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REVIEW: Meglos by John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch

SERIAL: 5Q, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


With the evolution of television technology comes new special effects techniques. The Doctor Who story Meglos is unique, if nothing else, for being a test run for a new special effects technique known as Scene-Sync that allowed moving shots with CSO to a precision never before achieved. But would these special effects help in this story of doppelgangers, time loops, and strange energy sources?

The Dodecahedron is the cornerstone of life on the planet Tigella, where its power is used to help power an underground civilisation, sheltered from the deadly plants on the surface. But there is conflict between the scientific Savants and the religious Deons brewing, and the Tigellan leader, Zastor, decides to bring old friend the Doctor in when the Dodecahedron begins to fluctuate. But soon after receiving the message from Tigella, the Doctor and Romana get trapped in a chronic hysteresis, or a time loop. The being responsible is Meglos, a sentient xerophyte from the nearby desert planet of Zolfa Thura, who has commissioned the Gaztak mercenaries to abduct a human for an audacious plan to steal the Dodecahedron. Taking over the human and reshaping the body into a double for the Doctor, Meglos heads to Tigella. When the Doctor and Romana manage to break out of the time loop, they head to Tigella themselves, unaware that Meglos is posing as the Doctor, and stealing the Dodecahedron for his own purposes. For the Dodecahedron was originally Zolfa Thuran in origin, and Meglos intends to use it as a devastating weapon.

On paper, Meglos has some intriguing concepts, including the conflict between religious fanatics and frankly bullheaded scientists, the Doctor being impersonated (usually the other way around), and the time loop being used to imprison the Doctor and Romana. Unfortunately, this is a rather pedestrian story whose best bits are not with the Doctor but with his doppelganger, the titular Meglos. And this is rather disappointing, as it could have been made better. Certainly one wonders why Meglos took so long to try and recover the Dodecahedron, or why a human was needed rather than another humanoid like a Tigellan (maybe humans are more biologically compatible with Zolfa Thurans?), or even how exactly the laboratory and screens were created. And the conflict between the two factions and Zastor's inability to mediate is irritating in the extreme.

Most of the characters aren't well written, and performances vary. Zastor must be pretty weak as a leader not to have stopped the stronger squabblings within his government, though Edward Underdown does well enough. Of the Savants, only Caris seems particularly well-written (being perhaps the only sane Tigellan), and even her role is not quite acted to its fullest by Colette Gleeson, though she does decently. Lexa is portrayed in the story as a religious lunatic, especially once she stages a coup and drives everyone, including Zastor, out onto the surface, and Jacqueline Hill (who played companion Barbara at the beginning of the series) is squandered badly here. The Gaztak mercenaries are a little better, being at least acted entertainingly, though not well enough for my liking, though Christopher Owen as the human (and, assumedly, as Meglos' original voice) is a delight for a small but pivotal role. Lalla Ward is wasted here, with Romana's role not well written. But it is Tom Baker's dual role as the Doctor and Meglos that deserves some consideration. He seems old, frail, and tired as the Doctor, but as Meglos, he is vividly evil, and manages to give Meglos a relatively restrained megalomania that only occasionally breaks through into chewing the scenery (thank Ti for that).

The production design varies. The screens of Zolfa Thura are spectacular in scope, and offer some of the best use of CSO and model work in the series ever. Meglos' laboratory is rather suitable, and the Tigellan undergound complex is at least functional, but the Tigellan jungle is a disappointment. So too are many of the costumes, like the Savants' white uniforms and blonde wigs, and the Gaztaks' hodgepodge uniforms, while intended to mark them out as scavengers, just make them look silly and comical rather than pragmatic and mercenary.

Overall, Meglos is a disappointing anomaly in what was supposed to be a new production paradigm for the series. Below average, but with some nice concepts to it.


SCORE: 7/10

And now, a DVD trailer for the E-Space trilogy: Full Circle, State of Decay, and Warrior's Gate.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwwzYTQ6WCQ[/youtube]

REVIEW: Full Circle by Andrew Smith

SERIAL: 5R, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


Nowadays, it is common for writers of Doctor Who to have been fans of the show, but back during the classic series, this was less common. Douglas Adams was a strong fan of the show who took several submissions to get a writing credit, as did Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt later in the Sylvester McCoy era. But perhaps one overlooked fanwriter, Andrew Smith, wrote one of the better debut Doctor Who stories, the first part of the E-Space trilogy, Full Circle, at the tender age of seventeen. And he was far from the only young fan to debut with this story, for a certain young actor was about to make his debut as Adric, the new companion...

Summoned back to Gallifrey, both the Doctor and Romana are reluctant to do so, but when K9 loses control of the TARDIS during a strange event, they find themselves on a planet that seems to be at the exact same coordinates: Alzarius. Alzarius is in a smaller universe, E-Space, connected to the normal universe by Charged Vacuum Emboitments, and the Doctor and Romana are effectively stranded in a different universe. But they have no time to rest, for on Alzarius, a group of Terradonian colonists live, under the rule of the Deciders, in fear of Mistfall. When Mistfall comes, they flee to the safety of their crashed ship, the Starliner, to repair while monstrous beings stalk through the mist. But the Deciders have deceived the populace. The Marshmen may be dangerous, but as the Doctor finds out with young rebel Adric, there is even darker secrets held in the Starliner. The planet that slept is awakening, and the secret of the Terradonians is about to come full circle...

