This story begins with a confusing plot, with several characters and events unfolding at the same time, but a creepy setting and atmosphere. While the atmosphere remains creepy, the story doesn't turn any less confusing, rather the opposite. While the haunted house concept id great the plot itself twists and turns and doesn't quite seem to know what it's end-goal is. Marc Platt's original script was reportedly different, with better explanations for the events, but these were later cut from the finished script, resulting in somewhat of a mess. It's almost impossible to understand who these characters are or what the plot is trying to tell us.
Considering that the actors have no idea what they're doing, all of them put in pretty good performances. Sylvester McCoy seems to enjoy himself greatly, and Sophie Aldred is allowed to put on a slightly darker performance. This is probably the best performance for both of them, at least for Aldred.
The Doctor is at his darkest and most manipulative here, taking Ace back to her past just to see what is going on. He is fierce and even creepy at times, but he's brilliant.
It's interesting to see a story, which has ties to Ace's past. It puts her into a unique position within the story. She is haunted by her past, yet she understands what she needs to do.
I don't know who the villain here is supposed to be, but since everything within the house seems hostile towards the Doctor and Ace, I guess it's the house itself. And that's a pretty scary and horrifying place to be in.
A strength in this story is the production. The sets, the music and the visual effects all help make this feel like a haunted house story. It's all dark and creepy and the directing also works despite a confused director.
The pace is pretty even, but the story can feel like a drag if you can't get past the fact that the story makes no sense.
The atmosphere is dark and creepy from the very beginning and it stays so throughout. The atmosphere helps make this serial feel enjoyable, despite the messy plot. The incidental music and performances also help to strengthen the atmosphere.
Ghost Light showed the capabilities of a haunted house story within Doctor Who, while unfortunately also proving that bad script editing can sink a potentially great script.
I like the atmosphere, the Doctor and most of the actors, but the story makes little sense so I don't know if I would be able to rewatch this in the future.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Sylvester McCoy has called this his favourite serial, despite not having any idea of what it is about. Most actors and the director were equally confused during production.
This was the last story produced during Doctor Who's original run, despite not being the last one broadcast.
Marc Platt later returned to the world of Doctor Who, writing Loups-Garoux (2001) for Big Finish.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-15T09:08:19Z
This story begins with a confusing plot, with several characters and events unfolding at the same time, but a creepy setting and atmosphere. While the atmosphere remains creepy, the story doesn't turn any less confusing, rather the opposite. While the haunted house concept id great the plot itself twists and turns and doesn't quite seem to know what it's end-goal is. Marc Platt's original script was reportedly different, with better explanations for the events, but these were later cut from the finished script, resulting in somewhat of a mess. It's almost impossible to understand who these characters are or what the plot is trying to tell us.
Considering that the actors have no idea what they're doing, all of them put in pretty good performances. Sylvester McCoy seems to enjoy himself greatly, and Sophie Aldred is allowed to put on a slightly darker performance. This is probably the best performance for both of them, at least for Aldred.
The Doctor is at his darkest and most manipulative here, taking Ace back to her past just to see what is going on. He is fierce and even creepy at times, but he's brilliant.
It's interesting to see a story, which has ties to Ace's past. It puts her into a unique position within the story. She is haunted by her past, yet she understands what she needs to do.
I don't know who the villain here is supposed to be, but since everything within the house seems hostile towards the Doctor and Ace, I guess it's the house itself. And that's a pretty scary and horrifying place to be in.
A strength in this story is the production. The sets, the music and the visual effects all help make this feel like a haunted house story. It's all dark and creepy and the directing also works despite a confused director.
The pace is pretty even, but the story can feel like a drag if you can't get past the fact that the story makes no sense.
The atmosphere is dark and creepy from the very beginning and it stays so throughout. The atmosphere helps make this serial feel enjoyable, despite the messy plot. The incidental music and performances also help to strengthen the atmosphere.
Ghost Light showed the capabilities of a haunted house story within Doctor Who, while unfortunately also proving that bad script editing can sink a potentially great script.
I like the atmosphere, the Doctor and most of the actors, but the story makes little sense so I don't know if I would be able to rewatch this in the future.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Sylvester McCoy has called this his favourite serial, despite not having any idea of what it is about. Most actors and the director were equally confused during production.
This was the last story produced during Doctor Who's original run, despite not being the last one broadcast.
Marc Platt later returned to the world of Doctor Who, writing Loups-Garoux (2001) for Big Finish.
Score: 60/120