The most interesting thing about today's new story is only tangentially and coincidentally related to the story itself. Horror of Fang Rock first aired in the fall of 1977, but it was ten years later that the infamous Max Headroom incident took place. Late one night in 1987 the Chicago station WTTW was broadcasting the first episode of Fang Rock when their signal was hijacked by an unknown person dressed like (the recently cancelled) Max Headroom, who proceeded to rant about several different topics and behave just generally weirdly. The signal ended with him dropping trou while an accomplice spanked his bare buttocks with a flyswatter. The entire thing lasted for about a minute and a half before the normal signal resumed. The culprit was never found or prosecuted. Max would be proud. You should watch this clip, it is gloriously weird.

Anyway, let's talk about the actual story.

Horror of Fang Rock - Parts 1 & 2

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

Although Fang Rock is a Terrance Dicks story, it has Robert Holmes fingerprints all over it. The story is set at the turn of the 20th century on a foggy night on the titular island of Fang Rock, home to a lonely lighthouse. Staffed by only three men, the youngest sees a bright light crash into the sea just as night falls. Not long after, a dense fog rolls in and one of the men dies mysteriously in the generator room at the base of the lighthouse. The Doctor and Leela arrive shortly thereafter, and the mystery begins in earnest. Clearly something alien crashed into the sea, and is now prowling the island and hunting humans.

The first episode ends with a foolhardy ship daring the fog and ending up dashed on the rocks of the island. In the second episode we meet the four survivors, which consist of sailor, a politician, a thoroughly unlikeable rich a-hole, and his secretary. By this point Leela has seen the glowing green alien beast from afar, but the Doctor still hasn't identified it. He only knows for certain that whatever is out there is intelligent and cunning, and they are all in deadly danger.

There is a great scene where the Doctor explains to Leela just how much danger they are in, and she immediately tells him not to be afraid. It takes him several moments to fully realize that his traveling companion has flipped the tables on him and treated him like the frightened assistant. When he calls her on it, she  merely smiles as if to confirm that she knew exactly how she was baiting him.

This is yet another strong story in the classic era, thoroughly enjoyable and filled with dark and moody sets and characters. It's a shame that I already know what the big reveal is for tomorrow's viewing, but even so I can hardly wait to get there.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Fourth
Companion(s): Leela
Episode(s): The Horror of Fang Rock - Parts 1 & 2
Steps Walked: 7,233 today, 1,562,033 total
Distance Walked: 3.73 miles today, 778.61 miles total
Weight: 258.30 lbs (five day moving average), net change -49.00 lbs