For a script from a first-time scriptwriter, Full Circle is actually quite excellent. I don't know how much of it is due to the work of script editor Christopher H Bidmead, but the story structures is good, and the concepts involved are excellent. A chilling, atmospheric story that questions what it means to be human, or more correctly, Terradonian, as well as giving a certain amount of satirical insight into politics and with a marvellous twist to the story that pretty much defines Full Circle.

The characters vary. The Deciders, for the most part, seem fairly interchangeable scriptwise, the actual performances of Leonard Maguire as Draith, Alan Rowe as Garif, and James Bree as Nefred notwithstanding (they range from good to decent). George Baker as Decider Login is an exception, bringing an understandable pathos to the role and being perhaps the best-written adult Terradonian. Dexeter is an interesting amoral character, but Tony Calvin fails to impress me in the role. The Outlers vary in both writing and performance from decent to not good enough, partly because the roles were written by a teenager for teenage actors. Matthew Waterhouse as Adric does not impress, although he puts in a decent enough performance. The Doctor and Romana are well acted by Tom Baker and Lalla Ward respectively, although Ward should have been a little more menacing when Romana is infected.

The production itself is a good debut for first-time director Peter Grimwade, who succeeds in conveying the atmosphere necessary for the story. The design works well, and while at times the Marshmen seem too blatantly like men in rubber suits, they are still quite a good concept, and the Marshchild is actually one of the most sympathetic creatures seen in the series to date, with its final fate rather sad. However, the marshspiders are one of the least well-realised monsters, looking like they were built from papier mache and painted by a child.

Overall, Full Circle is a surprisingly good start to the E-Space trilogy. While new companion Adric shows not enough promise and there are a few problems with characterisation, this is a richly written and performed story that proves that fan-written fiction is by no means always a bad thing.


SCORE: 9/10

REVIEW: State of Decay by Terrance Dicks

SERIAL: 5P, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


Back in season 15, for Graham Williams' first season producing Doctor Who, Terrance Dicks was commissioned to write a story. Writing The Vampire Mutations, it was noticed by BBC executives, who vetoed it. The reason why? They were doing a drama adaptation of the Dracula novel, and didn't want the audience to think that it was a send-up. The story had to be hurriedly put aside, and Horror of Fang Rock written swiftly to take its place. Three seasons and another producer later, Dicks was allowed to start again, with the story now set on a planet in E-Space...

Marooned in E-Space, the Doctor, Romana and K9 track down one of the few inhabited planets in the tiny universe. There, they find a world where a group of human colonists from the spaceship Hydrax have long since devolved into a medieval culture, and the Three Who Rule, King Zargo, Queen Camilla, and Aukon the Counsellor, ban all learning. They periodically take people from the village to become guards in their Tower, or else for a sinister purpose. While the Doctor and Romana make contact with both the rebels re-learning forbidden technology, and then with the Three Who Rule, K9 finds out that the Alzarian Adric has stowed away in the TARDIS, and Adric is brought to the Tower himself, to be made a Chosen One of the Three Who Rule. But are the Three Who Rule descended from the officers of the Hydrax, or are they the officers themselves? What is the secret of the Tower? And what does the creature sleeping deep below the Tower have to do with ancient and terrible legends about vampires?

Terrance Dicks can be relied upon to make, if not stellar stories, then solid and dependable ones. The story's concepts are intriguing, if dependent on vampire lore and cliches. There are nods to the show's past (Rassilon is mentioned as having participated in the war against the Great Vampires, and the Doctor tells Romana about K'anpo, his old mentor), and there are some nice touches (like the name-shifting applied to the original names of the Hydrax crew, and how the Doctor kills the Great Vampire at the end) that flavour what could have been a quite staid story.

The Three Who Rule are, for the most part, written fairly well and sinister, although there are a few times in both writing and performance when they become fairly campy vampires. William Lindsay and Rachel Davies as Zargo and Camilla respectively do much better than the more pivotal but less well-acted role of Aukon, portrayed by Emrys James. The humans range from decently written to less so, with Iain Rattray's guard Habris having a surprising touch of humanity about him. Clinton Greyn's Ivo seems to be sane at first, but later he seems to act more irrationally, although his motivation (to avenge his son) is understandable. Arthur Hewlett's Kalmar is less stellar, but Thane Bettany's Tarak, although itching to rebel, actually manages to do something constructive and helps Romana. Unfortunately, Lalla Ward's Romana is less written well, being more fearful than she should, although she has redeeming moments. Tom Baker does well as the Doctor, and while Matthew Waterhouse's first performance (this story was produced before Full Circle) as Adric is rather average, the character's self-serving traits seem surprisingly in character (he alludes to his brother's death and claims that he doesn't want to sacrifice himself for others any more, even though that is a bluff).

The production is lavish, but I feel that the design was let down in one major area: it is not made clear by design how the Tower was converted from the Hydrax. It should have looked less like a luxurious castle (at least from the inside) and a little more like a modified spaceship, at least for most of it. Some sets at least manage to convey this. The model effects of the Tower are mostly good, except for the scoutship liftoff, and the model hand of the Great Vampire (as well as the briefly glimpsed full creature) don't work well. And there are some parts of the story that lack a certain energy needed.

Still, State of Decay is a good story that brings vampires into the Whoniverse in an intriguing way. Not quite original, but notable. A pity the story that originally replaced it was better, but there you go.


SCORE: 8.5/10


Soon comes one of my favourite Who stories, Warrior's Gate.

