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There's something odd going on down the pit... something that's
turning the miners green. Pretty soon it's clear that Global
Chemicals, a particularly aggressive multinational petrochemicals
conglomerate, is involved in some way but it's not until the
giant maggots start appearing that the scale of the problem
becomes obvious...
The
Green Death is Doctor Who's most blatant soap box
preaching. Pollution, the transnationalisation of investment
capital and the brutal pursuit of profit are pitted against
'alternative' culture in a race for the future of our planet
- and it's all rather well done as you end up siding with
a bunch of infuriatingly worthy, flute-blowing hippies who
in most respects are as scary as any chemicals spill. In fact,
the script has probably improved with age as the matters it
addresses are as pertinent as ever but now better understood
which adds a further dimension to the unfolding action. Let's
just hope that hippies aren't really our saviours as I for
one don't fancy a world where we all knit our own yoghurt.
On the downside is the central cast. By this stage in his
tenure Pertwee's Doctor is as likely to mug at the camera
as he is to look scared, The Brig has become a rather woolly
figure - a far cry from the hard military man he's supposed
to be - and Jo Grant's endless twittering and bug-eyed reactions
to anything even remotely dangerous are simply infuriating.
At the very time the show's trying its hardest to be intelligent
the regulars resort to some rather flat 'by the numbers' performances.
Pity that...
The
disc, however, is of the highest quality. Once again the programme
has never looked or sounded better. Cleaned and polished to
a deep lustre, it is now possible to watch The Green Death
in a better state than when it was first transmitted, although
no amount of technical jiggery pockery can disguise some pretty
dreadful back projection work - a hallmark of Doctor Who
around this time. And as for the giant fly... the less
said the better. However, the on-screen production notes are
once again excellent, the photo gallery is possibly the best
yet, the commentary is okay-ish and the 'build your own maggot'
featurette is just dandy as is the interview with writer Robert
Sloman.
The
final verdict? A very good script, some entirely average central
performances, a bunch of dodgy special effects and a lot of
people pretending to be Welsh 'look you' all add up to a flawed
but enjoyable story that still manages to rise to the occasion
despite itself.
In
short, another worthwhile addition to your Doctor Who DVD
collection.
Anthony Clark
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