Going Through Doctor Who (Spoilers all Eps aired on BBC/BBCA)

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Logopolis is a mess of interesting ideas, that sadly never achieves the coherence and pace this kind of story requires.

WRITTEN BY

Christopher H. Bidmead, the script editor of Season 18. Interesting, since I'm pretty sure Terrance Dicks mentioned at one point that script editors couldn't write stories in his time. Anyway, Bidmead is a scientist, and boy, this story makes you know it.

PLOT

Um... there's a planet full of mathematicians, whose calculations are keeping the universe from melting... and the Master(hell yeah) sort of screws everything up.

ANALYSIS

I think I'll need to watch Logopolis many many more times, and with subtitles, to properly follow what's going on. There's simply so much of it that seems to come out of the blue and it all feels like filler anyway.

The first two episodes are a wasteland of technobabble and really bizarre ideas that go nowhere.
For example: the Doctor and Adric travel to Earth to get the exact dimensions of a real police box for the Logopolitans to calculate... something out of it... and implement it on the Doctor's TARDIS, which will somehow fix the chameleon circuit. But the Master's TARDIS has travelled into the Doctor's TARDIS and they're out of sync or something, causing there to be multiple TARDISes... until there suddenly aren't. And then the Doctor decides to literally flush out the Master by flooding his own TARDIS with the water from the river Thames(officially the dumbest idea ever in a Doctor Who story).
And in the midst of all of this, we have companion introductions, and the Doctor's impending doom, and the mystery of the cloister bell, and a dozen other things.

It's all happening at the same time, and doesn't come together at all. I just get the feeling that Bidmead came up with so many interesting ideas and couldn't bring himself to cut any of them, or even dumb it down for the general audience.

Whilst the technobabble persists in Episodes 3-4, it at least picks up the pace and sticks with a more clear storyline(the Master accidentally causes entropy to disintegrate the universe and it's up to him and the Doctor to stop it whilst also fighting in-between).
The incredible scale of Logopolis, and the brilliant build-up to the Fourth Doctor's demise, is its saving grace.

The regeneration itself is a bit of a mixed bag. The oppressively downbeat tone is very nice, and I liked the peaceful final moments and flashbacks to the Fourth Doctor's companions and enemies. But at the same time, it felt like this shouldn't be something that kills the Fourth Doctor. It felt like a situation that he could get out of if this wasn't his final story. I mean, he dies because the Master causes the radio telescope to rotate and he either isn't strong enough to hold onto the cable or gantry, or willingly lets go(which makes no sense even if he does know his regeneration is impending).

Whilst I love the concept of the Watcher itself, I really didn't like his inclusion in the regeneration sequence itself and seeing Peter Davison with white make-up on. I prefer a simpler transition from one actor to another.

CHARACTERS

Tom Baker gives a great final performance, foreboding and exhausted. He looks like he's almost completely drained physically and mentally, going on by pure determination(rather like the Master in The Deadly Assassin).

Matthew Waterhouse's enthusiasm once again trumps his inexperience. He's like the Doctor's puppy dog, always ready to help him and show the TARDIS around to strangers. I remain wary, because I've heard people say he becomes really awful in season 19 and he has been awful before, but at least right now, he's really good.

Sarah Sutton returns as Nyssa... and whilst she does get a really good scene where she sees Traken being destroyed, I've still yet to see a reason why she should be a companion. Her presence is extremely convoluted and her story arc with the Master goes nowhere.

Janet Fielding is introduced as Tegan Jovanka, a stewardess-in-training... and yet another companion whose presence just seems kind of unnecessary. She's extremely theatrical in her acting(over-the-top gestures) and actually kind of reminds me a little bit of Clara as she constantly makes really dumb decisions and butts in on the conversations. On the positive side, she has a very firm personality(which makes her way more interesting than Nyssa) and doesn't act like a spoiled princess(which makes her way more tolerable than Clara). I loved her determination to replace her flat tire on her own.

This is also Anthony Ainley's first full story as the Master, and of all the new characters, he is easily the most disappointing. I've seen Ainley before in other stories(The Five Doctors and Survival), so I know he can be good, but in here, he's really done a disservice. First of all, he chuckles evilly way too much, to the point where it becomes actually laughable.
Secondly, he is extremely short-sighted and frequently needs the Doctor to get himself out of trouble. As a villain, he's incompetent, and not very far away from Jonathan Pryce's parody version in The Curse Of The Fatal Death.

As such, it doesn't feel like the Doctor is fighting his greatest foe in a struggle for the universe, it's more like he's trying to stop an idiot from bringing the metaphorical house of cards down.

The final major character is the Monitor, who is the head of the Logopolitans. A great performance from John Fraser, who really sells the dignity, wisdom and kindness that represent the planet. I honestly believed that he and the Doctor are old friends. I know my description here is generic, but yeah, he's just really good in the role and made the story more interesting to watch, because I was invested in the fate of Logopolis.

NOTES

*I love the way Adric reacts every time he sees Nyssa. He happily shouts "NYSSA!!" like he just got a birthday present.

*Tegan's insults to the Master are hilarious. "You revolting man!" "I wouldn't take orders from you if you were the last man in the universe!" (I guess Tegan's a submissive at heart.)

*There's a great exchange between the Doctor and the Master, where the former compliments the latter's TARDIS, and then the Master suggests envy is the beginning of greatness. It's villainous without being explicitly villainous, and that's the kind of writing the Master should have.

*Considering that a quarter of the universe is junked in this story, how the heck did the Time Lords allow the Master to go free? Surely this is the worst crime documented in Time Lord history!! At the very least, they should've dragged the Doctor back to Gallifrey immediately to report. If this isn't brought up in the next Gallifrey story, I will be upset.

*Why does the Watcher take Adric and Nyssa out of the universe? I mean, yeah, it's a place of safety from entropy, but surely he knows that the only thing they'll do is go back to find the Doctor. Why not just put them down right next to the Pharos Project?

*It seems a little absurd for the Doctor to sneak around the guards of the radio telescope. Doesn't he have UNIT credentials or some other excuse he could use to get by?

*The Master pretends to remove the lightspeed overdrive gadget from his TARDIS(which is necessary to beam out the Logopolitan program to the cracks in time and space) and gives the fake to the Doctor, hence why they can't use his TARDIS to get to the radio telescope. But once they get into trouble, the Master does use his TARDIS(since the original is still attached to it) and the two meet there. Still, despite the fact that the Master obviously needed to use it to travel in the TARDIS, the Doctor doesn't question that he has the actual gadget and even tries to get it when the Master casually tosses it out. Maybe I'm missing something, but shouldn't he have already guessed it wasn't real when the Master used the TARDIS and tossed the gadget out of the door? He's a bit slow on the uptake, is what I'm saying.

*Speaking of the cracks in time and space, they were actually present in Doctor Who all the way back in Tom Baker's era!!

*You have to love the adorable 80s graphics in the TARDIS scanner.

*I forgot to mention it in the previous review, but "This type's not my forte". Brilliant joke.

*I highly recommend the documentary on the Logopolis DVD. It's very informative about Tom's last season and has some great anecdotes from the man(my favourites being his explanation for why the Doctor listens to his glass of water and his "advice" to Peter Davison).

*I love how the Doctor yells at Adric: "Do you want a quick decision or a DEBATE?!". This is the kind of Doctor Clara needed.

