8. Negotiating With The Refusians The Ark (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iARKX16_IMo The Story The Doctors companion Dodo inadvertently spreads the cold virus through a spaceship millions of year into the future, causing the human passengers to become slaves to their servants the Monoids seven hundred years later. The Moment The Doctor has a conversation with an invisible alien. Why It Hasnt Aged Well The Ark is a well-produced story by the standards of the Hartnell years with some decent set design and very inventive designs for the one-eyed Monoids. Where it all falls down is the presence (such as it is) of the Refusians. Aliens that are completely invisible. Admittedly there is a narrative reason for the Refusians invisibility (they lost their bodies in a solar flare) but regardless of that, its still one of the Hartnell years silliest moments and has aged astoundingly badly. Any scenes featuring the Refusians are almost impossible to take seriously with the lowest moment being a scene where the Doctor sits down at a table and has a conversation with one. But because the Refusians are invisible, the scene is literally William Hartnell talking to a chair. And no matter how great Hartnell was, he just couldnt make the scene look convincing or give it any real gravitas. If the Refusians had just been a cheap and badly made costume, this moment wouldnt look quite as dated. But because it was such an outrageously obvious cost-cutting measure even when it was made, its one of the most laughable moments of 1960s Doctor Who.
JG Moore
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JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.
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