The Mutants

I've never seen this Pertwee story (that won't stop me from ordering it along with the TV Movie ). I was just wondering, for those who have seen it, what your opinions are?

I find most people rank it pretty low, but I enjoy it. It is Pertwee, after all. It does tend to move a little slowly. Definitely not the best but a fun mediocre story.

rdks wrote:

I find most people rank it pretty low, but I enjoy it. It is Pertwee, after all. It does tend to move a little slowly. Definitely not the best but a fun mediocre story.

Cool - thanks!

This is one I'm wanting to see. I have read it is "underrated" somewhat. It sure sounds like a mediocre one, but sometimes those can be very entertaining!

I just realized I haven't watched it in ages! I'm gonna go watch it now and give you a proper opinion, but I'll probably say "it was awesome because it had Pertwee in it".

rdks wrote:

"it was awesome because it had Pertwee in it".

rdks and I share the same brain, apparently...

SeaDevil wrote:

rdks wrote:

"it was awesome because it had Pertwee in it".

rdks and I share the same brain, apparently...

I agree. Pertwee is, by far, my favorite.

Indeed I agree, sir! I've said on many occasions that a weaker Pertwee story is still better than a few Doctor's entire repertoire.

rdks wrote:

I find most people rank it pretty low, but I enjoy it. It is Pertwee, after all. It does tend to move a little slowly. Definitely not the best but a fun mediocre story.

I'd go along with that.

The plus to me for Mutants was Prof. Sondergaard. I really liked his character.

I really enjoy Pertwee, but if this was one of the missing stories it wouldnt be a bad thing. The sets are really cheap, think The Tomorrow People, the acting is really over the top, and if they hacked it from six to three, yes THREE episodes they wouldnt lose a thing! The only redeeming factor are the mutts.

Agreed, Angel. John Hollis is always good. Also loved Paul Whitsun-Jones as the Marshall. Pity Geoffrey Palmer wasn't in it more as he is always quality, too.

SeaDevil wrote:

....a weaker Pertwee story is still better than a few Doctor's entire repertoire.

So true, especially after this past year...

Didn't some people say that the Time Monster was a weak story? I watched it for the first time when I purchased the DVD - a little slow, but I still enjoyed it. I'm sure I will like The Mutants as well. I mean, c'mon, it HAS to be better than Time and the Rani right?

I am on episode three right now, and I can honestly say, most of what has happened so far could have been condensed into one episode.

If you survived The Time Monster, you'll definitely enjoy The Mutants. I'm watching it right now, just finishing episode 2, and I'm having a blast. I remembered the basic plot but forgot a lot of the little things. The music is a little irritating though.

Whoosier Whovian wrote:

I am on episode three right now, and I can honestly say, most of what has happened so far could have been condensed into one episode.

Wow - this is a six parter correct? Sounds like a case of 'padding' in order to fulfill the entire six episode story. No worries though, looking forward to watching it regardless. I'm glad to see that there are more Pertwee stories coming out this year. Even though this is the only one that I haven't seen from the planned releases for 2011, it's been a long time since I've seen the others.

If they had hacked off two episodes from The Mutants, and two episodes from The Time Monster, not only could we have had another story, but these two stories would have been much improved by taking out all the padding.

Whoosier Whovian wrote:

I am on episode three right now, and I can honestly say, most of what has happened so far could have been condensed into one episode.

Yes, but you could also make that argument with Frontier in Space, Colony in Space, The Armageddon Factor, or just about any other 6-parter.

The Green Death comes to mind as one that could have been 4 parts

Wow, I just finished watching the Mutants this morning. As with any classic, I broke it up into 2 sittings, they work better that way. I is not my favorite Pertwee. But it has a moral to the story, critical of colonialism. As for the sets, I find it odd that the modern series likes to go find a warehouse or factory and redress it for anything. And there are hardly any futuristic costumes designed. Something that the "low budget, cheap looking" classic series did every week. And the Mutts are effective aliens, just not sure how well they work as part of this story.

rdks wrote:

Whoosier Whovian wrote:

I am on episode three right now, and I can honestly say, most of what has happened so far could have been condensed into one episode.

Yes, but you could also make that argument with Frontier in Space, Colony in Space, The Armageddon Factor, or just about any other 6-parter.

I wish they had tried more 5 part episodes. That would have stretched the budget, and tightened up the stories a lot better.

Just read 2 interesting tidbits on The Mutants wikipedia page -

"This serial is mentioned in Salman Rushdie's controversial novel The Satanic Verses, where it is criticized for alleged racist attitudes. Writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin, as well as producer Barry Letts, actually intended for the story to have an anti-racist message."

and

"So powerful was this story's condemnation of the policy of Apartheid in South Africa, many polytechnic student unions renamed buildings "Bob Baker and Dave Martin House", in honour of its writing team."

neat-o.

rdks wrote:

"This serial is mentioned in Salman Rushdie's controversial novel The Satanic Verses, where it is criticized for alleged racist attitudes. Writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin, as well as producer Barry Letts, actually intended for the story to have an anti-racist message."

What content in it can be called racist or anti-racist?

After reading into the subject, it appears wikipedia was wrong (or, I should say, the person who placed that paragraph on wikipedia was wrong).

For more information regarding this, read this article.