The Meddlers – Part 1

Ace Of WandsTarot visits a run-down street market, learning that unlucky accidents have been befalling the merchants there – a grocer whose goods go rotten, a bookseller whose cart catches on fire, and so on. A trio of wandering street musicians draw Tarot’s attention as well, particularly the somewhat threatening attitude of their spoon player. Tarot meets a photographer named Chas and his sister Mikki, discovering that he has a psychic link to Mikki similar to that which he once shared with Luli. Realizing that the stakes are becoming deadly, Tarot decides to stay and help revitalize that market, only to discover that someone doesn’t want his help…and intends to send that message forcefully.

written by P.J. Hammond
directed by John Russell
music by Andrew Bown

Ace Of WandsCast: Michael Mackenzie (Tarot), Petra Markham (Mikki), Roy Holder (Chas), Michael Standing (Spoon), Barry Linehan (Mockers), Paul Dawkins (Dove), Stefan Kalipha (Drum), Honora Burke (Madge), Neil Linden (Accordion Player)

Notes: This is the premiere of Ace Of Wands’ third season, the only season of the show left intact by ITV’s policy of erasing and reusing then-expensive videotape in the 1970s. While Doctor Who fans may feel Ace Of Wandsunlucky that so many 1960s episodes of that series are missing, Ace Of Wands was produced much more recently, and none of its first two seasons’ episodes now exist in the archives. Involving a crime-solving stage magician with mystic powers and ESP, the series introduced new characters in this episode, replacing the departed Roy (Tony Selby) and Luli (Judy Loe), who had been Tarot’s accomplices in the first two years of the show.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Meddlers – Part 2

Ace Of WandsTarot narrowly avoids serious injury, and recognizes the runaway horse for the warning that it represents…but this only makes him more determined to find out what’s happening to the street merchants. Tarot’s car has also been moved without his knowledge, but Chas is able to find it thanks to his local knowledge, and retrieves Tarot’s owl, Ozymandias, from the car. Tarot and Mikki talk to one of the merchants who is packing out her store, but as soon as the woman mentions that her stall space has been bought out by a Mr. Dove, the street musicians appear yet again, again with violence in mind for Tarot.

written by P.J. Hammond
directed by John Russell
music by Andrew Bown

Ace Of WandsCast: Michael Mackenzie (Tarot), Petra Markham (Mikki), Roy Holder (Chas), Michael Standing (Spoon), Barry Linehan (Mockers), Honora Burke (Madge), Paul Dawkins (Dove), Norma West (Chauffeuse), Stefan Kalipha (Drum), Neil Linden (Accordion Player), and Fred Owl (Ozymandias)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

The Meddlers – Part 3

Ace Of WandsTarot and Mikki notice that Chas hasn’t returned home, and begin looking for him. Along the way, Tarot pays a visit to Mr. Dove, trying to size up the man who is buying the street merchants out of their stall spaces, and trying to figure out why. In the meantime, Chas has found Mr. Dove’s competition, a discovery that puts him in danger until Tarot and Mikki find and free him. The fight to empty the street market centers around a literal buried treasure – but if Tarot is right, it’s not worth any of the trouble.

written by P.J. Hammond
directed by John Russell
music by Andrew Bown

Ace Of WandsCast: Michael Mackenzie (Tarot), Roy Holder (Chas), Petra Markham (Mikki), Michael Standing (Spoon), Barry Linehan (Mockers), Paul Dawkins (Dove), Norma West (Chauffeuse), Stefan Kalipha (Drum), Neil Linden (Accordion Player), and Fred Owl (Ozymandias)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Peacock Pie – Part 1

Ace Of WandsMikki bumps into an ordinary-looking man after nearly being knocked to the ground by armed security guards at a bank. The man tells her that she needs a holiday, and in her mind Mikki sees a remote seaside location. When she next sees Tarot and Chas, Mikki announces that she needs a holiday, a declaration that surprises them. She also describes, briefly, her encounter with the nondescript man, as well as the mental image she picked up from him, which worries Tarot. When they learn the next day that the very bank Mikki visited has been robbed of £40,000, Tarot becomes more convinced that the man she met is involved, and the three set out to investigate. But Mr. Peacock doesn’t want to be investigated, nor does he want to be bothered – and he can overcome even Tarot’s mind to ensure that he’s left alone.

written by P.J. Hammond
directed by John Russell
music by Andrew Bown

Cast: Michael MacKenzie (Tarot), Roy Holder (Chas), Petra Ace Of WandsMarkham (Mikki), Brian Wilde (Mr. Peacock), Dorothy Frere (Mrs. MacFadyean), Jenny McCracken (young Mrs. MacFadyean), and Fred Owl (Ozymandias)