*The cloister bell is first heard in this story, and the Doctor explains it's used to communicate danger(it's like a phone alarm - you're supposed to respond to it).

*I hate the Master's silky, black, jester-esque outfit.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The story opens with a policeman on Earth, and a mention of "Totter's Yard".

2) The Doctor doesn't want to return to Gallifrey, since he'd have to explain how Romana broke the cardinal Time Lord law of non-intervention, which was established in The War Games, and explained further in Underworld.

3) The callback to Gallifrey itself has been a minor subplot since Meglos.

4) The Doctor wants to fix the chameleon circuit, which was broken in An Unearthly Child, the very first story.

5) We briefly see Romana's room, and her beach costume from The Leisure Hive. The Doctor later jettisons this room to boost the TARDIS' power and dematerialise(what caused it to get stuck, I don't even know. The Master, for whatever reason?)

6) The Doctor mentions to Adric that the TARDIS was mid-repair when he borrowed it. I'm not actually sure if we've heard this before or not, but it's definitely something that carried over to the new series, as we see in The Name Of The Doctor.

7) The Master returns, having escaped from Traken with Tremas' body, as seen in the previous story.

8) Like in Terror Of The Autons and The Deadly Assassin, he miniaturises his victims.

9) The Doctor mentions that the Master is down to his twelfth regeneration.

10) Adric says he can swim, and we saw him grow up in a riverside community in Full Circle.

11) The Watcher's appereance has a precedent in Planet Of The Spiders, where the Third Doctor's Time Lord mentor Kan'po Rinpoche also cast a future shadow of his next incarnation, though without all the white make-up.

BEST QUOTE

"I'm not paid to have opinions, I'm paid to do my duty!" - Detective Inspector.

CONCLUSION

Whilst it sadly didn't come together well at all, I must at least applaud the creativity of the story, and the appropriately high stakes that make it stand out from the Doctor's other adventures.

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And thus we come to the end of Season 18, and the Tom Baker era. I'll make a separate post detailing my thoughts on the Fourth Doctor, and my Top 10 stories from him, so let's just talk about Season 18 here.
In short, I loved it. Whilst it does have a clinical feel to it, I definitely prefer the intelligent, hard sci-fi approach to the almost lackadaisical feel of the late Williams era. Tom's U-turn from cartoon to a near-mythological figure elevated the season even further and the brief return of Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts(my personal favourite producer-script editor combo) added a nostalgic touch.
This season was a great example of what Doctor Who should aspire to be like. Varied, cool-headed, and trying to educate and entertain. It also tied together really well, in a way that almost made it seem like the new series, with elements from all stories coming together in the end. It's not just a series of adventures, it's an ongoing journey through time and space, and felt appropriately mystical and dramatic.

Let's see if John Nathan-Turner can keep it up for Peter Davison's first season...

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TOM BAKER - THE FOURTH DOCTOR (1974-1981) RETROSPECTIVE

DOC-METER

Of all the Doctors, I think it can be easily said that the Fourth was the one who changed the most over time. From a spirited, youthful adventurer to a jaded, flippant man-child to a wizened, towering monument of elegant endurance, this eccentric, wickedly witty genius has never failed to charm and excite audiences.

FAVOURITE STORY

The Androids Of Tara

FAVOURITE COMPANION

Romana(both of them, though if I was forced to pick, I'd go with Mary Tamm).

FAVOURITE ENEMY

Davros(the Michael Wisher version).

SCREWDRIVER

Basically the same as the Third Doctor's, but without the design inconsistencies. Slightly sleeker as well.

COSTUME

In season 12, a red jacket with a checkered vest(a fob-watch), grey trousers and a varied cravat. Continuing from Pertwee's run was the habit of wearing the TARDIS key around one's neck.

In seasons 13-14, the Doctor abandoned the red jacket for a grey(for outdoor adventures) and velvet brown(for studio adventures) pair. The TARDIS key went back to being a Yale key that the Doctor carried around in his pocket.

In season 15, the cravat is abandoned.

In season 16, the grey coat and vest are abandoned, and in the last two stories, a new coat with huge lapels is introduced, which is worn in every story in season 17 apart from Shada, where the Doctor reverts to his classic velvet brown.

Season 18 marks a huge overhaul and the introduction of my favourite Doctor Who costume: a huge burgundy trench coat with a velvet vest and question marks on the T-shirt.

Throughout season 12-17, the Doctor wears a multi-coloured(and increasingly longer) scarf and occasionally a brown, battered fedora. Both are replaced with burgundy versions for season 18.

WORST STORY

Revenge Of The Cybermen

WORST COMPANION

Nyssa

WORST ENEMY

Captain Rorvik from Warriors' Gate. He's not bad, per se, but if you look at his motivations, the man is pathetic. He's just an overworked commander who's going megalomaniacal about "getting something done around here"!

OVERALL ERA(S)

As Tom Baker's run went through three different producers, I feel like it's only appropriate that we talk about three different eras.

The Philip Hinchcliffe seasons were very mature, and took the show to a completely new level of storytelling. It almost felt like Hinchcliffe and his script editor, Robert Holmes were using the show as a vehicle to deliver classic horror tales and their own visceral concepts and messages to an audience that wouldn't otherwise come in contact with them.
However, this turned the show into a moth circling the flame, and eventually it got burnt...

Leading us to the Graham Williams years, which upped the imagination at the cost of credibility and drama. The budget was also cut multiple times during this time, resulting in the show looking cheaper than it had in years. Turning the show into a comedically-bent romp was quite an interesting and unique approach and tempted Baker to improvise more and more, especially once fantasy writer Douglas Adams took over a script editor.

Whilst not as directly controversial as the Hinchcliffe era, the Williams years did its own damage to Doctor Who's reputation, and this time, it was up to young John-Nathan Turner to fix it. The show he put out was strikingly different from what it had been the year before: with cohesive storylines running through the serials, revamped gimmicks, sober lead actors and no influence from novels, Season 18 was pure science fiction.

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TOP 10 FOURTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES

10. The Horns Of Nimon - This one's a personal favourite. It's so bad it's good. There's a special magic born from a dark cloud of utter disinterest from everyone involved, with OTT performances and hilariously poor effects galore.

9. Horror Of Fang Rock - A claustrophobic psychological horror story with an ingenious historical location and a nice, well characterised small cast.

8. Full Circle - Completely unique with a truly alien, but sensical world. It looks visually impressive as well.

7. The Deadly Assassin - Whilst it's a fairly interesting political thriller, this one is mostly notable for its break from the formula and establishing the Doctor's home planet. It's also easily one of the best Master stories out there. The only thing I dislike is the long, drawn-out segment inside the Matrix.

6. Genesis Of The Daleks - Let's get one thing straight: this isn't the best Doctor Who story of all time. Not even close. But it's still a terrific, dark origin story for the Daleks, that manages to both reinvent them and pay homage to their Nazi origins.

5. The Talons Of Weng-Chiang - Almost like reading a Sherlock Holmes novel, it's intricate and layered, with a truly fantastic villain and a great combination of history and sci-fi.

4. The Seeds Of Doom - It's just one of those stories that is perfectly solid in every aspect. The idea of nature as the villain is really interesting, and the special effects hold up very well.

3. Pyramids Of Mars - Creates a truly gothic atmosphere, with one of the best one-off villains in the show's history. It's also got remarkable similarities to the new series.

