James Mellor Movies

In the third episode of the six-part story "The Mutants," the efforts by the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) to help the Solonians to begin their evolutionary process are resisted by the despotic Marshal (Paul Whitsun-Jones) of the orbiting Earth Skybase. Equally intent upon crushing a resistance movement, the Marshal pins a murder on rebel leader Ky (Garrick Hagan). Now a fugitive, Ky takes the Doctor's companion, Jo (Katy Manning), hostage and returns to Solos, where the poisonous atmosphere prevents the human crew members of the Skybase from effecting a rescue. But, remember, the Doctor isn't human. Written by Bob Baker and David Martin, "The Mutants, Episode 3" first aired on April 22, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of the six-part story "The Mutants," the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo (Katy Manning) are summoned to the 30th century, where they are ordered by the Time Lords to deliver a secret package to the planet Solos. The fact that the package contains some crucial bio-readings is but a prologue to the Doctor's latest assignment: To enable the primitive Solonians to begin their evolutionary process. But as can be gathered by the fact that there are more episodes to come, this will not be an easy task. Written by Bob Baker and David Martin, "The Mutants, Episode 1" first aired on April 8, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dom (John Thaw) is the 30-year-old pseudo revolutionary whose main goals are to sleep with women and spout Marxist and Leninist slogans. He is kidnapped by party members and, in a warehouse, is subjected to a trial by his peers. They believe he is only paying lip service to the movement and is not a true revolutionary. The trial is interrupted when word of an impending police raid reaches the gathering. Stock footage of the 1968 Paris riots is used judiciously to enhance the spirit of revolutionary fervor ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The Last Shot You Hear is taken from the play The Sound Of Murder by William Fairchild. Charles Nordeck (Hugh Marlowe) is a successful marriage counselor whose own marriage is on the rocks. When his wife Anne (Patricia Haines) seeks a divorce, Charles refuses to sign the papers fearing the bad publicity could ruin his career. The adulterous Anne then convinces her lover Peter (William Dysart) to kill her husband and make it look like a robbery. The plan is foiled when Charles' secretary Eileen (Zena Walker), who loves Peter, discovers the plot to kill her boss. This dull suspense feature is plagued by poor audio recording. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the six-part story "The Wheel in Space," the Cybermen reveal their master plot to attack and take over the Earth. Back on the Space Wheel, the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions steel themselves for a final all-out assault against the Cybermen. Guest star Wendy Padbury) becomes a regular cast member in the role of Zoe Heriot. Scripted by David Whitaker from a story by Kit Parker, "The Wheel in Space, Part 6" originally aired on June 1, 1968, as the final episode of Doctor Who's fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the fourth episode of the six-part story "The Wheel in Space," the Cybermen continue their attack on the Space Wheel defense station. In helping the crew fend off the aliens, the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Jamie (Frazer Hines) are faced with the gravest of grave dangers. Even worse, morale on the Wheel drops to the point that the crew members are their own worst enemies. Scripted by David Whitaker from a story by Kit Parker, "The Wheel in Space, Part 4" first aired on May 18, 1968; excerpt for a very brief action sequence, this episode apparently no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the six-part story "The Wheel in Space," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Jamie (Frazer Hines) are rescued from the Cybermen and brought to the huge Space Wheel defense station. The crew of the Wheel are all for destroying the derelict vessel where the TARDIS had materialized in episode one, but the Doctor begs them not to do so, lest he have no way of returning to his own time and place. Wendy Padbury makes her series debut as astrophysicist Zoe Heriot, who joins Jamie in attempting to retrieve the TARDIS' all-important vector generator rod. Scripted by David Whitaker from a story by Kit Parker, "The Wheel in Space, Part 2" first aired on May 4, 1968; this episode apparently no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from his own Royal Shakespeare Company production of Peter Weiss' play entitled The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates at Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, Peter Brook directs this fascinating look into revolution, power, and human frailty. During the 19th century, fashionable theatergoers would attend ostensibly therapeutic stage performances by mental asylum inmates. The film opens on July 19, 1809, with Monsieur Coubnier (Clifford Rose), the officious head of the Charenton asylum, introducing that night's show -- a drama about the assassination of French Revolutionary War firebrand Jean-Paul Marat, written by that institution's most notorious resident, the Marquis de Sade (Patrick Magee). The play begins conventionally enough , considering that the lead actress (Glenda Jackson) is a narcoleptic, the actor playing Marat (Ian Richardson) is a paranoiac, and another actor, a sex maniac with very pressing urges, is kept in chains. But the work soon evolves into a dialogue between Marat and De Sade. Though both men were early supporters of the Revolution, their ideas of the shape of the movement took very different courses. Espousing a form of proto-Marxism, Marat is at first presented as the sort of tyrannical idealist that became depressingly familiar in the 20th century, a la Lenin and Pol Pot. But then later, Marat seems haunted by the terror he has unleashed and unable to understand where he went wrong. De Sade, on the other hand, preached his own unusual brand of Nietzschean existentialism. Unlike Marat, he not only recognizes the inherent weakness of the human character, but he revels in it. Murder as an act of individual passion should be celebrated, De Sade at first argues; murder as an anonymous act of statecraft should be deplored. The individual is not given meaning though politics but through acts of spontaneous passion and desire. As the play progresses, the revolution depicted in the play soon develops into an outright revolution on the stage. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Director Jeremy Summers also cowrote the script of the economically produced nailbiter Depth Charge. The whole thing begins off the coast of Scotland, when a fishing trawler accidently unearths an unexploded World War 2 underwater bomb. Things look bleak for the local fisherman until coxswain David Orr volunteers to defuse the weapon. Though hampered by a tiny budget, Depth Charge manages to maintain a respectable level of tension. Still, even at 55 minutes it seems too long. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide