The TARDIS lands on a planet the Doctor doesn’t recognise – but its inhabitants seem to know him. They think he’s the Evil One and aren’t pleased to see him.
Two warring tribes occupy the planet: the savage Sevateem and the reclusive Tesh, separated from each other by a deadly energy field. When the Sevateem believe their God, Xoanon, to be a captive of the Tesh, they decide to break thriough the barrier and rescue him. The Tesh, however, have other ideas.
Befriended by Leela, a Sevateem girl who dares to question the mighty Xoanon, the Doctor sets out to discover exactly what’s happening on this planet. Has he been here before? Is he responsible for the tribal wars? And can it possibly be that Xoanon, the mad God, is really the Doctor?”The Face of Evil” (1976) was the fourth story in the 14th season of Dr Who. Tom Baker was well and truly established in the role of the heroic Time Lord, but the Doctor’s popular assistant, Sarah Jane Smith played by Elizabeth Sladen had departed at the end of “The Hand of Fear”. This story was inspired by HG Wells’ The Time Machine (filmed in 1960) with its future society split in two: one group descended into primitive superstition the other surviving as a technological elite. Adding a crashed spaceship, a computer with multiple personalities and a mysterious carving of the Doctor, this would have been a routine adventure but for one thing; the first appearance of a new assistant played by Louise Jameson. An instant hit with the audience, Leela was a different kind of Dr Who companion. Confident, not adverse to violent self-defence, scantily-clad and unselfconsciously sexy, Leela was part-way between Tarzan’s Jane and The Avengers‘ Emma Peel. Writer Chris Boucher acknowledged The Avengers influence, also noting that he named the character after Palestinian hijacker Leila Khaled! Leela stayed with the Doctor until the end of “The Invasion of Time” (1978). –Gary S. Dalkin
“Now raise your weapons or I’ll kill him with this deadly jellybaby.” Best remembered for introducing one of the Time Lord’s most memorable companions, the warrior Leela, Doctor Who – The Face of Evil has a lot more to recommend it than Louise Jameson’s skimpy costume fuelling millions of schoolboys’ and their dads’ fantasies. It’s a surprisingly compelling mystery that sees the Doctor arrive on a planet plagued by invisible monsters (not the only time the show would borrow from Forbidden Planet in Tom Baker’s tenure), a tormented villain with the doctor’s voice who makes others act out the images of his torment and two warring tribes, one primitive, the other more hi-tech. While he’s trying to work out whether they’re the captors of a survey team that crashed on the planet or their children, it gradually emerges that we’re watching a sequel to a story that was never told by the series, one that deals with the disastrous long-term consequences of his interfering in the past – so far in the past that it’s not until the terrific visual punchline to episode one that he even remembers it…It’s one of Baker’s best stories, and in Leela he has a surprisingly vicious (at least at first) and ferocious companion, one who actually kills and is proud of her deadly prowess. It’s quite a leap from the Victorian Pygmalion figure the role was initially intended and yet despite, as Jameson informs us in an interview on the DVD, being based on a combination of her dog and the little girl who lived in the flat upstairs, she’s not presented in a patronising way as a bit of cheesecake with a blade: she can look after herself and is more likely to rescue the doctor than need rescuing herself. It also benefits from surprisingly good design for its jungle planet, something of a Doctor Who speciality in the Pertwee-Baker years, making it one of those stories that for the most part looks as good as its script is ingenious.There’s another good extras package on the disc too – audio commentary by Jameson and co-stars and crew, deleted footage, as well as other featurettes, vintage toy commercials and a stills gallery that reveals the initial horribly misjudged blackface makeup for Leela. Most revealing is that interview with Jameson that doesn’t skirt over her difficult working relationship at the time with Baker. He famously didn’t want to have a sidekick at all, and the opening episode shows why that wasn’t likely to have worked as he wanders around not so much talking to himself to explain the kind of plot points he’d normally fill his sidekick in on as he is talking directly to the camera. It doesn’t quite break the fourth wall but without the audience surrogate figure doesn’t work half as well. He may not have been happy with the solution at the time, but there’s no doubting that it worked wonderfully and that this story made a superb introduction. Oh, and don’t forget to watch out for the Janus thorns.