REVIEW: Warriors' Gate by Stephen Gallagher

SERIAL: 5S, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


There are some stories that provoke a massive division in the fanbase as to how the story should be viewed, and Warriors' Gate is one of them. With some of the most surreal visuals and obscure storylines in the history of the series, and with a new writer and an ambitious new director, it was sure to provoke controversy as the conclusion to the E-Space trilogy...

While attempting to exit E-Space, the TARDIS crew find themselves hijacked by a leonine humanoid called Biroc, a member of the time-sensitive Tharils. K9 is damaged by the Time Winds in the process. Biroc, who has just escaped from a slaver ship where he was forced to navigate, then vanishes into the distance of a miniature universe that is at the intersection between N-Space and E-Space, with the Doctor setting off in pursuit to a mysterious gateway. The slavers, led by the increasingly frustrated Rorvik, explore the void, and finds the TARDIS, where Romana, trying to find new memory wafers for K9, agrees to go with them, only to find herself forced to be their navigator. While the Doctor explores the depths of the Gateway, in a strange world behind a set of mirrors, Rorvik is forced to take ever-incresingly drastic measures to destroy the mirrors when he becomes fixated on them as a way out of the void. But with the virtually featureless pocket universe contracting, time is running out for everyone...

Warriors' Gate, as a script, has only one fault: it takes time (usually multiple viewings) to understand what the hell is going on. But as a conception and storyline, it is sophisticated, intelligent, and brilliant, with the surreal sequences crossing the timelines within the Gateway contrasting with the slavers. Cerebral and surreal, a bad combination for some viewers, but not for me. Some sequences harken back to The Mind Robber, particularly the first episode. Romana's departure, already hinted at in Full Circle, is given more allusions so that her departure, along with K9, is not as abrupt as Leela's was in The Invasion of Time.

The characters all work well. Biroc seems proud and regal, but also has a certain pathos in wanting to have his kind redeem themselves. All the crew of the slaver ship are interesting, with particular praise going to Freddie Earle's Aldo and Harry Waters' Royce. The main villain, Clifford Rose's Rorvik, is a brilliant study in a man frustrated by inaction and the apathy of his men, and his last line, "I'M FINALLY GETTING SOMETHING DONE!! !" is one of the most unique and most chilling villainous warcries in Doctor Who history. The regulars each get meaty things to do, with the departing Lalla Ward and John Leeson giving their all for their final roles.

Perhaps due to Paul Joyce's work, this is a production where everything comes together. The sets are all effective, regardless of whether they be the stone Gateway or the decrepit interior of the slaver ship, the direction suits the story, and the special effects! Oh, the special effects! The void is extremely effective, the de-phased Tharils are great, the mirrors work well enough, but it is the model work that I enjoy the most, culminating in my all-time favourite explosion sequence from the classic series.

Warriors' Gate isn't for everyone. In fact, it is rather hard to follow. But those who do get it should agree that this is the best story in the E-Space trilogy, if not of Tom Baker's last season as the Doctor.


SCORE: 10/10

Here's the big bang that I was talking about. BOOM!


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxgetaRmXa4[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Keeper of Traken by Johnny Byrne

SERIAL: 5T, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


With Tom Baker's final season as the Doctor drawing to a close, the production team knew that they should have some great threat to the universe to allow the fourth Doctor to go out with a bang. Thus, for the penultimate story of the season, they decided to bring back an old enemy of the Doctor's, and The Keeper of Traken helped set things up for the grand finale, as well as introducing a character who would become the Doctor's latest companion...

Now back in the normal universe, the Doctor and Adric have no time to rest. For they have been summoned to the Traken Union, a place of perpetual peace and harmony where no evil can exist, summoned by the Keeper of Traken, the fulcrum of the Traken Union's power. But the Keeper's death has drawn near, and though he has selected his successor, scientist and newly re-wed father Tremas, the Keeper knows that the transition of Keepers is a dangerous time, and asks the Doctor to help. Unfortunately, already there is a force working from within. An evil statue trapped on Traken, the Melkur, has influenced Tremas' new wife, Kassia, who is desperate to find any way to prevent Tremas from gaining the Keepership, and she is turning Traken against the newly arrived Doctor and Adric. With only Tremas and his daughter Nyssa as allies, the Doctor and Adric will be hard-pressed to stop Kassia and the Melkur's schemings. But the Melkur hides the face of an all-too familiar adversary of the Doctor's, and he intends to become the new Keeper of Traken, and conquer the universe with the Source of Traken...

The Keeper of Traken has many intriguing concepts in it, I have to admit, but I don't like the way it's written. It works well enough, and as a reintroduction to the Master it's actually quite good. But one sees holes in the plot, mostly to do with the characters, but seriously, wouldn't the Traken Union have better safeguards in place against such a possibility? Or is it just because they've become indolent and complacent? In fact, why do they even have weapons to give to the Fosters in the first place? And the interactions seem to be even worse paranoia than even the understandably tulmutuous time of the Keeper transition would suggest. Of course, these in themselves are not truly serious flaws.

