User Reviews

After two crackling, high-flying four-part serials to open Season 16 of "Doctor Who," first the sly intrigue and double-dealing of the brilliant "The Ribos Operation" and the manic world-crushing of the ambitious "The Pirate Planet," the season-long story arc concerning the quest for the Key to Time comes down to Earth, literally and figuratively, with the four-part "The Stones of Blood," the first of David Fisher's two efforts for this engaging story arc that finds the Doctor and his fellow Time Lord (or Lady) companion Romana on a mission for the White Guardian of the Universe, traipsing across the universe intent on recovering the six components to the all-powerful Key to Time before agents of the Black Guardian (you knew there had to be such an entity in a universe of opposites, right?) recover them first and plunge the universe into eternal chaos (or some such horrific fate).

Thus, the Doctor and Romana arrive on Earth to locate the third component, with Fisher's script working in a wry in-joke: When the Doctor tells Romana what their destination is, she replies, "Earth? I might've guessed. Your favorite planet." And when the Doctor asks her how she knew that, Romana quips, "Oh, everybody knows that." Indeed, many "Doctor Who" stories manage to wind up on Earth; Tom Baker's predecessor, Jon Pertwee, even languished on the third rock from the sun for several serials when the Time Lords disabled his TARDIS space-time machine (or "capsule," as Romana had already haughtily termed it), stranding him there until he redeemed himself.

This visit to Earth places them in Cornwall at the Druidic site the Rollright Stones, which isn't a rejected name for a legendary British rock group but rather an actual stone circle in Oxfordshire, where location filming was done, renamed for "Stones" as the Nine Travelers being surveyed by Professor Emilia Rumford (Beatrix Lehmann) and her assistant Vivien Fay (Susan Engel). The Nine Travelers are also of interest to modern-day Druidic practitioners De Vries (Nicholas McArdle, only slightly over the top) and Martha (Elaine Ives-Cameron, ditto, although not until later) whose sanguinary thirst pegs them as being rather atavistic, particularly when De Vries, entertaining the inquisitive Doctor, bonks him on the head so he and Martha and their associates of BIDS (British Institute of Druidic Studies) can sacrifice him to the Cailleach, more on whom later in the serial. Meanwhile, Romana winds up in a literal cliffhanger to end Part One.

As detailed previously in JamesHitchcock's outstanding, incisive review, Fisher's sturdy script provides a promising start to this four-part serial, even working in a scene in which the Doctor lets Romana, who believed that she had been sent on this mission by the president of their home planet Gallifrey, in on the truth about with whom she had been conversing, which also keeps the audience apprised of producer Graham Williams's Key to Time concept. Director Darrol Blake insisted on using outside broadcast video instead of film for the impressive location shots, thus blending them with the studio visuals for a unified, seamless appearance. Lehmann lights up the screen with her seemingly dotty yet forthright and self-possessed expert already clicking with Tom Baker while twigging fashion-plate Mary Tamm and her Romana for her choice of stylish yet impractical footwear. (The Doctor had already warned her about that in the TARDIS, and if don't blink, you'll catch another sly visual joke: The alternate pair Romana brandishes is even more outlandish and fetishistic.) At this point, "The Stones of Blood" seems poised for a memorable adventure.

REVIEWER'S NOTE: What makes a review "helpful"? Every reader of course decides that for themselves. For me, a review is helpful if it explains why the reviewer liked or disliked the work or why they thought it was good or not good. Whether I agree with the reviewer's conclusion is irrelevant. "Helpful" reviews tell me how and why the reviewer came to their conclusion, not what that conclusion may be. Differences of opinion are inevitable. I don't need "confirmation bias" for my own conclusions. Do you?

Back on Earth, a circle of stone, origin of which, as yet unknown, called The Nine Travellers, there's blood on the ground, at the bottom of a cliff, Romana is bound.

The sixteenth series of Doctor Who wasn't perhaps its shining hour, but there was one glimmer of hope, 'The Stones of Blood.'

It all starts at a stone circle, with hooded figures, a full moon, blood tributes being paid to the stones and a ceremony praising a pagan figure. No comedy Pirates here! This first part was a classic.

