"Doctor Who" Paradise Towers: Part 1 (1987)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Nicholas Mallett

Writer:

Stephen Wyatt (writer)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (1963)

Original Air Date:

5 October 1987 (Season 24, Episode 5)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor and Mel visits Paradise Towers, a apartment complex in the 21st century. Only to find the...

Plot Keywords:

Space Hero | Man With No Name | Scientist Hero | Multiple Actors For One Character | Extraterrestrial Hero

Cast

Sylvester McCoy	...	The Doctor
Bonnie Langford	...	Melanie Bush
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Brennon	...	Fire Escape
Richard Briers	...	Chief Caretaker
Brenda Bruce	...	Tilda
Howard Cooke	...	Pex
Catherine Cusack	...	Blue Kang Leader
Clive Merrison	...	Deputy Chief Caretaker
Astra Sheridan	...	Yellow Kang
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Tabby
Joseph Young	...	Young Caretaker
Annabel Yuresha	...	Bin Liner
Nisha Nayar	...	Red Kang (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Mallett

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Stephen Wyatt		writer

Produced by
John Nathan-Turner	....	producer

Sound Department
Dick Mills	....	special sound

Other crew
Andrew Cartmel	....	script editor

Writing credits
Sydney Newman		(creator) uncredited

Produced by
Peter Bryant	....	associate producer (1966)

Film Editing by
John Dunstan
Glenn Hyde
Ian McKendrick
Dan Rae
Sheila S. Tomlinson

Production Design by
David Buckingham
Roger Cann
Bob Cove		(1970s)
Nigel Curzon
Don Giles
Victor Meredith
Geoff Powell
Anne Ridley
Stephen Scott
Rochelle Selwyn
Michael Trevor

Costume Design by
James Acheson		(1973-1976)
Anushia Nieradzik
Dee Robson

Makeup Department
Dorka Nieradzik	....	makeup designer (1982, 1984-1988)

Art Department
Peter Brachaki	....	production designer: TARDIS interior

Sound Department
John Tellick	....	sound

Special Effects by
Mat Irvine	....	special effects (1970s-1980s)
Ian Scoones	....	special effects (1960s-1980s)
Ron Thornton	....	special effects (1980s)
Bernard Wilkie	....	special effects (1960s-1970s)

Visual Effects by
Mitch Mitchell	....	special video effects (1960's-1970's) (as A. J. Mitchell)
Oliver Elmes	....	title sequence designer (1987-1989) (uncredited)
Bernard Lodge	....	title sequence designer (1963-1979) (uncredited 1963-1969)
Sid Sutton	....	title sequence designer (1980-1986) (uncredited)

Stunts
Alan Chuntz	....	stunts (1960's-1970's)
Peter Diamond	....	stunts (1960s)
Max Faulkner	....	stunts (1960's-1970's)
Stuart Fell	....	stunts (1970s-1980s)
Alf Joint	....	stunts (1960s-1980s)
Derek Martin	....	stunts (1960s-1970s)
Roy Scammell	....	stunts (1960s-1980s)
Lee Sheward	....	stunt coordinator
Terry Walsh	....	stunts (1960s-1970s)
Derek Ware	....	stunts (1960s-1970s)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stewart A. Farnell	....	camera operator (1 episode)
Peter Hamilton	....	camera operator (12 episodes)
Alan Jonas	....	camera operator (6 episodes)
Reg Poulter	....	senior camera operator
Robert Sleigh	....	camera operator (pilot episode)
Ken Westbury	....	camera operator (4 episodes)

Music Department
Mark Ayres	....	composer: incidental music (1988-1989)
Carey Blyton	....	composer: incidental music (1970-1973)
Paddy Kingsland	....	composer: incidental music (1980-1985)
Keff McCulloch	....	composer: incidental music (1987-1989)
Humphrey Searle	....	composer: incidental music (1965)
Dudley Simpson	....	composer: incidental music (1964-1980)

Other crew
Christopher Baker	....	production assistant
Ali Bongo	....	magic advisor
Terry Brett	....	technical manager
Kenneth J. Bussanmas	....	creative consultant (1979-1985)
Patricia Greenland	....	production assistant
Jeremy Hare	....	assistant floor manager (three episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Elmswell House, Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Trivia:

Clive Merrison replaced Edward Hardwicke

Quotes:

Chief Caretaker: Attention all robotic cleaners. Attention all robotic cleaners. At last Kroagnon can leave the basement prison they trapped his bodiless brain in. And return in this borrowed body to the corridors and lifts of his own creation. They buried me away because I wanted to stop them using the Tower. And now you and I will destroy them.

Silly Doctor Who story.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Doctor Who: Paradise Towers: Part 1 starts as the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) & his companion Mel (Bonnie Langford) in the TARDIS heading towards a holiday complex known as Paradise Towers with Mel particularly looking forward to relaxing in it's swimming pool. However once they get there & step outside the TARDIS they find Paradise Towers in a terrible state, graffiti covering the walls, rubbish lying everywhere & the whole place in a state of decay. They meet up with a gang called the 'Red Kangs' who explain that there is another gang called the 'Blue Kangs' & a bunch of caretakers who try to catch them & repair the damage that they cause, they are then ambushed by the caretakers who managed to capture the Doctor & take him to their leader (Riuchard Briers) who orders his death...

This Doctor Who adventure was episode 5 from season 24 that aired here in the UK during late 1987 & was Sylvester McCoy's second story as the Doctor, directed by Nicholas Mallett I struggling to think of anything positive to say about Paradise Towers. The script by Stephen Wyatt is obviously basing it's premise around the breakdown of society & close knit inner city living, I suppose as a serious piece of work this could have been pretty effective unfortunately as a Doctor Who story it's all rather silly, the character's are moronic especially the caretakers who when they salute their leader they put their outstretched hands under their noses & do their best to impersonate Hitler which when you consider their leader is a Hitler lookalike complete with slug like moustache this comes across as utterly ridiculous, bordering on the offensive & I deify anyone to take it seriously. Mel is annoying as ever in this one, the Kang's speak in a very strange way in a sort of mixed up broken English with annoying words like 'unalive' instead of dead & 'carrydor' instead of corridor thrown in their dialogue. Paradise Towers has a certain campy fun to it but it's maybe a bit too silly & the production values aren't great & hurt the overall story.

The tight BBC budget really show's here, the sets are basic & feel very flimsy while a supposedly futuristic apartment ends up looking like something from from the 80's, in fact the whole episode looks very camp & dated. Doctor Who as a series must have some sort of fascination with Hitler & the Nazi's because every time it needs a repressive & evil organisation or group it seems to base them on them.

Paradise Towers is probably trying to say something about social breakdown but I just don't think it works that well & as a Doctor Who story so far it's been no great shakes.