Doctor Who (TV Series) The Curse of Fenric: Part One (1989) User Reviews

The Best Story Of The McCoy Era

[timdalton007 · 9/10 · 15 November 2008]

(Note: This is a review of all four episodes of the story.)

There is a saying about going out on top. Sylvester McCoy (and indeed Doctor Who itself) found itself coming to an unexpected end in 1989 with some of the original series best stories. Of those the best of them would be The Curse Of Fenric. The result is what I consider to be the second best Doctor Who story ever.

Any good production must have a good cast and this one has one of the best of the series. The performances start with the regulars: Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace. McCoy gives his single best Doctor Who performance in this story as he strikes just the right balance between his more comedic Doctor of season 24 and the more serious Doctor of season 25 and earlier in season 26. Just look at the final episode to see McCoy at his best. Sophie Aldred also gives one of her best performances as Ace. This was the middle story of what has become known to fans as the "Ace Trilogy" (the other two stories being Ghost Light and Survival) due to their heavy focus on Ace and giving Aldred a chance to show off her skills as an actress. Aldred doesn't disappoint with a strong disappointment with a strong performance as the companion who discovers that her past is interlinked with the events unfolding around her. Despite their excellent performances, McCoy and Aldred is just the tip of the cast.

There is also an excellent supporting cast as well. There's Dinsdale Landen as Dr. Judson, the crippled computer scientist who unleashes the title and effectively embodies it. Alfred Lynch gives an excellent performance the obsessive Commander Millington who grows more and more paranoid as the story unfolds. There are also excellent performances from Tomek Bork as Soviet Captain Sorin plus Joann Kenny and Joanne Belll as the two teenagers Jean and Phyllis. Even the smaller roles are filled with good actors and actress like Anne Reid (Nurse Crane), Steven Rimkus (Captain Bates), Janet Henfrey (Mrs. Hardaker) and Raymond Trickett (the Ancient One). The true highlight of the supporting cast is Nicholas Parsons as Reverend Wainwright. Parsons, who apparently is better known in the UK for his more comedic roles and game show hosting, gives one of the best performances of the McCoy era as the priest who lost his faith and pays for it. There is a wonderful scene in the church where he is giving a sermon to an empty church that illustrates this beautifully and gives Parsons his best moment in the story. All together they form one of the show's best casts.

The story also has some strong production values as well. From the outset we get a rather well-done recreation of a WWII era army camp complete with trappings of the era (including a well done 1940's computer). Then there's the Haemovore's: the vampire possible future evolution of humanity brought back to the past. The Haemovore's, especially the Ancient One, are amongst the best monsters ever designed for the show as they are incredibly spooky and convincing. Couple this with the underwater filming and excellent location work and the result is a story that proves that under the right conditions a low budget can be overcome.

Then there's the heart of it all: the script. This is a story with many threads and layers. It is a story about war and faith that explores the nature of evil plus the lengths one must go to fight it. On top of all that there is the obvious horror aspect in the form of the Haemovores. Ian Briggs also manages to tie together stories from the McCoy era (Silver Nemesis, Dragonfire) to explore the background and character of Ace. Above all, this story is a sort of chess game between the Doctor and is ancient enemy named here as Fenric in which all the other characters act as their pawns. This is a story where one must watch to get everything that is going on making this not only a action story but one of the show's most cerebral as well.

The Curse Of Fenric is Doctor Who at its finest or close to it. It is defiantly the best story of the McCoy era at any rate with its strong performances, good production values and a strong script. Believe what you've heard because it is true. The Curse Of Fenric is excellent.

Viking curse and Soviet troops, it's a classic.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 26 February 2020]

The Doctor and Ace arrive at a Wartime base, where Professor Judson is working on a thinking, computing machine. The area is full of talk of a Viking curse, and has a band of Soviet troopers on a mission.

The acting is wonderful, the late Nicholas Parsons is quite wonderful as The Vicar. Dinsdale Landen is superb as Doctor Judson, when he speaks, you listen, he has an incredibly delivery.

The music is glorious, moody and atmospheric, the production values simply cannot be faulted.

For anyone that dismisses the late eighties as the poorest area of the show, I would urge them to watch this one, not just the best of McCoy's efforts, but I would class this as a top ten story in general.

It's a terrific start.

The Curse of Fenric: Part One

[Prismark10 · 8/10 · 18 October 2023]

The Sylvester McCoy's era Doctor Who was known for many lows but it could pull some highs out of the bag as well. An era with not much of a middle ground.

The Curse of Fenric arrived with a lots of subtext. Set in World War 2. It opens with some Soviet soldiers arriving in dinghies at Maiden's Point on the English Northumberland coast.

At the same time the Doctor arrives with Ace at a top secret naval site. He wants to meet Dr Judson who is working on a powerful decoding machine. The kind the Soviets plan to steal.

However there is something lurking beneath the waters. The local cemetery has many descendants of Vikings and a long held belief that something evil was once buried in the crypt.

A very atmospheric first episode with talks of runes, viking folklore and wolves. There is also a hint that Ace's backstory is getting explored again. A baby with the same name as her mother.

