Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

(For those unfamiliar with the Doctor Who television series, please consult my Doctor Who Primer )

In this story The Doctor and companion Leela materialize on the isolated rocky crag of Fang Rock, off the coast of England at the turn of the twentieth century. Their arrival coincides with the discovery by the lighthouse keepers at this location of a mysterious death of one of their colleagues, whilst tending the new electric generator.

Naturally, The Timelord and his companion are the natural first suspects, but The Doctor manages to win over most of the staff with his helpful and knowledgeable manner.

A recent observation of a falling star is followed by the fall of a heavy supernatural fog. The fog causes a wrecked boat of travelers to be deposited at the lighthouse and soon after that the rate of attrition amongst the trapped inhabitants of the lighthouse increases.

As the Doctor soon figures out, and as you will not be surprised to discover, an evil space alien is responsible. In this case the alien is a Rutan, a race of creatures capable of shifting their shapes. The Rutan is in an advance party come to take over the Earth, no less.

In cooping everybody up in hopes of protecting them from the malicious baddy, The Doctor has in fact made matters worse, shutting the doppelganger in the lighthouse with them.

Can the Rutan be stopped before it kills everyone in the lighthouse?
Will the Rutan army manage to take over the whole world?
The suspenseful answers are to be found in “Horror of Fang Rock!”

And such is the simple yet suspenseful plot.

A story which succeeds because of the air of suspense created by the production values, Horror of Fang Rock is a fine example of the times when Doctor Who blended gothic horror and science fiction to the benefit of both.

Filmed entirely in the studio, the production crew worked so hard on this show that one cannot often discern that it is not on location in a real lighthouse. Subtle background sounds of fog horns and misty exterior shots and filming gave this story the same texture as a Basil Rathbone era Sherlock Holmes movie. If you liked those old misty moisty atmospheric Holmes movies, you should like “Fang Rock”

Tom Baker plays the Doctor sullen and moody in this story, which fits the atmosphere well. Louise Jameson’s portrayal of Leela, though she is now clothed in less revealing costume, is no less savage. Leela is endlessly threatening to run daggers into or through others, or pouring lavish gloating over the dying body of the fallen foe. I was relieved to see that at least the script includes a few moments of The Doctor questioning the morality of such behavior, but this is still a story I wouldn’t want my kids to see for Leela’s part in it if not for the overall scent of death on the whole play.

While really all the players put in good performances, I particularly enjoyed Colin Douglas as Reuben, the elder of the lighthouse crew. He played an old school sea dog cynical and distrustful of new technology (the electric generator) which lent much to the feel for time and place of the story. Were it not for his performance, and some small references scattered about the plot very sparsely, this story would not be well placed in it’s time period. Whilst period is not of critical importance, you might watch this story with an eye to the contribution Colin Douglas makes. I appreciated it.

The party of persons who come aboard the story from the wrecked boat at the beginning of the second episode seem to really provide little more than extra monster-fodder to the plot. I have noted previously that this particular story was difficult for me to watch on occasions because I was so irritated by the endless hysterical screaming of Annette Woollett’s character Adelaide. The slap Leela gives her across the face is the only true moment of catharsis in the whole story, up to and including the death of the baddy monster.

The central tension in this story is that of being trapped in isolation with an unseen foe. This tension lasts and indeed rises for the entire length of the first three episodes to great effect. Once the Rutan has made its appearance on screen at the beginning of the last episode, all hope of continuing this tension evaporates. The Rutan is a blob of jelly with tentacles, able to climb the lighthouse stairs at about the same speed that mold would. Scratch up one more very poor Doctor Who monster.

All in all, this is a story with a lot of atmosphere, a surprising amount of tension, some great acting and too much screaming and a crappy monster. If, like me, you already like Doctor Who, that sounds like heaven!

On a purely personal note, I see that this Who story was entirely filmed at the BBC’s Pebble Mill facility in Birmingham, the only time this occurred. In 1975 when and where this was filmed, I was in my home less than a mile away, five years old, no doubt playing in the garden or some much. I am now thirty three, seven thousand miles and nearly thirty years distant from that time and place reviewing the show. Life is strange.

CAST

John Abbott Vince
Tom Baker The Doctor
Sean Caffrey Lord Palmerdale
Colin Douglas Reuben
Rio Fanning Harker
Louise Jameson Leela
Alan Rowe Skinsale
Ralph Watson Ben
Annette Woollett Adelaide

CREW

Paddy Russell Director
Terrance Dicks Writer
Robert Holmes Script Editor
Graham Williams Producer
John Nathan-Turner Production Unit Manager
Dick Mills Special Sounds
Paul Allen Designer
Joyce Hawkins Costumes
Jackie Hodgson Make-Up
Dudley Simpson Incidental Music
Peter Pegrum Visual Effects

My Reviews of Doctor Who:
Logopolis
The Brain of Morbius
The Pyramids of Mars
The armageddon Factor
The Ark in Space
The Ribos Operation
The Revenge of The Cybermen
The Stones of Blood
The Sontaran Experiment
The Genesis of The Daleks
The Destiny of the Daleks
The Pirate Planet
The City of Death
The Androids of Tara
The Talons of Weng Chiang
The Robots of Death
The Power of Kroll
The Leisure Hive
Terror of the Zygons
The Horror of Fang Rock
The Invasion of Time
The Seeds of Doom
Full Circle




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older