2. The Brain Of Morbius - Perfect Halloween horror, with a dark atmosphere, but plenty of wordplay to balance it out. It's an important chapter in Gallifreyan lore, but not in a grandiose, epic sort of way.

1. The Androids Of Tara - Pure swords and sorcery fun, with a witty villain, action and adventure, and just everyone firing on all cylinders. Light Doctor Who at its absolute best.

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Castrovalva is a strange, contemplative, but enthusiastic opener for the Fifth Doctor era.

WRITTEN BY

Recent script editor Christopher H. Bidmead, whose philosophical pondering and highbrow mathematical plot devices have transformed Doctor Who from an adventure show to a strange Alice In Wonderland experience.

PLOT

As Tegan and Nyssa deal with the Doctor's post-regeneration trauma, the Master(hell yeah!) kidnaps Adric and forces him to use block transfer computation to trap his arch-nemesis once and for all.

ANALYSIS

Unlike previous(and later) introduction stories, there is no big adventure here that the Doctor has to take on to prove his identity. The only threat comes from the Master taking advantage of his extremely vulnerable state to try and end his life once and for all.

Having post-regeneration trauma affect the Doctor so badly is a really good idea in my opinion. Not only does it allow the companions to take charge, but it also means that this is the first time since The Power Of The Daleks that it hasn't been played for laughs and also the first time ever that it comes across as a real problem for the Doctor to overcome.

Because of the focus on the Doctor, we spend almost the entirety of the first two episodes inside the TARDIS, which I really enjoyed(the new series especially could learn from this) and the second half on a truly remarkable alien world... remarkable in the sense that it is completely non-hostile and more of a mystery with a ticking clock.

It certainly feels like the show has completely changed with these last few stories, into a more cerebral, concept-focused drama, which would be great if it wasn't for...

CHARACTERS

Peter Davison's start is a mixed bag, I'm afraid. I like him when he takes control, but it happens only once or twice in the entire story. Even in Part 4, the Doctor is largely debilitated and like with Peter Capaldi in the modern series, you go away feeling like "he doesn't really know what he's doing, but he's giving it his best, so I guess we'll go with it."

Now, in my review of Spearhead From Space, I pointed out how it seemed like Pertwee's first scenes as the Doctor were playing Troughton's incarnation, who slowly faded away to become the Third. Here, this is the case quite literally, as Davison is made to impersonate the other actors who played the part. And it looks ridiculous.

At his best, though, Davison is witty, bashful and quite adorable as the Fifth Doctor, and I'm quite excited to see more of him. Fun fact: the first classic Doctor Who story I ever saw was The Five Doctors, so in my mind, he's always been the definitive classic incarnation(his appereance in Time Crash certainly helped) and I've been looking forward to his stories since I started with Hartnell.

Each of the three companions might be good on their own, but together, they are a ridiculous band. First of all, there's the fact that they're all characters from recent stories, which just makes it look like bits and pieces of the past season have somehow stuck onto the show. And secondly, none of them are really any good!

Tegan Jovanka is probably my current favourite, as she seems to have the most spirit. Unfortunately, Janet Fielding's acting continues to be very forced and over the top, and so I'm alternating between liking her and rolling my eyes every time she waits a full second before proudly declaring every one of her lines.
Also, what is she even still doing there? Why didn't she go with the security guards once she got back to Earth?

Then there's Sarah Sutton's Nyssa, and I still have no idea what her princess character is supposed to have on the TARDIS. She's a boring technical expert with dead eyes.

And finally, Matthew Waterhouse's Adric, who is left completely adrift without Tom Baker's powerful presence. He is barely even in this story, but still, it doesn't feel right at all.

Anthony Ainley's Master is an embarrassment. First of all, I find it out of character for the Master to construct an entire world just to kill the Doctor. The Master's main goal has always been to gain power over the universe. Even the raging Peter Pratt incarnation, who intentionally brought the Doctor to Gallifrey so he could be killed, was merely using him as part of a plan to restore himself.
Having the Master actually work solely at trying to kill the Doctor is both very undignified and cartoonish.
Plus, he tries to crack open the Zero Cabinet with a fire poker and has to be told by Nyssa how Time Lord technology works! He's an utter buffoon!

The Castrovalvans are all fairly decent and charming, much like Castrovalva itself. I never really got what the deal with the Castrovalvan women was, though, or why they stole the Zero Cabinet.

NOTES

*What on Earth was all that drivel about the "power of the word 'if'"???

*At one point, the Master uses Adric to send the TARDIS into Event One aka the Big Bang. For what purpose, exactly? It is later revealed that he also had Adric input a whole bunch of new data into the TARDIS databanks just so Nyssa and Tegan could figure out how to pilot it to safety in Castrovalva where they could help the Doctor, something that they would've done regardless of the situation. So he's basically sabotaging one of his plans for another. Crikey.

*If the Zero Room got ejected from the TARDIS, why are the doors still there?

*The TARDIS databanks say that Castrovalva is a peaceful environment similar to that of a Zero Room. If that's the case, why does the Doctor still need a Zero Cabinet after they land there?

*The trek to Castrovalva is extremely drawn out. Honestly, this story could've been a two-parter, with the first part establishing the Doctor's plight, the Master's plan and ending with the crew being captured on Castrovalva, and the second part featuring the Doctor working it all out and stopping the Master.

*The music is fantastic in this story. I especially love the Castrovalvan theme that plays when the crew are exploring the planet.

*When Tegan and Nyssa find blood near the Zero Cabinet, it looks 100% like jam.

*There's very little transition between the girls' travelling to the city of Castrovalva(on the planet of Castrovalva) and actually arriving there. Odd complaint, I know, but it felt very sudden to me.

*Tegan and Nyssa are surrounded. They run away for a bit. And nobody catches them. Sure.

*The pig that the Castrovalvans are roasting looks a bit too real to me... did they get an actual pig in the studio? And if so, how?

*This line really bothers me for some reason. When the Doctor is offered celery as a snack: "Definitely civilisation!". Is Christopher Bidmead a vegetarian or something?

*I will say this about Anthony Ainley: he really sells the Master's various disguises as different people.

*Speaking of his disguises though, the strobing effect when the mask is removed looks very silly. Why not just an actual mask, like in the Delgado days?

*Maybe it's a Time Lord thing, but it looks really silly when the Doctor goes to sleep without even taking his suit off.

*When Tegan and Nyssa arrive in Castrovalva, they are told that somebody else wished to see the Doctor. Somehow, they correctly guess that it's the confused Doctor himself, rather than, I dunno, Adric?

*The tapestry that can show pictures of recent events is a really daft concept, which only exists to have someplace quirky where the Master could hide his villainous devices.

*In a very bizarre scene, Shardovan insists that he be allowed to carry the Doctor's cabinet instead of Tegan and Nyssa. Suddenly, it cuts to the Castrovalvans carrying it and Tegan and Nyssa running up to them and demanding that they carry it instead. I mean, what happened? Did they surrender the cabinet and think "nah, they MUST be doing something evil!" and chase after it???

*A bit of awful writing: as the Master believes that the Doctor is inside the Zero cabinet, we actually see him entering the room via the tapestry and Tegan says out loud: "Wretched tapestry! He'll spot the Doctor any minute now!" It really comes across like the show talking down to the children.

*Why is Shardovan's attack on the Master such a big deal when he just erased two Castrovalvans from existence before they could do any harm to him?