It will not disappoint. THE FACE OF EVIL is balanced, informative and entertaining. Even after nearly decade’s worth of DOCTOR WHO – CLASSIC SERIES DVD releases once a while one is released that could you comfortably re-watch several times without becoming bored or restless, and Chris Boucher’s penned, DOCTOR WHO – THE FACE OF EVIL is one of them. It’s like sitting your Aunt’s knee as she reads you a bedtime story – reassuringly secure.Admittedly, it is frequently overshadowed by those stories around it – THE DEADLY ASSASSIN, THE ROBOTS OF DEATH, THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG- but, by no means, it’s a production to be ashamed of or irritated by. Solid, interesting, elegant at times, understated performances that a founded in truth and reality (even though it’s science fiction drama) and, of course, eyeofhorus.org.uk’s favourite, Louise Jameson introduced as Leela.With a cleaned and restored print (probably better than you originally viewed on your rental television back in 1977…), THE FACE OF EVIL’s release is supplemented with an informative (with sleight repetitive recollections from the actors and crews alike is the only downside across the documentaries & commentary), entertaining and polished array of EXTRAS.INTO THE WILD confidently documents the `making of…’ process with insightful contributions from the Series Producer, Philip Hinchcliffe:Philip Hinchcliffe: I came up with the idea of a computer going mad. Being `God’.Whilst the recently deceased (2010) director of THE FACE OF EVIL, Pennant Roberts (interviewed in 2005) and Louise Jameson discuss the genesis of the character of Leela, and how Jameson distilled the personality of her dog, Boisie, and her neighbour’s three-year old daughter into the creation of the alien `savage’.Talking of the story’s director, Jameson: …very long and affectionate friendship with Pennant and his wife over the years.Visual Effects Designer, Mat Irvine, made his `solo’ debut with this production and discusses the challenges of working to tight schedules and limited, shoestring budgets.In a rare appearance, one-time DOCTOR WHO set designer, Austin Ruddy, confirms that he a “free hand to do what we wanted to do”. As fans would confirm, his designs were stunningly creative especially the planet’s stylist `jungle’ and the perennial problem of `how to do another DOCTOR WHO corridor’. Indeed, the Series Producer states that he was “…a top designer. I’d put it up high in some of my DOCTOR WHOs”.Unsurprisingly, INTO THE WILD’s contribution from Jameson is central to this documentary feature, and addresses the (Janis) thorny issue of her working relationship with the lead actor.On Tom Baker, Louise Jameson: He was a totally brilliant Doctor…strained at times…and we’re extremely good friends now.Overall, IN THE WILD is a more a tribute to Pennant Roberts and less of a “Making of…”, and quite rightly so.FROM THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR is as gripping as Hitchcock thriller, and all it is are `out-takes’ and `unused’ material from the production. With a couple of expletives `bleeped-out’, it’s beguiling that the filming was so good natured, calm and professional in the face of adversity (re: BBC Union Electricians poised like vipers to terminate the studio lighting at 22:00 prompt). The deleted scenes, all from the Ealing Studio filmed sequences, are presented slotted into the broadcast material and demonstrate how single-camera filming, compared with multi-camera shooting on videotape, is far more polished.The weakest of the documentaries is DOCTOR WHO STORIES: LOUISE JAMESON as, sadly, the recollections from the seminal actress are duplication from both INTO THE WILD and the STUDIO COMMENTARY. Nonetheless, Jameson is singularly known for her affection (and gratitude) for being cast in DOCTOR WHO, and her memories are, like a complicated Sherry Trifle, layered and wholly satisfying with numerous Glace cherries topping it off. You’ll just have to watch this feature to find out why she asks the BBC DVD interview, “Am I allowed to say crap?”. Delightful.Even in 1977, I couldn’t afford the (expensive due to high tax rates) DOCTOR WHO action figures so seeing the DENYS FISHER TOYS ADVERT for the first time is like owning your very own time machine. The £4.99 of 1977 (circa) TARDIS would be worth about £35.00 in today’s money, and with weekly pocket money of 50 pence it was far out of my reach (and I preferred buying the pocket-money friendly TARGET novels).In the 1970s, a staple of the weekends was `The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop’ magazine programme, presented by the engaging Noel Edmonds, and to have a DOCTOR WHO guest it was essential viewing. Louise Jameson effortlessly effervesces as she charms the unflappable Edmonds as she discusses how she secured the role of Leela and the filming of the series.Wendy Padbury presents press coverage of Tom Baker’s time as the…
Dr Who – The Face of Evil (1977) – When Dr Who became Dr Henry Higgins (My Fair Lady) The Face of Evil is the beginning of the new era for Dr Who. It all started in January 1977 when viewers, especially the male population caught their first sights of Louise Jamieson as Leela. Leela was very different to the Doctor’s previous assistant Sarah Jane Smith. Leela was savage, but she was very brave in an understanding way.I would like to say to any Tom Baker fan to get this adventure as the acting is first class from the lead actors Tom Baker and Louise Jamieson to the brilliant casting of the Savateem from Brendan Price as Tomas, Victor Lucas as Andor, Leslie Schofield as Calid to the casting of the Tesh from Leon Eagles as Jabel and Miles Ellis as Gentek, but all acting glory goes to David Garfield as the Savateem Holy, but misguided mystic Neeva who grand and over top performance is the crowning glory to this 1977 Dr Who adventure.I am looking forward to more 1970s classics like the Mind of Evil, The Ambassadors of Death, Terror of the Zygons, Nightmare of Eden, plus the BBC should issue a seperate Special Edition DVD of ‘The Revenge of the Cybermen’ (similar to the 1972 Jon Pertwee Dr Who adventure ‘Day of the Daleks’) for true 1970s Dr Who Tom Baker fans. The BBC should also use advance and realistic CGI to re-create the missing 1979 Tom Baker adventure ‘Shada’.