Notes: Chas mentions that Mikki “just has a holiday in Egypt”, a reference to the events of the previous four-part story, The Power Of Atep. A fixture on British TV since the early 1950s, Brian Wilde (1927-2008) has guest starred on such genre fare as The Avengers, Out Of The Unknown, and an episode of Doomwatch that ultimately went unbroadcast; he’s probably best known for playing Foggy in Last Of The Summer Wine. Peter “P.J.” Hammond counts Ace Of Wandsthe (sadly now lost) 1971 Ace Of Wands three-parter Joker as one of his early screenwriting credits; he would also write the script for the series’ final story before resume a “guest writer” career that included the likes of Z Cars, Couples, The Sweeny, Dixon Of Dock Green, Eastenders, Space Island One and Torchwood; he submitted several story outlines (and even some scripts) for the 23rd season of Doctor Who, all of which were left on the cutting room floor (and, later, in the recording studios of audio drama makers Big Finish Productions) when that season was delayed and reworked from the ground up, resulting in The Trial Of A Time Lord. Hammond may be best known for his own creation, the 1979-82 ITV series Sapphire & Steel.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

From Out Of The Rain

TorchwoodOne of Cardiff’s oldest movie houses reopens its doors and celebrates by showing reels of nostalgic silent film discovered in the basement. Gwen, Ianto and Owen visit the first showing, but when the projector won’t shut off – and they see Jack in the film, billed as “the man who can’t die” at a traveling carnival and shooting himself – the silent movie quickly becomes a Torchwood matter. Soon after the film is shown, people begin turning up in a catatonic state near the theater, no longer breathing but still alive. One of the film reels is confiscated and taken back to the Torchwood hub, where Ianto notices that there are people missing from scenes – namely the carnival barker and his main attraction, the mermaid woman. But when the team returns to the theater, they find that not only are these two people there in the flesh, but they’re helping the rest of their carnival emerge from film and into reality – to help them claim more victims.

Order the DVDsDownload this episodewritten by P.J. Hammond
directed by Jonathan Fox Bassett
music by Ben Foster

Guest Cast: Julian Bleach (The Ghostmaker), Camilla Power (Pearl), Craig Gallivan (Jonathan), Gerard Carey (Greg), Steven Marzella (Dave Penn), Hazel Wyn Williams (Faith Penn), Lowri Sian Jones (Nettie), Eileen Essell (Christina), Anwen Carlisle (Restaurant Owner), Yasmin Wilde (Senior Nurse), Caroline Sheen (A&E Nurse), Alastair Sill (Young Dad), Catherine Olding (Young Mum)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Paradise 5

Doctor WhoAfter discovering that an old friend has mysteriously vanished, the Doctor is determined to track him down to an overhyped pleasure cruise, overseen by two men named Michael and Gabriel. Peri is pressed into service as a hostess on the cruise, while the Doctor, trying not to draw attention for once, tags along as a passenger. They both meet almost-must, infant-like creatures called Cherubs, one of whom gives the Doctor a warning: “Beware of the Elohim.” The Doctor is now more certain than ever that his old friend is in trouble, just as the space cruise ship’s officers are certain that their colorful new passenger spells trouble for them.

Order this CDwritten by P.J. Hammond & Andy Lane
directed by Barnaby Edwards
music by Simon Robinson

Cast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Alex Macqueen (Gabriel), James D’Arcy (Michael), Helen Goldwyn (Stella / Bella), Andree Bernard (Lorelei), Teddy Kempner (Mr. Gelter / Mr. Bliss / Elohim voice), Claire Wyatt (Ms. Aht), Richard Earl (Mr. Tapp / Mr. Winterbourne)

Notes: P.J. Hammond is the creator of the cult classic fantasy series Sapphire & Steel, which intermittently presented Doctor Who with serious competition in the area of messing with timelines and established history. Hammond later went on to pen episodes of Torchwood (Small Worlds, From Out Of The Rain), but this was his first and only attempt to write for Doctor Who. The scripts for Paradise 5 were rejected, with some accounts claiming that John Nathan-Turner was particularly uncomfortable with the story. Paradise 5 was originally conceived as one of the segments of The Trial Of A Time Lord, possibly the first one to feature Melanie, and as the series was already an endangered species following its 18-month hiatus, JN-T may have felt that generating controversy via the use of Judeo-Christian imagery was an unnecessary risk.

Timeline: after The Hollows Of Time and before Point Of Entry

LogBook entry and TheatEar review by Earl Green