*The final scene, where the TARDIS team and the Castrovalvans tear the Doctor and the Master away from each other as the city collapses around them is quite awesome.

*This line is simultaneously silly and adorable: as the TARDIS sends the Doctor a wheelchair, he exclaims: "Transport of delight!"

*Another really memorable line: as the Doctor is trying to find his way out of the timey-wimey mess that Castrovalva has become, he asks the women for help and they all point in different directions. The Doctor's response? "Well, that's democracy for you."

*The special effects representing the recursive occlusion are absolutely terrible and don't bring Escher to mind at all.

*Why exactly was the regeneration so difficult this time around anyway? I wish they'd explained that, since it was definitely much worser than any of the ones he'd had until now. And all that he died from was a bad fall!

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) Since this story is a direct sequel to Logopolis, several things carry over, such as the concept of block transfer computation, the Master's presence and his pillar-shaped TARDIS(apparently he can't be bothered with the chameleon circuit anymore either), mentions of Logopolis itself, and the Pharos Project, the cloister bell. Rather interestingly, the Doctor also mentions ejecting Romana's room in the previous story, something that he "did once with Adric".

2) When he is in delirium, the Fifth Doctor impersonates his previous selves and namechecks the Brigadier, Vicki, Jamie, Jo and K-9.

3) For the first time since the Third Doctor era, we hear the famous "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" line.

4) In a VERY random moment, the Portreeve mentions that in Castrovalva, the Doctor can finally rest from his adventures, and the Doctor responds with "oh, the Ogrons and the Daleks and all that."

5) The Master's unmasking may not look identical to, but it's clearly a reference to Roger Delgado's Master.

BEST QUOTE

"The solution? Oh my little friend, if only you were." - The Doctor, as he picks up a random medicine bottle.

CONCLUSION

Like the previous story, it's a bit of an unedited mess of creative ideas, but there's such a happy-go-lucky charm to the new Doctor and the writing itself is frequently witty and intellectual, so that it just about works.

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Four To Doomsday gives a great first impression as a new, refreshing take on an old formula, but sadly peters out into lame nonsense.

WRITTEN BY

Terence Dudley, who directed Meglos last season. I hope he can improve on future scripts.

PLOT

On its way to Heathrow airpot, the TARDIS goes off course and lands on a spaceship approaching Earth, where the crew encounter a race of people who benevolently wish to "help" humanity by turning them into robots.

ANALYSIS

What sucked me into the episode was the politeness of the bad guys. Instead of the usual corridor sprinting and action sequences, the crew are welcomed aboard the ship and treated as guests, slowly uncovering Monarch's evil plan through deduction and exploration. And even after that, they're not really his enemies, but more like nuisances that he is considering whether or not to swat away.

Meanwhile, the TARDIS crew deal with their own inner conflicts. Whilst it's true that their arguments give the show a soap opera aspect, and that Davison is really the only notable actor amongst the regulars, it's an interesting new development for me and somehow, I feel far more excited to see the next Davison stories(and learning about the rocky behind the scenes melodrama) than I ever was to see another cosy, safe Tom Baker adventure.

Besides, I've never minded the soap opera thing. Fans often complain that RTD's era feels like a soap opera... well, if that means character drama, then why not? It adds depth to the show.

Where Four To Doomsday went wrong, however, was that it made no sense. The only answer we get for any of the bizarre things we see on the ship is that "Monarch is crazy". Hence, androids built out of various representatives of human history, some of whom have conscious thought, and daily repetitive dances based on their cultures played out in some kind of cargo hold.
It's just... weird.

And as a result, it became more and more absurd as time went on. By the time the crew overthrew Monarch by having all the androids dance at the same time, I had completely given up taking this seriously. What a shame.

CHARACTERS

Peter Davison's proper debut as the Fifth Doctor is pretty great! He has a somewhat timid, innocent nature that hides the inner fire("Now listen to me, you young idiot...") that makes for a truly different kind of approach for playing the character. Previous incarnations of the Doctor have all been outspoken, self-absorbed and somewhat melancholy in their own unique ways, but Davison redefines him with the mindset of an uncertain young man trying to do his best with his insecurities.
(Which is probably because Davison was an uncertain young man trying to do his best)

The problem is that he's burdened with three increasingly crap companions. Adric has randomly turned a misogynistic, cynical arse. Although, I can actually explain why I'm not bothered by his betrayal of the Doctor in this story.
You see, the guy comes from an isolated community where everyone knows everyone, so he's never really been lied to. In his adventures with the Doctor, the only true villain he's encountered is the Master. So, you can't really blame him for finding the Monarch a genuine good guy.
So yes, whilst Adric does make us slap our heads, you can't really blame him for his choices. What you CAN blame him for is how unlikable he is about it, even going so far as to wrestle Tegan for the TARDIS key!! Not to mention that his sexism is truly legendary.

Speaking of Tegan, once again, she makes sense in concept, but is awfully executed: unlike most companions, she is happy to be down-to-Earth and it's not like the Doctor provides her with a constant, what with him switching into a completely different person overnight.
However, Tegan seemed pretty swell with all of that in the previous story. As I pointed out, she had a perfect oppurtunity at the beginning of Castrovalva to ditch the crew, but did not. So her breakdown in this story and her attempt to take the TARDIS away herself seem like an enormous overreaction.

The only good thing about Tegan in this story is the Doctor's priceless reaction when he learns of what she did.

And finally, we have Nyssa. Nyssa is still boring as hell, but I'm very slightly warming up to her as she and the Fifth Doctor seem to be building a nice, gentle rapport.

Of the guest cast, the standout is Stratford Johns as the Monarch, a fine villain with a cordial, egotistical personality, forcing the crew to tread carefully around him. In some ways, he reminded me of Colonel von Strom from the classic "Allo Allo" sitcom.

There's not much to say about his ministers, Persuasion and Enlightenment(except that their names are a bit silly), though I like Persuasion's cool, refined attitude.

As for the androids, I was quite fond of Philip Locke's wise Greek philosopher Bigon and Burt Kwouk's dignified Lin Futu was quite fun once he sided with the Doctor(which happened a bit too fast for my liking), but the other two representatives were mostly ignored. I get that it would've been hard to involve Kurkutji, since he didn't speak English, but the princess Villagra(insert your own joke here) never even got a word in!

NOTES

*The CSO in the outer space scenes looks surprisingly bad for a production that aimed to look better than the show's past.

*The Doctor fangirling over the technical equipment was hilarious.

*Why does Adric say that the Doctor can't go very far from the equipment room, when there's a staircase to the right...? Did the TARDIS scanner miss it?

*And soon, Tegan is complaining that the Doctor "might be in trouble!" even though he's wandering outside the box in full sight of the scanner! What's going on here?!?

*Has nobody explained to Tegan that the TARDIS is a time machine, so she wouldn't whine about losing her job because she's late?

*I think Adric was meant to come across innocent here, but he sounds hilariously sarcastic as he suggests Tegan read a math book to pass the time.

*One thing that slightly bothers me about Davison is that he frequently sounds like he's incredibly nervous, even in scenes where he's meant to come across as a confident lead.

*The Doctor suggests that the magnetic density of Monarch's ship caused the TARDIS to go off course. Now, this does sort of have a precedent... in a story made almost twenty years earlier, The Web Planet... but that story has an excuse for magnets affecting the time and space ship: it was made before proper rules were established. Now, it just seems ridiculous.