However, most of the characters seem rather flat to me, performances notwithstanding. I lose all sympathy for Kassia partway through episode 2, as she seems to waver between trying to murder her husband and trying to spare him, though Sheila Ruskin gives her all. The other consuls are practical nonentities who just cause conflict rather than reacting realistically. However, Tremas is a decently written character, brought to life by Anthony Ainley (and it is startling to watch him play a nice character after seeing him play the Master so many times), and Nyssa, while Sarah Sutton's performance is only above average at this point, shows remarkable initiative, improvising a weapon from a tool and helping the Doctor and Adric. Matthew Waterhouse as Adric does rather well here, and Tom Baker as the Doctor, while tired, is still good. But it is Geoffrey Beevers' Master that deserves especial praise, both for writing (his characterisation and dialogue are excellently done) and in terms of performance, especially considering that the Master himself is only glimpsed until the final episode.

The production design is nothing spectacular, but does well enough in protraying the peaceful environs of Traken, and Melkur is a sinister and interesting design. However, the costumes, particularly for the Fosters, don't quite feel right. Still, they work for the story, and the direction, while lacking a certain energy, is still pretty much right for this story.

The Keeper of Traken is not really bad, but it just feels slightly awkward at this late stage in the series. However, as a vehicle to reintroduce the Master and to introduce Nyssa, it's pretty good.


SCORE: 8/10

REVIEW: Logopolis by Christopher H Bidmead

SERIAL: 5V, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


"It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for." With ten words, Tom Baker bid a farewell that was felt by millions of viewers across the United Kingdom. With those words, seven years of playing the Doctor came to an end. And now, Doctor Who, with an actor who was practically the definitive article for the role leaving, was facing more uncertainty in the future. The final adventure of the final season of Tom Baker's tenure in the role set a new benchmark for universal danger...

Worried about the general run-down condition of the TARDIS, and learning that Tremas has disappeared from Traken, possibly the work of the Master, the Doctor makes plans to fix the TARDIS. Landing on Earth to make measurements of a police box in order to fix the chameleon circuit, the Doctor and Adric unwittingly take on a new companion, feisty Australian Tegan Jovanka, who mistook the TARDIS for a police box herself, and whose aunt was murdered by the Master. Watched by a mysterious, sinister figure in white, claimed by the Doctor to be a portent of doom, and with the threat of the Master hanging over his head, the Doctor heads to Logopolis, to repair the TARDIS and prepare to fight the Master. But the Master's target is not the Doctor. Logopolis, presided over by the genial Monitor and using pure mathematics to shape the cosmos, has a deadly secret, one which the Master intends to find out, no matter what the cost. Except maybe the cost may be more than even the Master is willing to bear...

Logopolis shows how well Christopher H Bidmead can write, combining concepts that have appeared in the show before (like recursion with TARDISes from The Time Monster, pre-regeneration incarnations from Planet of the Spiders, and entropy from throughout this season) with new ones. The concept of using entropy as a universal threat that dwarfs even the Master is a masterstroke (pun unintended), and as a climax to the fourth Doctor's era, it is hard to do much better. That being said, the Master, at least towards the end, isn't written as well as he should be, and the climactic fight could have been a little more brutal, instead of the Master resorting so soon to pushing buttons while cackling. His earlier appearances (or rather lack thereof) are still written well and atmospherically, and that, at least, ois an excellent way to do it.

Bidmead had a tough task. Amongst other things, he had to include incoming companion, air stewardess Tegan Jovanka, portrayed rather well, if a little irritating, by Janet Fielding (Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie! Oy! Oy! Oy!). Nyssa and Adric are protrayed fairly well by their respective actors, with Sarah Sutton in particular seeming more comfortable with the role, and giving a nice sequence where Nyssa mourns the death of her family and civilisation. Tom Baker as the Doctor gives a nice feeling of fear and dread as he is aware of his approaching demise. Anthony Ainley is perhaps a little too OTT as the Master, but otherwise does well. John Fraser's Monitor needs perhaps a little more gravitas, but otherwise does well. And while Adrian Gibbs' Watcher has no lines, he is both menacing and yet ambiguous.

The production itself is above average, with good location shooting, although some of the sets on Logopolis proper are a bit cheesy, and the use of dolls as the Master's victims is rather too noticeable this time around. But the story has a marvellously funereal air, enhanced by Peter Grimwade's direction and Paddy Kingsland's music. The regeneration sequence is poignant, and even made me weep a little.

Logopolis nearly makes it through to being perfect, but while it isn't, it's a fitting finale to the end of an era. It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for...



SCORE: 9.5/10

PROGRESS REPORT FIVE: THE REIGN OF TURNER 1: FIGHTING ENTROPY

STORIES: Total for this era: 7

Cumulative total: 73. 14 William Hartnell, 6 Patrick Troughton. 17 Jon Pertwee. 36 Tom Baker

TIME: Total for this era: 5 days

Cumulative total: 80 days

PERCENTAGE NEVER WATCHED BEFORE: 2/7, or 28%

Cumulative total: 26/73, or 36%

MILESTONES:

Foray into E-Space

The return and rejuvenation of the Master

The regeneration of the fourth Doctor

One year (1980-1981)


COMPANIONS: K9, Romana II, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan


THOUGHTS: John Nathan-Turner is perhaps the most controversial producers the series has ever seen, but there should be no denying that, despite the furore it caused members of the regular cast, his scaling back on the humour and bringing a new look to the show actually helped rejuvenate a series that was struggling. The new look brought the series into the Eighties, and in a good way. We have, for the most part, better quality storylines, better special effects, and interesting real science, albeit used to suit the stories. We even have a trilogy set in another universe.

