliant. I'm a big fan of when the weird and wonderful is happening with all sorts of whacky nonsense. It's just such fun and that was the case here. I thought the setting of Gabriel Chase was really good and the scale of the house was also important. Whilst a confined setting is intriguing, being able to divulge into different rooms was most definitely beneficial. I loved the idea of the Doctor playing on Ace's past despite her explicitly stating that she would want them to be on her own terms. The Doctor barely acknowledged his wrongdoing which was good characterisation of the seventh incarnation and his relationship with Ace. She didn't seem as annoyed as she had done on other occasions which was telling and I got the feeling that deep down she wanted to know more about what she had felt a century in the future at this house and caused her to burn it down. I liked the line where she wished she had blown it up instead as that is just so Ace, and that went well with her reactions to being looked at from a Victorian perspective. She didn't really fit in there! The guest cast were excellent and I really liked Josiah with his mysterious enigmatic feel going on. The theme of evolution was also very interesting and I liked how that was extended once Light arrived in the third and final part. The effects for him were very impressive for the '80s and I found him a very fascinating character. The concept of him being annoyed at Earth for its life constantly evolving was terrific and I just loved that Josiah found the whole theory of evolution preposterous. Redvers was another good character and the moment where he saw himself in the window reflection was stunning. I liked that a lot and the casual nature with which the likes of Lady Pritchard came walking in was just intriguing. Throughout this story, I was just wanting to know more about what was happening. Gwendoline was a terrific character and I liked her relationship with Ace and I also thought that Control was brilliant and got to have a nice ending. I think the actual plot conclusion could have been improved a little, but I did love that Redvers would now be able to explore the stars. I'm surprised there hasn't been a Big Finish series about him yet to be honest! Overall, a thrilling tale that is just barmy on a supernatural scale. But it works and was thoroughly entertaining.
Rating: 8/10
I enjoy this. An old mansion on the Vyctorian era, a historical period I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAce rock on it. She look good in the dress, but she look better with her suit. She was so brave and ncie. Instead of screaming to be sav,e she breath as she ready to confront death wth dignity. She try to stop Light from burning the place and confess she screw up when she coulda lie her way out. She was also upset for the detective beuign turn to soup.
The Doctor sure was grand opn it. he was calm with the crazy hunter and the Neanderthal. He also stood up to the arrogant reverand and the mad gentlemen, and also to the light being. If I'd done it, he'd wear a waistcoat instead of the jumper.
I enjoy the zoo song. A very grand one.
This got me ideas;
ReplyDelete1. A Sarah J Christmas special. It can guest star the Doctor's 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, War, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th forms. And also Ace, K9, Maria, Nyssa, Jodie, and some more. Within some old mansion.
2. The Tarzan characters be among many I seek on crossover with Doctor Who. I see them being allies. Some of their stories would be set in the Greystoke Manor, a grand mansion. I see the Doctors and companions being guests on the mansion, which fits them. The Tarzan heroes would accept, for them can be eccentric as well... and fans of evolution.
3. Butler to Greystoke Manor would be a Neanderthal from a hidden world on Siberia where his species and the Cro-Magnons dwell as equals thanks to Tarzan and co on some time-travel to the Ice Age. He would wear a copy of the 8th Doctor's frockcoats (only moleskin instead of velvet), pinstripe waistcoats similar to the War Master's form when he met Ood, and a paisley cravet.
4. The zoo song from Ghost Light would feature. It was real on the 1880s. I see them sing it.
5. The reverand inspire someone simialr who mocks the idea of humans being equal to animals.
6. Ace would wear some tuxedos more.