The scanner indicates the third segment of the key to time is located in the centre of the stone circle, so they investigate and are met first by Professor Emilia Rumford, and then by her friend Vivian Fay, who are conducting work on the site. They tell the Doctor about Hugo de Vries, Leader of the BIDS, British institute for Druidic Studies, and the Doctor sets off to meet him. We see De Vries and his wife worshipping the Cailleach. The Doctor is koshed after a shock appearance of The Cailleach, whilst Romana is lured to a cliff's edge seemingly by the Doctor and tumbles over.

Romana has definitely warmed to the part and softened, there is a definite easy quality between Tom and Mary.

The humour works so much better, it's lesser and better used. Unlike the recent serials it wasn't playing for laughs, it had some natural easy humour.

Beatrix Lehmann is a complete and utter joy!!! Her acting, charisma and simple presence are a joy to behold, she is sensational, oh if only she'd travelled in the TARDIS, a definite sign that the Doctor could have an older companion. Tom bounces off her beautifully and every scene they do fantastic.

We don't only have one fantastic charismatic actress, we have a second, Suzy Engel plays Vivian Fay, another casting success.

The cliffhanger to end the first episode works tremendously well, both The Doctor and Romana are left in mortal danger, we actually see Romana fall over a cliff, seemingly to her death.

Part 1 very definitely has the feeling of a Philip Hinchcliffe episode, it's dark, sinister, mysterious and has the feel of Hammer Horror about it. I'm sure Mary Whitehouse cast a longer lasting look at this one.

10/10 This episode is just perfect.

Review of all 4 episodes:

Continuing the season long arc The Key to Time this 4 part story involves The Doctor. K-9 and Romana arriving in contemporary England to search for the next segment of the key. They encounter archaeological studies of a mysterious ancient circle of standing stones and some weird druids.

The story is like a throwback to the glory days of Seasons 12 to 14 with its horror concepts and atmosphere and scenes such as campers being attacked by rock monsters. For me that is a major plus and I thoroughly enjoy the creepiness, the thrills and the gothic feel. I like the links to Celtic folklore and the fact that it switches to a completely different alien setting towards the end which provides lovely variety.

This era is far more comedic than Seasons 12 to 14 so in amongst the horror and science we get lots of humour. The mix is right and it provides for a wonderful entertainment. Tom Baker puts in another eccentric bravura performance, especially in his trial with alien law enforcers the Megara. It is hilarious.

Mary Tamm continues to be a great companion being witty, intelligent and engaging. K-9 is very involved and is amusing. Professor Rumford is a likable guest character and Susan Engel is very good as Vivien Fay.

There are times the direction and production qualities could have been stronger but the entertainment and content is of a very high standard with interesting, varied concepts and Tom Baker adding his unique magic.

My ratings: All 4 episodes 9.5/10.

"The Stones of Blood" is the third part of the "Key to Time" sequence. After finding the first two segments of the Key on alien planets, the Doctor and Romana now arrive on Earth- in Cornwall, to be precise, near a prehistoric group of standing stones known as the Nine Travellers which are being investigated by two lady archaeologists. The stones have also aroused the interest of a sinister pagan cult, headed by de Vries, the local Lord of the Manor, who believe them to be sacred to their goddess, the Cailleach. The serial has some similarities with the Third Doctor adventure, "The Daemons", which also involved archaeologists investigating prehistoric remains. In both stories the Doctor appears to be menaced by the forces of the paranormal; in both cases the danger is real, although it turns out that the source of that danger is natural rather than supernatural.

The previous serial, "The Pirate Planet", had been written by Douglas Adams, best remembered for his sci-fi spoof "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and contains a lot of his eccentric brand of humour. "The Stones of Blood" was not written by Adams, but is still pretty tongue- in-cheek, even though several members of the cast end up dead. (Sardonic humour seemed to be a feature of the programme in the late seventies). The Doctor even manages to fire off a few wisecracks when the villains are threatening to kill him. The serial's tone can perhaps be gauged by an exchange in the first episode when Vivien, one of the archaeologists, announces "I used to be a Brown Owl". Romana looks taken aback, obviously taking this information literally, but is reassured when the Doctor explains Vivien means a Brownie Guide leader, which makes perfect sense to her. The Girl Guide movement is evidently well established on Gallifrey. (Vivien later proves not to be all she seems; in comparison with her real identity a past as a member of the species Strix aluco would not be all that surprising).

In the third and fourth episodes of this series the setting shifts away from Cornwall to hyperspace, but even here there is plenty of humour, most of it satirical in nature. We are introduced to the Megara, justice machines which administer the law as policeman, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner and, despite their contempt for "mere humanoids", display some very unattractive human characteristics, such as a callously bureaucratic and legalistic mentality.