This season, then, is very much one of transition. Romana, played well by Lalla Ward, and K9, once again played by John Leeson, leave the program towards the end of the season, and of course, Tom Baker, often considered THE Doctor, decided to leave. New companions are brought on board, and it is perhaps here that we see the first major mistake of the JNT production era: too many companions. With K9, Adric, and Romana, the stories struggle to get them all involved, though they work, but with Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan, it looks to be more difficult in the future.

But of note is the theme throughout the season of entropy. Throughout the season, entropy is fought in many forms, and this could be seen, like the later Trial of a Timelord season, to be a metaphor for the production team's tribulations. Certainly they were actively fighting the degradation of a much-beloved program, and between JNT, Barry Letts, and Christopher H Bidmead, they succeeded.

But time would tell whether they could do so for the near future...


BEST STORIES: Warriors' Gate, Logopolis

WORST STORIES: Meglos, The Keeper of Traken

REVIEW: Castrovalva by Christopher H Bidmead

SERIAL: 5Z, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


An interesting quirk of production in Doctor Who at times was when production was done out of order, occasionally for reasons of actor or actress availability, or script availability, or else, as often was the case, to give a new regular a chance to find themselves in the role before they made their debut in the series. Such was probably the case with Peter Davison's first season, where his first story was actually his fourth to be done. So, with Four to Doomsday, The Visitation, and Kinda under his belt, how would Davison do in his transmitted debut?

After his traumatic regeneration, the Doctor and his companions escape Earth, apparently nearly leaving Adric behind. But with the Doctor's regeneration failing badly, he needs isolation. Problem is, Adric is really in the hands of the Master, who is using him for his own ends. After the Master attempts to send the TARDIS into the powerful Event One hydrogen inrush and fails, the Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan are forced to find a new peaceful place for the Doctor to complete his recuperation, and find Castrovalva. But this simple and peaceful settlement on a distant planet has its own secrets, and if the Doctor and his companions don't discover it, they'll soon be caught in a trap...

Castrovalva is really just a vehicle to present the new Doctor, and is a somewhat disjointed story in some places. While this is by no means a bad thing at all, it doesn't give much time for the character development of the Castrovalvans. The concepts are good, if a little disturbing, and there's some good misdirection that implies that Shardovan is the villain or at least the henchman of the Master. The portrayal of the Doctor as having a disrupted regeneration is also very good. The only major issue I have with the story itself, though, is the fact that I don't see quite how the Master, even with Adric's unwilling help, could have conjured up Castrovalva and its inhabitants in so quick a period of time (it seems like hours at most, while I would have thought at least a day or so would have been needed).

Of the characters, it is the Doctor and his companions that shine. Peter Davison is a little histrionic as the Doctor, especially as to how he would later play the role, but is otherwise great. Janet Fielding as Tegan and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa are good, but it is Matthew Waterhouse as Adric who puts in a surprisingly anguished performance as a captive of the Master. The Castrovalvans are a little flat, and while Anthony Ainley is good as the Master, I get the feeling that he is still finding his feet in the role. That being said, he plays the Master's disguise, the Portreeve, quite well.

The production itself is good, but somewhat varied. Certainly the visual effects don't quite protray the MC Escheresque visuals that were intended, though doing it in the Eighties on a BBC budget might have been problematic. And the Castrovalvan costumes range from okay to ridiculous. However, the location work is done well, and the direction gives the story some energy and pace, even in the environs of Castrovalva itself.

Castrovalva is not a stellar beginning to the fifth Doctor's era, but it is still a good one. Not the best of debut stories, but good enough.


SCORE: 8.5/10


And now, the DVD trailer for the next story, Four to Doomsday. Enjoy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnbkTNxIC3I[/youtube]

REVIEW: Four to Doomsday by Terence Dudley

SERIAL: 5W, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


As mentioned in my review of the previous story, Castrovalva, Doctor Who was often filmed out of order for various reasons. After watching Four to Doomsday, I have come to the conclusion that it can't have been because the scripts for Four to Doomsday were ready faster. It must have been rushed into production, and as such, I will make it clear from the outset that I consider this to be one of the worst Doctor Who stories of all time...

Trying to get Tegan back to Earth, and her job at Heathrow Airport, the Doctor gets her to the right time, but not the right place: a spaceship four days away from Earth. Commanded by the frog-like Monarch of Urbanka, and peopled by ethnic groups from throughout Earth's history, it is a ship of many secrets. Monarch's two Urbankan ministers, Enlightenment and Persuasion, can apparently take on human form at will. The humans on board the ship come from up to 35 thousand years ago. And Monarch seems rather too interested in the TARDIS. A Greek philosopher, Bigon, reveals the deadly truth: he and the other humans are android duplicates derived from those Monarch has taken from Earth, and Monarch not only desires to conquer the Earth, but has an even madder, grander scheme. With only four days to doomsday for the inhabitants of Earth, and with Adric being swayed by Monarch, the Doctor will have his work cut out for him...

Four to Doomsday has, admittedly, some excellent concepts, but I feel that they were squandered rather badly. The pacing is good, and there is a sense of peril, but this story got screwed over by bad dialogue choices and even worse characterisation of the Doctor and his companions. Really, Terence Dudley, you have got to be the only writer in the history of the series to my knowledge to screw up this badly in writing dialogue for the companions, and I don't know whether the scripts were produced in haste, or else they weren't edited well. Monarch, the villain, fares better than the Doctor and his companions, but while his benevolent dictator nature is a good concept and good characterisation, it doesn't fit in well with the rest of the story. There's also a number of plot holes, one of the most notable being Tegan being able to speak a 35,000 year old Aboriginal's language.