*The Monarch's spaceship looks like it was built by NASA.

*Continuing with the vegetarian theme, the crew are offered lunch based purely on plantlife. And worse, they're not even allowed to finish it!

*What's up with the TARDIS not translating the Australian aborigine language and what's up with Tegan talking Australian aborigine?

*I find it VERY unlikely that none of the companions even question the Doctor's decision to accept Monarch's invitation aboard the spaceship until much later. Even Jo or Sarah Jane would have, and they're legitimately the Doctor's friends(something that I can't really say about any of the people he's ended up travelling with these days). And even worse, later Nyssa just agrees to be sedated by the Urbankans without any argument!

*Why does Tegan not accept the Urbankans' ability to change appereances whatsoever to the point of calling it insane, when she just saw the Doctor regenerate recently?

*A constant in this story is all sorts of lessons about cybernetics and photosynthesis etc, harkening back to the very first season where Ian and Barbara would often explain basic concepts to the kids.

*Speaking of which, how does Adric not know what photosynthesis is?? He grew up amongst scientists in an outdoors community!

*Persuasion's green velvet suit(based on Tegan's drawings of 1980s fashion) looks FABULOUS.

*If the Urbankans have no culture, why do they wear so intricate costumes?

*When Bigon reveals his android nature, the CSO effect on his chest looks really nice actually. However, it's awful when used on the face as well(because unlike the chest, which is a costume, he can't just remove his face so it looks like it just disappears when he takes the mask off. The Android Invasion did the same thing much better.

*I'm not sure, but I think this might be the first time we've actually seen the Doctor give someone a TARDIS key, in this case to Tegan.

*Why would the Monarch think that using the TARDIS crew as his ambassadors would actually work? He's been on Earth like five times already and still doesn't guess how people would react to four strangers claiming that aliens are coming(three of whom actually ARE aliens)?

*If Bigon knows that Lin Futu supports the Monarch, why on Earth does he talk about betraying him with the Doctor out loud in Futu's laboratory when he's present?!

*At one point, Bigon reveals that as punishment for attempting to overcome Monarch, he was locked in one of the drawers with the other Urbankans for 100 years. My question is: was he even awake all this time? If his neural circuit was merely removed, it's not much of a punishment, since he couldn't think and if it was, well... does that mean the Urbankans have also been awake and alone all this time?

*I love how the Doctor sweetly compliments Nyssa for her escape attempt. "It was quite brilliant, Nyssa." Aww.

*How daft are the Urbankans that they don't listen in on what the crew are discussing in private during the dancing sequences, especially after they've already tried to disrupt the Monarch's work??

*If the Monarch notices that something is wrong with the camera footage when they use the magnifying glass on the monopticons, what's the point?

*Tegan's entire story arc is one big bag of filler. It would've been a two-parter without her taking the TARDIS outside the spaceship.

*The Monarch doesn't question the androids leaving the cargo room and dancing all the way to the robotisation room(full of expensive equipment, I would presume)?

*Adric's victory dance after the Doctor gets into the TARDIS is amazing.

*Why doesn't the Doctor need a spacesuit for his helmet to work?? Doesn't all the air fly out from the gaps?

*Why do the androids not want to go and explore 20th century Earth?? What are the four sentient ones going to do on another planet, take control of the Urbankans?? Also, their grinning at each other at the end is super creepy.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Doctor describes the equipment in the Monarch's ship as "amazing work, worthy of Gallifrey".

2) Tegan's desire to return home as soon as possible was established in Logopolis.

3) Tegan and Nyssa mention how the Master killed their relatives.

4) Adric describes an avocado as a small "river fruit", a reference to what he had to steal in Full Circle.

5) When meeting the Monarch, the Doctor mentions each of his crew's species by name.

6) Adric describes the Master to the Monarch as the Doctor's arch enemy(all this talk of the Master goes nowhere, by the way).

7) Monarch, Persuasion and Enlightenment discuss the "galactic legend of Rassilon, he who founded the Eye Of Harmony". Both were established in The Deadly Assassin.

8) Adric tells the Monarch how the Doctor has two hearts and can go into a trance that suspends life functions, something he's done before in Terror Of The Zygons and Castrovalva and possibly other stories too.

9) For the first time in a long while, we hear that the TARDIS stands for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space".

BEST QUOTE

MONARCH: "You interfered with my monopticons!"
DOCTOR: *deadpan* "I wouldn't dream of interfering with your monopticons."

CONSLUSION

Certainly an interesting story with a lot going for it, but it toppled.

[rushy]

And today, I've hit a milestone... this is the first time ever I've had to edit a review down for being too long.

[rushy]

Kinda is a basic Doctor Who story, executed in a very experimental way.

WRITTEN BY

Christopher Bailey, a lecturer in the University of Brighton and occasional scriptwriter. This is his first of two scripts for Doctor Who. And you can tell he's not the most experienced.

PLOT

The TARDIS crew recuperate from their recent adventures on the paradise planet Deva Loka, only to get separated whilst wandering around. The Doctor and Adric are taken to three human astronauts who are studying the planet and its natives for future colonists and must survive when two of them suffer mental breakdowns, whilst Tegan is left behind to be possessed by a mysterious evil entity.

ANALYSIS

The uniqueness of the Davison episodes continues to surprise me. After all, we've had possession and insane base commanders in Doctor Who countless of times before, but here, they're both ramped up to disturbing levels. The Mara doesn't just take over Tegan, it tortures her mentally. And Hindle doesn't just stubbornly get in the Doctor's way, he becomes downright childish, to the point of crying for mommy. It's incredibly compelling.

That doesn't mean the story is without faults, however. As I already said, Bailey wasn't the most experienced writer and like with Chris Bidmead, he has a bit of a hard time getting his points across to the audience. There's a lot here that completely flew over my head, but was obviously meant to be thematically important, like the flash-forward and Karuna's connection with Panna. Or the box that cures people of their mental problems to the point of changing them fundamentally.
It's quite abstract at times and that can often get in the way of enjoying the story.

It's also interesting to note that there are actually two completely separate storylines going on in Kinda: the threat of the Mara outside and Hindle's insanity in the base. They're both given equal importance and threat, so neither really feels like filler, but it's just strange to have two completely unconnected series of events going on at the same time.

CHARACTERS

Amongst an ensemble of quirky characters, Davison's Doctor functions as a grounding, pleasant figure with basic motivations(survival and reuniting the TARDIS team). He serves as the sensible counterpart to Hindle's increasingly deluded actions and he's also the only immediately logical character in Panna's foreboding visions.

For once, an attempt is made at writing Adric like a proper character. Bailey takes advantage of his previous shadiness and turns it around to only have Adric pretend he's switched sides so he could save the Doctor's life. He even has some properly dramatic scenes later on... or he would, if he wasn't played by Matthew Waterhouse. Unfortunately, he does still get one very awful scene towards the end, where he randomly accuses Tegan for the whole mess.

Speaking of Tegan, Janet Fielding finally impressed me... as the Mara, that is. As Tegan, she's still the same melodramatic nutcase. But Fielding plays one hell of a villain, seductive, feral and gleefully dark. I'm starting to think they really miscast her as a companion.

And then there's Nyssa. Taking a nap. She's so vital to this show, isn't she?