You sense this is going to be a special story and this is a strong opening episode. Even Nicholas Parson as Reverend Wainwright. Initially regarded as stunt casting as he was then better known as a game show host is taking this ever so seriously.

This curse is a blessing!

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 4 April 2020]

Review of all 4 episodes:

Highly acclaimed quite rightly, this is up with Remembrance of the Daleks as the two undisputed greats of the McCoy era. The story is more reminiscent of the Hinchcliffe and Holmes era of high quality gothic horror than the camp adventures of McCoy's earlier seasons. It still has some slightly camp aspects but is dark, creepy and powerful. The drama is great, the dialogue is strong and the content is both absorbing and intelligent.

The plot involves a wartime village where Russian soldiers are coming ashore, a code breaking machine is being used to decipher ancient writing and zombies come out of the sea. The layers of depth in the story involving Viking ancestors, Ace's mysterious family background and themes of trust and faith in various beliefs make this a real top standard effort. Writer Ian Briggs and script editor Andrew Cartmel are to be applauded.

The backstory of Ace is a great touch and gives Sophie Aldred a chance to shine as Ace. There are fascinating dark aspects of the Doctor acting in a manipulative way and a scene where he makes Ace lose faith in him by verbally attacking her. It is very effective.

The themes of faith which run through the vicar's faith in God (beautifully played by Nicholas Parsons), the Russian commander's faith in his country and the Doctor's faith in the people and things he trusts as well as Ace's faith in him all are evocative and thoughtful.

The zombies look great and bring about some superb menacing scenes. There are further great characters bringing more great story aspects such as the complex role of Dr. Judson (Dinsdale Landen) and theultra strict busybody Miss Hardaker and the evacuee girls in her care.

This is a brilliant classic.

My ratings: All 4 episodes - 10/10.

The George Lazenby of the Series

[JamesHitchcock · 11 October 2014]

During my childhood and teenage years, and even during my time at university, I was an avid fan of "Doctor Who", but my enthusiasm for the series began to wane in the late eighties, by which time I was in my twenties. Part of the reason was the decision to move the programme from Saturday to a Wednesday timeslot, as work commitments meant that I could not always get home in time to watch it. This difficulty could no doubt have been overcome by the purchase of a video recorder, but another reason was that I disliked Sylvester McCoy's interpretation of the role. I therefore gave up watching, and when the BBC cancelled the series at the end of the 26th season I greeted their decision with indifference rather than the fury which would have been my reaction a few years earlier.

"The Curse of Fenric" was one of a number of serials which I missed because of my anti-McCoy boycott of the programme, and I had never seen it until it was recently broadcast on the "Horror" channel. It was the penultimate serial in that fateful 26th season; the very last "classic" Doctor Who adventure was the ironically inappropriately named "Survival".

The Doctor and his companion Ace arrive at a British military base in Northumberland during World War II. The base, he main purpose of which is to intercept and decipher German coded messages, is loosely based upon the real-life Bletchley Park, but whereas Bletchley had a vast team of cryptanalysts, all the work at this installation seems to be done by only two men with the aid of a computer. Trying to explain the plot in any more detail would be a vain endeavour. Suffice it to say that it involves Viking inscriptions, a group of Russian soldiers who are carrying out an invasion of Britain despite the fact that they were supposed to be our allies at the time, an insane British naval officer who seems far madder than any Nazi, a wheelchair-bound professor, an unbelieving parson, poison gas, a race of aquatic vampires known as Haemovores, an Oriental vase, a baby, a game of chess and some revelations about Ace's family background. Have you got all that?

Despite the wartime setting the villains are not the Nazis, who are conspicuous by their absence. Behind the mayhem which engulfs the base and the surrounding area is a being called Fenric, who, like The Mara which featured in some earlier episodes, is a disembodied evil entity from the dawn of time. Just as The Mara was derived from Hindu/Buddhist mythology, so Fenric is loosely based upon Norse myths; the name is derived from Fenrir, the monstrous wolf which fought against the Norse gods. (The original title for the serial was "The Wolves of Fenric").

Unfortunately, there is little in "The Curse of Fenric" to alter my view that McCoy was the George Lazenby of the series. I think that the problem was that he was originally a comic actor who tried to play the Doctor as a clown. When this proved unpopular with both the producers and the viewing public, the scriptwriters tried to make his character darker- the Seventh Doctor is for this reason sometimes referred to as the "dark clown"- but McCoy never really seemed able to convey this. I was never a great admirer, either, of Sophie Aldred's Ace, a surly, bolshie young woman who seemed to have a perpetual chip on her shoulder. Aldred also struck me as a rather wooden actress.

The acting is not, however, the only reason why I regard this serial as a failure. As might be apparent from my above list of all the many plot elements, the story is unnecessarily complex, difficult to follow and does not make a lot of sense. "The Curse of Fenric" is, unfortunately, not the only below-par adventure from the late eighties and while watching it I could easily understand just why the BBC executives decided not to bring "Doctor Who" back for a twenty-seventh season.