The regulars seem to not be doing their best, although whether this is due to the script or being directed that way, I don't know. Only Sarah Sutton's Nyssa seems like her normal self, with Peter Davison's Doctor being patronising and petulant, Janet Fielding as Tegan being a downright histrionic, and Matthew Waterhouse, while not the best of actors, seems to be making Adric far more nasty, misogynistic, and stupid. The guest actors fare somewhat better, with Stratford Johns as Monarch is variable (from good to decent) as Monarch, Philip Locke's Bigon is fairly good, as is Annie Lambert's Enlightenment. But Paul Shelley as Persuasion is below average at best after a certain point, barking like a little dog. Unfortunately, the regulars' abysmal performance for this story drag everyone else down.

Presentation-wise, Four to Doomsday is actually quite good. The sets, while not lavish, do well, and the costumes are good, though the Urbankan make-up for Persuasion and Enlightment don't remotely match what they look like later. The special effects work well enough, with the Monopticons impressively done.

But in the end, Doctor Who stories often rise or fall on story and characterisation and performance. Thanks to an unpolished storyline, crappy characterisation of the Doctor and his companions and an unforgivably abysmal performance from the same, Four to Doomsday joins The Ark, which was similarly ambitious but failed drastically to deliver, as one of my worst Doctor Who stories of all time. Bleagh!


SCORE: 5/10


Now, after watching that piece of crap, I'm very much looking forward to the next story, Kinda, one of my favourites from the era. Here's the DVD trailer for it and its sequel, Snakedance.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u20d31mXuLY[/youtube]

Four To Doomsday was the story that made me despise Adric. BTW, I saw a speculation on TVTropes that said that Adric could be an Aspie.

REVIEW: Kinda by Christopher Bailey

SERIAL: 5Y, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


Stop me if you've heard about this story before: a group of humans with powered armour are living on a planet that they intend to exploit, a planet that has a group of natives who live in harmony with nature. The natives are considerably more sophisticated than the humans suspect, with the exception of a few, including a female scientist and a 'young' male protagonist. Now, does this sound quite a lot like Avatar? Maybe so, but over two decades before James Cameron produced Avatar, a new writer to Doctor Who, Christopher Bailey, wrote Kinda, a surprisingly sophisticated story combining many high concepts. But would this story succeed?

The planet Deva Loka: paradise, and home to an apparently primitive native people, the Kinda. A group of surveyors from offworld are assessing the planet for colonisation, but of the six members, only three now remain: the patronising and close-minded commander Sanders, the unstable security officer Hindle, and the open minded scientist Dr Todd. But now the Doctor has arrived on Deva Loka, and while Nyssa recuperates from previous trauma in the TARDIS, the Doctor, Adric, and Tegan explore. Separated, the Doctor and Adric end up at the dome, while Tegan falls asleep under mysterious wind-chimes. When Sanders leaves the dome to search for the missing members of the survey team, he leaves the paranoid and deranged Hindle in charge, and Hindle's paranoia has become dangerous for those in the dome and without. But it is Tegan, trapped in a dark world of dreams within her mind, who is about to unleash the worst danger of all. Mentally assaulted by malevolent apparitions, she is forced to become the conduit for the evil force known as the Mara. Just how sophisticated are the Kinda? What is in the Box of Jhana, a gift from the Kinda wise woman Panna? And can the Doctor stop a crazed madman AND a demonic entity from the darkness of the mind?

Buddhist philosophy has been used previously in Doctor Who stories, Planet of the Spiders being perhaps the most obvious before Kinda. But it is not just Buddhist philosophy. Kinda is awash in allusion and high concepts. Christianity, Ursula K Le Guin, Solaris, psychology, even Dr Strangelove. While rather too complex for the average viewer to follow, this is a story, like Warriors' Gate and Ghost Light that is designed for repeated viewing, and is just perfect for the aficianado and the person looking for some meat in their Doctor Who stories. This is also one of the strongest examples of psychological horror in the history of the series, rarely used but often making some of the best stories in the series (The Edge of Destruction, The Mind Robber, The Deadly Assassin, The Armageddon Factor, Ghost Light, Steven Moffat's stories for the new series, and Midnight coming to mind).

The characters are, for once, all written and acted to their utmost. Nyssa's unfortunate sidelining nonetheless helps the story. Peter Davison as the Doctor is great, and if Four to Doomsday made you hate Adric and Matthew Waterhouse, then his performance in Kinda, especially as Adric seems to go through a lot in this story, will redeem the character utterly. But of the regulars, it is Janet Fielding as Tegan who gets the best role to play, when she is trapped and, effectively, mentally raped by the Mara, and possessed by the creature. Poor Tegan goes through a lot in this story.

The guest cast is also excellent. Nerys Hughes as Doctor Todd is the straight man (or rather, straight woman) of the story, while Richard Todd is good as Sanders, both as his pompous colonial self and his later, more child-like demeanour. Simon Rouse as Hindle deserves particular praise in playing the mad security officer as an intense but utterly believable performance. Even when chewing the scenery, you can really believe that he would really shoot the Doctor, and his episode-ending line, "I have the power of life and death OVER ALL OF YOU!! !" is brilliantly delivered. Mary Morris is also worth noting, playing the blind wise woman of the Kinda Panna, while Adrian Mills' Aris does well both as a mute Kinda and when possessed by the Mara. And, of course, there is Jeff Stewart's sinister performance as one of the Mara's aspects, Dukkha, who brings to mind Toby Jones' performance as the Dream Lord in the new series' story Amy's Choice.