The serial has two main flaws. The first is that its two halves, one set in Cornwall and the other in a vessel in hyperspace, do not fit together well. They seem like episodes from two quite different Doctor Who adventures, incongruously joined together and united only by the presence of one character. The other is that the principal monsters, the Ogri, seem neither scary nor convincing. (The Ogri are a silicon-based life-form from an alien planet. They look exactly like rocks, enabling them to fit in on Earth by pretending to be part of the Nine Travellers, but are able to move around and kill people).

The serial's strong points are a powerful sense of atmosphere during the first two episodes and some good acting. Tom Baker's style of acting seemed to be an excellent fit for the rather jokey, knowing tone of many serials during this era. (Some of the Doctors- most notably William Hartnell- would not have fitted in at all well). There is also an excellent contribution from Beatrix Lehman as the elderly and eccentric, but good-hearted, Professor Emilia Rumford. This was to be Lehman's last television appearance; she was to die the following year. This is far from being the scariest "Doctor Who" adventure, but if one can overlook the strange disconnect between its two contrasting halves it is often a lot of fun.

A goof. Why would Cornish Druids be worshipping the Cailleach, an Irish/Scottish deity rather than a Welsh/Cornish one? (Although both are regarded as "Celtic", there are many differences between the Gaelic culture, rooted in Ireland and later brought to Scotland by Irish settlers, and the Brythonic culture, rooted in mainland Britain). On the other hand, this "goof" may have been a deliberate one on the part of the scriptwriter to highlight the frequent ignorance of cultists like de Vries of the past they are supposedly trying to revive. This point is also made by the Doctor when he claims that John Aubrey invented Druidism as a joke. Aubrey joins the list of famous persons from history- others include Shakespeare, Nelson and Leonardo da Vinci- whom the Doctor claims to have known personally.

Searching for the third segment of the key to time the Doctor and Romana land in present day Cornwall and find themselves at the megalithic site of some standing stones which hold a dangerous , hidden secret

I can vividly remember the gut wrenching disappointment of watching season 16 on its original broadcast " What happened to the show that terrified me a few years earlier ? " . There was no doubt in my mind it was the show itself that had changed rather than a mendacity in my memories . Hindsight proved me right since the years 1967-77 did show the programme set up nightmarish scenarios of scary monsters against settings on present day Earth or far flung corners of the galaxy . From the Williams era onwards we get camp , silly space opera which is in danger of falling in to total parody

The Stones of Blood sees a brief return to the traditional type of story this fan knows and loves . In many ways its mix of monsters and mythology is similar to the previous season's Image Of The Fendahl but where as Image went out of its way to terrify the audience here the punches are pulled somewhat as if the production team didn't want to get in to any more trouble from concerned parents , but does contain some very effective scenes such as a couple of campers finding ancient stones standing outside their tent . . Such a pity all four episodes didn't concentrate on this and you're left with the nagging feeling that you're watching two stories grafted on to one another in a structure that doesn't really gel which let's the story down somewhat

That said for the 100th story of classic DOCTOR WHO it is fitting that we're treated to a more traditional type of story and despite the numerous flaws we are treated to the occasional spine chilling moment and we get to meet Professor Rumford played well by Beatrix Lehmann one of the more colourful characters from the season but unlike the other larger than life characters seen this year she's a character grounded in reality . It's also interesting that so many of the characters seen in this story are female which is a nice counterpoint to the criticism that classic DOCTOR WHO is a painfully mysoginistic show

Review of the Complete Story:

THE STONES OF BLOOD is a 1978 serial for Tom Baker's Dr Who. It's a middling story from the series, neither particularly bad nor particularly good, more of a filler serial than anything else. The one thing the serial does right is the comedy - there's a surprising amount of it here, with Baker on top wisecracking form - but otherwise it all falls a bit flat.

The story starts off investigating archaeology and standing stones, which are creepily sentient, before veering off into the usual sci-fi melodrama nonsense involving sparkly aliens, extraterrestrial justice, and the like. K9 is on hand to make things a bit more entertaining for the fans, and there's a welcome female-centric aspect to the story, but it all feels a bit, well, pantomime. The effects are very cheap and there's a surprising lack of menace during the cliff-hangers. This is another Key to Time adventure that has very little to do with the wraparound story which seems to have been tacked on as an afterthought.