Richard Todd is delightfully gruff as Sanders and even more delightfully silly once he's been "cured" by the Box of Jhana. He's slightly creepy once he's been turned kind and I'm a bit bothered by the fact that he's never really restored to who he used to be(being gruff is hardly a mental issue), but I liked him nonetheless.

Nerys Hughes was a great one-off companion-esque character, and easily better than all the other three put together. She proves once again, that sensible, well-educated women can make for great companions and still scream every once in a while(because who wouldn't?).

Mary Morris and Sarah Prince were great as the wise woman and apprentice, respectively. The child actress was chosen very well, and acted fine whilst Morris almost looked like an alien with her long neck and boggling eyes. She reminded me of E.T.

But nobody comes close to Simon Rouse's terrifyingly realistic portrayal of complete insanity. Hindle is a suppressed, obsessive rule-follower who was beaten as a child and on a planet filled with lush plantlife and nothing to do, he loses it and forces everyone to follow his whims or he'll kill them all. Hindle reacts to everything with instinct and goes with his first thought(ironically, his superior earlier on mentioned that "I never think twice about anything. Wastes too much time.") and you can imagine what his childhood must've been like when he's reduced to begging for his mother to save him.

Lee Cornes(known for appearing multiple times on Blackadder and even being a writer for Mr Bean: The Animated Series) has a great role as the Trickster. He never says anything, nor is he really important, but there's just something about his presence that adds a lot of emotion to the episode. I think he represents the Kinda as a whole far better than the dead-eyed extras surrounding him.

NOTES

*"Give us the benefit of the doubt. It's common sense, really, wouldn't you agree?" Don't push it, mr. Passive-Aggressive.

*Why doesn't the Doctor eat the food he's offered at the base? Is this more of his vegetarian streak?

*"Did the Kinda take them?" "Impossible." "Are the Kinda dangerous?" "We don't know." Facepalm.

*Why would the Kinda wearing a double-helix mean that they know what DNA is? Couldn't they just make up the symbol on their own?

*The Doctor and Adric barely even explain their presence on the planet, yet Sanders lets them wander around the base?

*Once again, the guest cast are credited before the companions. I'm not gonna get over this.

*The scene where Adric teaches the Doctor how a magic trick should've been reversed... it very much sounds like the sort of thing the Doctor would teach Adric. I mean, why would the Doctor be so wowed by it?

*Would the Doctor really spend the whole day imprisoned without even bothering to escape? Isn't he concerned that something will harm Tegan while she's outside?

*I love the Doctor's exasperated "oh, not this crap again" expression when he thinks Adric has turned against him.

*Why does Tegan almost break down and start crying when she's stuck with a copy of herself? Just ignore it and focus on the obvious real threat.

*I hate hate hate how characters in Doctor Who constantly say "Don't you see?" when something weird is happening. No, no I don't see!

*Why doesn't Tegan question the creepy clown more? She takes his presence very matter-of-factly.

*People love to bring up the giant Mara at the end as an example of bad effects on Doctor Who, but I'd like to mention the Mara's crossing from one person's arm to another. It looks like something anyone might spew on Youtube nowadays.

*Strange moment: the Doctor and Todd have to make a decision and toss a coin. When it comes up heads, Todd defiantly goes "Tails." Um... does it matter?

*The best example of how bad the current companions are is the scene where Adric and Tegan talk about nothing except how useless they are in this situation.

*At one point, something weird happens to Davison's voice and he sounds like Orson Welles saying "when I what?"

*The Davison crew has this really annoying habit of chatting about the situation when it's still going on. Aris might be dying next to them, but no, let's first negotiate the benefits of saving him...

*As Karuna announces that Aris approaching, the Doctor feels the need to tell Adric and Tegan, even though they're like... right behind him and as far as I know, they're not deaf.

*It's a bit boring to have the Doctor detail exactly how he's going to defeat the Mara
before doing it.

*How does the Mara not know who the Doctor is if it was in Tegan's mind? Does he forget the memories once he leaves the host?

*Another use of "It's fantastic!!" as an OMG. I thought it died out in the 60s...

*Forgive me if this sounds silly, but once the Mara has grown to certain height, it's above the mirrors, isn't it? So it can't see its own reflection, so... it should be free, right?

*They CLEARLY didn't properly close the gaps between the mirrors as the Doctor instructed, and a few of the Kinda were staring right at the Mara.

*Apparently, at one point Matthew Waterhouse instructed Richard Todd(an old veteran) on how to act on TV. Waterhouse swears that he was being sarcastic and was talking to himself. I believe him(if I've learned anything on the internet, it's that sarcasm is often hard to understand).

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Doctor's analysis of the planet: "Intentions: unknown. Hypothesis: unfriendly. As K-9 would say."
I think this is a pretty shoehorned reference.

2) Not a callback, per se, but the Doctor technically defeated the Mara with recursive occlusion, didn't he(the mirrors)?

BEST QUOTE

TODD: "He's on the verge of a nervous breakdown."
SANDERS: "Well, then being in charge should do him some good!"

CONCLUSION

I'm not sure I was all that into it, but it was a very interesting and cleverly done story.

[rushy]

The Visitation is a welcome return to the show's roots as a simplistic, but entertaining and witty time travelling show.

WRITTEN BY

Eric Saward, who is also taking over as the script editor of the show. So far, so good.

PLOT

Another failed attempt at returning Tegan home brings the TARDIS to 1666, where the crew find themselves caught between paranoid villagers and a renegade group of Terileptil fugitives plotting to eradicate the human race and colonise the planet.

ANALYSIS

There's not much substance to be found here, but the 17th century rural atmosphere makes up for it. It's the Robin Hood era, with forest dwellers and shadowy, candle-lit rooms. Very cold and autumn-y.

As with the previous three stories, the unusual TARDIS team dynamic continues to be a source of interest as well. They may not be particularly good characters, but at least it's not the bland "girl asking questions from an older gentleman" cliche.

There's lots of great lines, something interesting is always happening and one particular source provides an endless amount of warmth for this story. What is that source?

CHARACTERS

That source is Richard Mace, as played by Michael Robbins. He's a wandering actor/highwayman with a heart of gold, who gets by in the plague-ravaged England with luck and two fake pistols. A real gentleman, he follows the Doctor around for the entire story, making the best of his situation(whether it be indulging in the contents of a wine cellar or showing off his lockpicking skills) and trying to steer clear of getting slaughtered. Definitely one of the best guest characters we've had on the show.

Peter Davison is all over the place in this story. At times, he is active, confident and aloof, harkening back to his more eccentric predecessors. This "old, impatient man in a youngster's body" is probably the best characterisation he's gotten. However, he has a very annoying tendency now to nag with his companions and the way Davison plays his exasperation with them is far too melodramatic for my liking.

Well, color me impressed, because Nyssa finally shows promise! Her early goodbye to Tegan was very endearing and I loved the cute wave she gave to Adric once she saw he'd managed to escape on his own. Her interactions with the Doctor are really lovely too. After all, the Doctor in this story is rather like a teacher taking a group of students out on a field trip. And Nyssa's top of the class.

Tegan and Adric are both a waste, though. They both spend most of the story drifting in and out of the story without any meaningful contribution. And I am simply exhausted from Tegan's itching to go home. Seriously, what was up with that breakdown when she realised the TARDIS missed Heathrow? Just get back in the machine and try again! There's no hurry!
There's really nothing else to say here, neither of them add anything to the narrative apart from padding it out.