If there is any noticeable fault in Kinda, it's the production, but it's the difficulty in portraying a realistic jungle setting on a budget. Avatar this ain't. It does well enough, even when the studio floor is visible and the tree the Mara-possessed Tegan climbs is clearly plastic. Perhaps more noticeable, unfortunately, is the inflatable snake that portrays the Mara during the show's climax (although the DVD remedies that with perhaps the single most impressive CGI effect I have ever seen as an option). However, the rest of the production is spot on, and suits the story immensely. One wonders what could be done to improve it overall with today's production methods, because it would easily be up there with the rest of the new series.

Kinda is not without flaws, but the rest of this excellent production vastly outweighs them. Dense, memorable, scary and dark, but also rich and lush in both visuals and ideas.


SCORE: 10/10


Some YouTube clips from Kinda. Firstly, that cliffhanger sequence with Hindle going ape-s***...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf7THzxekTQ[/youtube]

And a comparison between the original climactic sequence and the replacement CGI effect for the Mara. This isn't the whole sequence, BTW.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSExEevtc6g[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Visitation by Eric Saward

SERIAL: 5X, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


Of all the writers to work on Doctor Who, the one who had the greatest influence during the Eighties was undoubtedly Eric Saward. Overseeing almost all of Peter Davison's time as the Doctor and practically all of Colin Baker's time as a script editor and writer, Saward, like Douglas Adams before him, was virtually thrown into the deep end after submitting a script for the series, The Visitation. But what was his debut story like?

In 1666, a mysterious meteor shower heralds the arrival of a group of alien intruders who massacre the inhabitants of a nearby house in Heathrow. Not long after, the Doctor, trying to get Tegan to Heathrow in 1981, lands over three centuries too early. Exploring, the Doctor and his companions find the nearby inhabitants paranoid about the Black Death, with their only ally out-of-work actor and highwayman Richard Mace. But when Mace shows them some alien technology he found, the Doctor realises that the meteor shower was a spaceship being destroyed, and the survivors are still around. But when he searches them out to try and help them, he receives a rude shock: they are Terileptil fugitives from penal mines on Raaga. Unable to return to their homeworld without risking death, they intend to stay on Earth permanently, and wipe out the human race into the bargain. A final visitation has come to humanity, and the Doctor will be hard pressed to stop it...

As a story, The Visitation is quite simple and straightforward. Perhaps a little too much so, but even so, there is little to fault it in that. The Terileptil's plan to release genetically engineered plague rats to wipe out all humanity falls a little flat, as one wonders how they would be able to send it to America or Australia, never mind to Asia proper. But otherwise, it's quite well written for a debut story. The destruction of the sonic screwdriver, in a time before we knew how easily the Doctor could get a replacement, is an interesting idea, and while not as well-executed as they could have been onscreen, the Terileptils and their android are intriguing ideas (with the Terileptils being both a warrior race and one that enjoyed aesthetics).

As it was in Four to Doomsday, the characterisation of the Doctor seems wrong, as he seems more condescending than usual, especially jarring compared to the later-produced but earlier transmitted Kinda, but it is not as much as with odds as Four to Doomsday, and Peter Davison does well. Adric is given a surprising amount of depth as well, and Tegan's argumentative nature is given an explanation. Of the non-regulars, only Richard Mace, played with aplomb by Michael Robbins, and the Terileptil Leader, played as best as can be expected from behind an animatronic mask by Michael Melia, are particularly noteworthy. The Terileptil's reasoning for destroying Earth's human population just so three fugitives could survive seem a little off, even by the standards of Doctor Who villains. Makes you wonder what crime the Terileptil and his comrades were sent to Raaga for in the first place.

Production-wise, the sets and designs are quite good, though the Terileptils look a bit too clumsy to be credible threats, and the android seems too blingy. The direction seems to lack a certain amount of energy that would have otherwise given it a higher reckoning in my eyes, but it all works fairly well and engages the interest long enough for the story to succeed.

The Visitation is a fine, if not superlative, debut story from Eric Saward. However, better is to come from him...


SCORE: 8.5/10


And now, the DVD trailer for the next story, Black Orchid.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4beLdJSO2s[/youtube]

REVIEW: Black Orchid by Terence Dudley

SERIAL: 6A, 2X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


When Doctor Who originally began, they often had what they called 'historicals', stories set in history with no science-fiction influence barring the Doctor and his companions. However, with the advent of the 'pseudohistoricals', stories set in history but with a strong science fiction influence, these stories faded out, with the last historical story of the Sixties being The Highlanders. But the historical story enjoyed a brief revival at the beginning of Peter Davison's tenure as the Doctor, with Terence Dudley's story, Black Orchid...

Landing at a rural railway station in 1926, the Doctor and his companions find themselves the guests of Charles, Lord Cranleigh, and his mother, Lady Cranleigh. Charles is engaged to be married to Ann Talbot, a young woman who is the very spitting image of Nyssa, but the family was recently tinged with sadness when Charles' son George, Ann's former fiancee, died during an expedition to South America. But the Cranleighs have dark and terrible secrets. During a fancy dress party, a mysterious man breaks free from where he was confined, and steals a costume the Doctor was to use, kidnapping Ann and murdering two servants. Lady Cranleigh is more than willing to let the Doctor take the fall, even though she knows he is innocent. Who is the mysterious heavily scarred man? What is his link to the Cranleighs? And can the Doctor prove his innocence?