Some Goofs. Officers in the Royal Navy (unlike the Army and RAF) are required either to be clean-shaven or to wear a full beard. A moustache like Commander Millington's would not be permitted. Whoever came up with the name "haemovore" seems to have got his Greek confused with his Latin. The Greek form of "blood-eater" would be "haematophage" and the Latin "sanguivore".

McCoy is the doctor, and he's in trouble

[didi-5 · 7/10 · 22 May 2009]

Doctor Who was coming to the end of its original long run in 1989, and Sylvester McCoy would be the last to play the Time Lord for some time. Stories from the last series would be a little patchy, but this one - perhaps because of its supporting cast (Nicholas Parsons, Alfred Lynch, Dinsdale Landen, Anne Reid) - doesn't disappoint.

There are aliens, a war plot, a fiendish chess game, a computer encryptor, a priest who has lost faith in God, and - a common theme in the series - men in the armed forces who may not be all they seem. This story has a reputation of being one of the best, and it is certainly clever and slightly scary. McCoy himself was a good Doctor, giving the character a bit of vulnerability and charm alongside the eccentricity, while Sophie Aldred as Ace was a good sidekick.

Comparing 'The Curse of Fenric' with some more recent stories from the new era is interesting as it comes out rather well; and perhaps that bit more convincing.

Creepy!

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 8 January 2022]

Review of complete serial:

I always like to keep my hand in with classic DR WHO episodes so last night I checked in on THE CURSE OF FENRIC, one of the last of the Sylvester McCoy adventures. This one's quite the story, set during WW2, where a group of Polish soldiers turn up only to contend with an ancient Viking curse which sees the local town invaded by grisly vampire-style creations! A good supporting cast includes old-timers like Dinsdale Landen, Nicholas Parsons and Alfred Lynch, and the careful set-up of the first two episodes gives way to Romero-style full-blown invasion action in the last two. The design of the 'ancient one' (shades of Lovecraft) is particularly impressive and I did think the watery creatures looked decent overall. A bit cheesy and dated at times, unsurprising given the budget, but overall this is one of McCoy's best adventures.

Rather dull opening episode.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 27 July 2008]

Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric: Part One is set towards the the end of World War II & starts as the TARDIS materialises on a secret British Naval base off the coast of Northumberland near Whitby in Yorkshire. The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) & Ace (Sophie Aldred) head straight for wheelchair bound scientist Dr. Judson (Dinsdale Landen) who has invented the Ultima Machine, a device used to break complex German codes. While there the Doctor notices that everyone seems preoccupied with local Viking legends, or more specifically The Curse of Fenric. Sensing something is wrong the Doctor decides to try & get to the bottom of the mystery...

Episode 8 from season 26 this originally aired here in the UK during October 1989, The Curse of Fenric has the distinction of so far (until Battlefield (1989) is released on DVD anyway) of being the only Doctor Who serial available in three different versions. First there is the originally transmitted four part version which is what I am basing my comments on & can be found on the DVD, a second version was put together for it's initial 1991 VHS release which still retained the four episode format but reinstated several deleted scenes in various episodes to increase the overall running time by around six minutes & then in 2003 for it's DVD release a third 'movie' style version was put together without any cliffhangers or breaks, added CGI special effects & even more deleted footage was edited back in increasing the running by twelve minutes over the original broadcast version & significantly longer than the previous 'extended' cut. The script was originally called The Wolves of Fenric & as far as Doctor Who opening episodes go this is actually really rather dull, not that much happens & there's a distinct lack of interest or excitement as far as I was concerned. I always thought the opening episode to a serial should really grab you & draw you into the story but here I found myself becoming quite bored with it if I am honest. The other thing that stood out for me in this episode is why on Earth is a top Government scientist like Dr. Judson doing working on ancient Nordic curses when he has enough to do trying to help us win the bloody war! I think all of his efforts should be going towards his Ultima Machine & decoding the German codes rather than spend time on amateur archaeology!

The Curse of Fenric has possibly the worst looking subtitles I have ever seen, ever. They look like they were created on some late 70's Spectrum & the letters have this basic horrible jagged edge that just looks so cheap. There's nothing in the way of special effects in this episode, there's a monsters 'claw' & a couple of dead Russian soldiers but otherwise there's little here to get excited about. Having said that the location work & period World War II production design is nice enough but then us Brits have always been great at convincing period pieces, certainly better than Sci-Fi. The Fenric of the title was actually based on the real Norse legend Fenrir, the son of a Norse God, who was a Wolf which is where the original title The Wolf of Fenric came from. Meanwhile the Ultima Machine was obviously influenced by the real life Enigma Machine which was a device used to decode message during war time. There's a little homage to Jaws (1975) in this episode while there are some terrible Russian accents which seem to come & go at random. Also during the war road signs such as the great big Maidens' Point one were actually taken down to stop & confuse any potential enemy invasion so that sign wouldn't have been there.

The Curse of Fenric: Part One is an episode that I don't actually have much love for, nothing that great happens & the seventh Doctor & the annoying Ace aren't one of my favourite Doctor companion partnerships which doesn't help. A strangely very empty & forgettable episode.