The Terileptils themselves had their moments, but weren't particularly memorable monsters on the whole. Their costumes were more than a little stiff and the design just didn't look that appealing to me. Those giant teeth looked ridiculous.

NOTES

*Apparently, Adric still doesn't hold himself responsible for what was obviously his own errors in Kinda.

*But why is the Doctor rattling on about the TSS anyway? Just let it go, it's irrelevant now, Doctor.

*In a series now filled with bad acting and awfully written scenes, the hug between Tegan and Nyssa was a rare moment of genuine emotion. I just wish we could've seen them develop to this point as opposed to it just... existing.

*Why does the crew leave the TARDIS anyway? They're clearly on a mission to return Tegan to Heathrow, so why bother walking around in 1666 England?

*The crew theorise that Tegan doesn't really want to leave, but then... what's the whole mess about, anyway? That makes no sense.

*I despise this spiteful line from the Doctor: "Earthlings..." That's not the Doctor I know.

*Adric suffers through a classic Terry Nation ankle-twist!

*Would Mace really think that two gunshots would scare off the villagers? I mean, guns were only loaded with one bullet at a time back in the day...

*I love the little detail of Mace, as an actor, using his props to frighten off the villagers.

*Perhaps it's just me, but for someone who lives in such a dangerous era, Mace is far too trusting.

*How does Mace not hear the Doctor and Adric discussing his necklace on the loft right above him?

*I get that Nyssa is an alien from a society that has advanced space travel(the Traken Union was multiple planets, right?), but it seems odd to me that she would know almost as much about other worlds as the Doctor. Then again, I had the same issue with Zoe, so I guess I just can't accept someone being as smart as he is.

*Tegan's reaction to hearing that aliens breath in a different atmosphere: "Who'd want this sort of atmosphere? Stifling!"

*The first encounter with the Terileptil android is directed abysmally, with the companions basically running circles around the monster with a gun.

*The Doctor seems oddly irritated by Mace not understanding anything about other worlds. And why is he sharing so much with him anyway? Shouldn't he be concerned about contaminating the timeline? Although, I guess if it's not a problem on alien worlds...

*Once again, Davison runs absolutely breathless to the point of hilarity.

*In a funnily sort of out of character moment, the Doctor goes on ahead and then angrily belts out: "WE'RE WASTING TIME, NYSSA!"

*How can there be three levers for three Terileptil control bracelets? We see more of them later on, and who would design special levers just to turn on a bracelet?

*Apparently, some of the villagers are American, judging from those accents at least.

*I know that Adric runs away to get help from the Doctor, but is it really smart to leave Tegan alone with the Terileptils, who could kill her at any moment?

*Sometimes, watching Matthew Waterhouse act is like watching an over-the-top parody of acting.

*Considering that Adric is a genius and everything, why can't he help Nyssa construct the sonic booster?

*Why doesn't the Doctor use his sonic screwdriver to unlock the handcuffs(instead he dis-assembles it to get wire to lockpick it).

*You have to love the starry(that's the only way I can describe it) incidental music when Mace does get the Doctor's handcuffs off with the safety pin.

*Speaking of which, his fascination with the pin was just a wonderful moment. I wish they did at least another scene with that idea.

*Okay, so Mace tries to lockpick the door, then the Doctor shoots at it. But he doesn't shoot the lock, he shoots above it. Mace complains that he wasted their shot by not blasting at the lock, but the Doctor tells him to try the door and it opens. Mace doesn't know how... and neither do I. What happened here??

*We see Nyssa experiment with the sonic booster through a mirror... wouldn't it have made for an awesome shot if the mirror cracked from the sonic waves then? It seems kind of pointless otherwise.

*This really happened: when the villagers notice Adric, he tries to hide behind a tree. Facepalm.

*How did the Terileptil android get into the TARDIS if Nyssa closed the doors? I know she didn't have time to lock the doors, but I thought those giant white doors were locked from the TARDIS control panel...

*At one point, the characters are trapped in a building, all the doors and windows are locked. Question: why not simply break the windows open? They're not barred or anything.

*My favourite part of the whole episode: Adric fails to drive the TARDIS until he gently punches the console. Such an adorable moment.

*Just like director Michael E. Briant with the Sea Devils, Eric Saward does not appreciate his aliens being naked.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) They are still taking Tegan back to the airport, as established in Logopolis. It fits here, but it's a very silly storyline.

2) Tegan relates the events of Kinda to Nyssa. I guess this is an okay moment... not necessary, but I like that Nyssa sort of found out what happened.

3) This may just be a coincidence, but Davison seemed to pull some classic Venusian aikido aka, rolling a villager through the air. A nice reference.

4) Adric informs Tegan that Alzarians heal faster than humans, which we saw before in State Of Decay. Fair enough, though it kind of renders the ankle twist a bit pointless.

BEST QUOTE

(After being directed towards wine barrels by the Doctor)
"Ah! I'm so impetous. Always looking to the hills and missing the treasure at my feet!"

Really, most of Mace's lines could go here. He speaks Robert Holmes-ish.

CONCLUSION

A fun little jaunt in the medieval period. Comfortable fluff.

[rushy]

Merry Christmas!! I can hardly believe it's already that time of the year again... my original plan was to review Earthshock for this event, but I got a bit busy, and oh well... I suppose this isn't a bad Christmas story either.

Black Orchid is a very strangely paced, but pleasant foray into 1920s England, the Jeeves and Wooster era.

WRITTEN BY

Terence Dudley, who also penned Four To Doomsday. I still can't decide if he's a good writer or not.

PLOT

The TARDIS crew takes advantage of a case of mistaken identity for some leisure time until murders begin to crop up and all fingers point at the Doctor...

ANALYSIS

The problem with this story is the two-parter format. In the first episode, the TARDIS crew do nothing, but party at Cranleigh Hall. In the second, they're almost entirely absent from the place altogether, travelling around with the policemen in an effort to prove their identities.

The reason why any of the murders are happening to begin with is only revealed at the very end as an unsatisfying footnote and we never even have a chance to see things from the murderer's point of view, since he is a mute.

Fortunately, the filler material is still very enjoyable, but it'd be far more so if the story didn't seem like an afterthought. It's like Downton Abbey without any of the substance.

CHARACTERS

The Doctor seems very uncertain in this story... I didn't really like the way he actively berated himself for having got into trouble or seemed incapable of explaining himself to the authorities. I mean, was it really necessary(or wise) to reveal that he's a Time Lord? Although I suppose if it's okay on every single alien world regardless of their development...

On the other hand, all the companions handled themselves marvellously. Adric was a bit of a prat, using the party as an excuse to have breakfast, but even he was kind of funny and his repartee with Nyssa was pretty good. Speaking of Nyssa, she had lots of fun with her doppelganger and Sarah Sutton played an airhead perfectly. I really enjoyed her performance.
Even Tegan, who you'd think would be the last person to enjoy herself, seemed to spread her wings a little bit and teach the kids at home a new dance. Do the Charleston! Do the Charleston!

As far as the guest cast goes, Moray Watson gave a solid performance as Sir Robert(the chief constable), one of those lovably dependable authority figures.

Michael Cochrane(who's actually been in Downton Abbey!) was my favourite of the guest stars. He seemed to fit into the era perfectly with his "top ho's" and "steady on, old chap's". As English as English can get.