After the debacle of Dudley's Four to Doomsday, I had to confess not having high hopes for Black Orchid. That being said, once I watched it, I found myself enjoying it. Moderately so, yes, but it's an intriguing mystery that wouldn't look out of place in the new series (whose single-part stories are the equivalent of a two-parter in the classic series). It seems to be heavily reliant on the cliches of fiction set in the 1920s, but is not the worse for it. The story and dialogue is rather trite, but not too badly so, as at two episodes, Black Orchid doesn't overstay its welcome.

The characterisation of the Doctor and his companions is fairly well done as usual, although Adric seems to get sidelined. The Doctor even remarks how his curiosity gets the better of him more often than not, and Tegan, while not playing a pivotal role, has a nice role. Sarah Sutton gets a chance to shine, both as Nyssa, and as Ann, although to be honest, I much prefer Nyssa to the rather histrionic Ann. Lady Cranleigh loses all sympathy from me once she decides to let the Doctor take the fall for the murders. Charles, while nicely performed, seems rather too cliched, though Moray Watson's Sir Robert Muir is a better written character. Particular notice should be given to stuntman Gareth Milne managing to make George Cranleigh both monstrous and sympathetic.

Production wise, everything seems to suit the story. The only actual objection I have is to the attempt to make filming in winter look like summer, but that is only a minor niggle. The costumes are wonderful, so are the sets, and it is a real pity that pure historical stories weren't done as often, as that is where the BBC is at its best, doing period drama.

By no means spectacular, but still enjoyable, Black Orchid shows that Four to Doomsday was an aberration in Terence Dudley's writing. Somewhat trite, but by no means tripe.



SCORE: 8.5/10


Coming up, Earthshock. Bye-bye, Adric!

REVIEW: Earthshock by Eric Saward

SERIAL: 6B, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


John Nathan-Turner, as a producer, was someone who believed in publicity for the series, and yet, when it came to a story originally called Sentinel by Eric Saward, he actually went out of his way to prevent spoilers for the story. The public gallery for the studio was closed, in the Radio Times, two pivotal characters were simply named 'Leader' and 'Lieutenant', and a certain regular cast member was credited (a little misleading, as the character only appears briefly) for the next story, Time-Flight. The time of the crowded TARDIS was over, and the Doctor's companion Adric was about to go out with a bang...

Adric has had enough with the lack of respect he feels he gets from the Doctor, and demands to be taken back to E-Space. Wary of the dangers the trip will entail, the Doctor refuses, leading to a major row. Landing in caves on Earth in the 26th century, the Doctor leaves to try and calm down, Nyssa and Tegan accompanying him, while Adric begins to plan his departure. But the Doctor has stumbled upon a scene of death: the caves used to have paleontologists looking for fossils, but only the leader, Professor Kyle, has survived, with her people and some troopers sent to investigate being murdered by a pair of androids. But even when the androids are stopped, and a bomb they are protecting defused, the Doctor is determined to find out who did this. Deep in space, a freighter heading to Earth has a group of Cybermen, and with their bomb destroyed, the Cybermen have a contingency plan. It's a race against time to stop the Cybermen, but the cost may be too high...

After Eric Saward's first work, the rather simple The Visitation, Earthshock, while not much more complex, is a much more involving work, with verve and pace that sweeps you along for the ride. As a vehicle to reintroduce the Cybermen, it is, to use the Cyberleader's catchphrase, excellent. Pacy, thrilling, this is as close to an action film as can be done for Doctor Who, with an intriguing twist towards the end and a shocking conclusion. Adric's death is the true shock in Earthshock, not the return of the Cybermen, and even those who hated Adric will feel sad at what happens to him.

The regulars are all very good, although Peter Davison's Doctor, in his argument with Adric, seems less pragmatic about wanting to avoid E-Space and more petty. Of the other regulars, it is, naturally, Matthew Waterhouse's Adric who gets one last chance to shine, with the only fault being a rather blatant fear of the exploding keyboard near the end. Of the human guest cast, the only really bad choice is Beryl Reid as Captain Briggs, who tries, but fails to be convincing as a hardened space freighter character. While some people may criticise the characterisation and performance of David Banks as the Cyberleader, I feel that, if not a return to form, it is nonetheless an excellent performance (oops, there I go again). David Banks is THE Cyberleader, and helps, along with Mark Hardy as the Cyberlieutenant, to redeem the Cybermen after their misuse in Revenge of the Cybermen.

The production, as is often the case with a story directed by Peter Grimwade, is excellent (again?), pacy, atmospheric (especially in the caves and the freighter hold), and filled with action. The costumes for the androids are great, and the newly redesigned Cybermen are a sight to behold, even if we do see a microphone battery falling down into view behind the Cyberleader's mouthpiece at the end. However, the final explosion of the freighter is rather off-putting (something which the DVD has an excellent optional replacement).

Earthshock came so close to pretty much near perfection. It brought about the return of the Cybermen with style, it is a wonderful action story, and it wrote out Adric in a blaze of glory. Unfortunately, there was one flaw too many, but still, it's a very bloody good story.



SCORE: 9.5/10


Okay, DVD trailer for the next two stories, Time-Flight and Arc of Infinity:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO_Ovm7LXJw[/youtube]