And finally, you have Barbara Murray, the "Maggie Smith" of the cast, a lady who constantly keeps her eye on everything that's going on in her home and strives for the benefit of her family. Great character, and I love the back-and-forth between her and the Doctor(although I must admit I felt like Davison was woefully out of his league in that scene... it would've been far more electrifying with Pertwee or Tom Baker).

NOTES

*Whilst I'm glad that Tegan is showing some positive attitude for once, her apparent apathy towards going home now completely contradicts her character up to this point.

*Of all the occasions, why would the Doctor choose this one to reveal to people that he's a Time Lord?? Couldn't he have come up with a "John Smith" pseudonym to save time? Yes, it would probably get him into more trouble later, but that's how it works... I guess it was a writing shortcut(since it's only two parts and all).

*One of my favourite deliveries in this episode: Davison's tired "I give up." mid-explanation as everyone turns against him.

*However, that sequence kind of bothered me. I'm not fond of stories where the heroes make a discovery and nobody refuses to believe them because the evidence has been tampered with. It's a pet peeve of mine.

*Why does Tegan insist that the Doctor is no impostor? SHE is an impostor, along with the entire crew!! I know they're trying to hide their identities, but the way she said it makes it sound like a personal insult. Maybe she's just a really good actor.

*Despite being suspected of murder, the Doctor and his companions were never searched(since the Doctor still has the TARDIS key) nor are they even properly watched as they move about the train station, looking for the TARDIS. And when they do find it, the policemen go in first and leave their suspects outside!!

*In a very Matt Smith moment, the Doctor offers to drive the TARDIS from the train station to Cranleigh Hall to save time. I'm sorry, since when does the Doctor have perfect driving skills? Isn't the whole plot of the season centered around his inability to get Tegan home?? Why would he take the risk of having a bunch of policemen as extra companions!!

*I mentioned how the Doctor takes his predicament much more seriously in this episode than he would otherwise and I meant it. His delivery of "Why do I always let my curiosity get the better of me?"(surely a funny line!) actually sounds angry. Jeez, Davison, calm down.

*What is up with that Indian chief guy? First of all, I get that that lip plate thing is something his people do, but surely they should've explained it on-screen. And second of all, why is he still hanging around Cranleigh Hall? Did I miss something?

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) "A superb innings, worthy of the Master." Completely pointless reference. I suppose they've got to remind kids of his existence now that he's a recurring character, though.

2) The crew discuss accidentally burning down London in The Visitation and the Doctor explains that it was a necessary step in history. I wish this explanation was in the actual story, as they never really explained it there at all.

3) Nyssa tells multiple people that she's from the Empire of Traken(wasn't it called the Traken Union?). Yeah, fine, character reference, I don't mind.

4) This may only be a coincidence, but the Doctor finds his TARDIS from what appears to be a junkyard(a police junkyard, but a junkyard nonetheless). If so, sweet callback to An Unearthly Child.

BEST QUOTE

"Strike me pink!" - It's not just the quote, but the hilarious reaction the policeman has to the TARDIS. He just sees it, says that and then casually carries on talking with his superior officer as if nothing had happened.

CONCLUSION

The plot could've been better constructed, but otherwise, it's a a positively ripping story.

[rushy]

The Return Of Doctor Mysterio is exactly what was promised: a charming callback to the more lighthearted superhero movies as well as our first glimpse of a Doctor who's moving to a new era.

WRITTEN BY

Steven Moffat, who has given me hope that he can deliver some truly great storytelling one last time. You can definitely feel he's starting to let go, but in a good way. He's building the bridge for Chibnall with characters who are all set for new and thrilling adventures and I couldn't be happier.

PLOT

The Doctor accidentally gives a young comic book nerd superpowers and discovers in the future that he's become a superhero known as "the Ghost". Meanwhile, the servants of Hydroflax come to Earth to colonise the planet and replace their key authority figures.

ANALYSIS

It's a superhero romantic comedy mixed with a sci-fi thriller. And the problem is that whilst both are pretty well handled, they just don't mesh very well. At one point, I began to get annoyed because the story spent so long on the relationship between Grant and Lucy that it seemed to be losing focus.

Actually, scratch that, there is very little focus at all. It's incredibly hard to follow what exactly is going on and why it all matters. The pacing is sadly atrocious and lets down what is actually a really good story. It just has this incredibly random, disjointed feel to it. It's a fun, witty, even heartwarming adventure with no cohesion.

CHARACTERS

There's just something awesome about seeing Peter Capaldi do slapstick comedy. You never expect it from him, but it actually works really well in this story. My favourite scenes with him was when he was interacting with the young Grant. The young nerd and the old fogey, both outcasts. They connected so well and both of the actors gave great performances.

Matt Lucas is great! I know people went mad over Nardole's return, but it does actually make sense and work within the narrative. He has this quiet eccentricity to him, and some deadpan wit that matches with the Doctor's perfectly. They immediately come across as great pals, and I can't even begin to explain how much I've missed this sort of companion. I'm glad we're having him around for Series 10 as well.

I was told Justin Chatwin was not a particularly good actor, and boy, they were wrong. I actually wouldn't mind if he was a superhero lead in a show. He's fairly charismatic and the father-son relationship he had with the Doctor was a highlight of the episode.

Now for the less successful characters... I didn't like Charity Wakefield as Lucy. Not one bit. First of all, her doll is creepy. And her obsession with the Ghost bordered on psychosis. At least that's what I got from her performance. I didn't like how aggressively she handled the Doctor, it was... weird. I'm not sure if she was intended to be neurotic(as a counterpoint to the sassy and confident Lois Lane), but whatever they were going for, it didn't work for me.

The villains were weak. I never cared for the Hydroflax gang to begin with and I don't see the point of bringing them back if all they were going to do was try and conquer the Earth. In fact, given their newfound proclivity for taking human hosts, I'd rather see the Slitheen make a comeback.

NOTES

*So, yeah... apparently the Twelfth Doctor still has trouble with human anatomy as he thinks a child is 36 and needs to draw glasses on Superman to figure out that he's Clark Kent. I don't get it, no other incarnation has this trouble.

*What race is Nardole supposed to be, exactly? Because he's super British(he can't tell a restroom from a little boys' room).

*Are there actual cases of reporters breaking into office buildings to get their story? Or is that just a movie thing?

*I just want to say... I love the name "Dr. Mysterio". It's the only nickname that Twelve has that I actually like("Dan Dangerous" from Scotland Yard, ???)

*Seriously, what was up with that creepy doll? If I was the Doctor, I would've burnt it and called for psychiatric help.

*Why was the intro not Christmassy, like the other Twelfth Doctor Christmas specials? Is this part of Moffat's attempt to tone down the Christmas elements from the episode to appeal to grumpy fans? I definitely missed the snowflakes.

*Those spaceship corridors look identical to the ones from Under The Lake. A little redressing would've been nice.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Doctor mentions that New York has plenty of time disturbances, which was established in The Angels Take Manhattan. Not really a necessary callback, but a logical one.

2) The Harmony Shoal bad guys were established in The Husbands Of River Song. As I already mentioned, I don't think they're particularly interesting bad guys. Didn't need to see them again.

3) Nardole explains how River Song's death affected the Doctor to Lucy and Grant. This was definitely an unnecessary callback. We didn't need to bring River up in this episode. The Doctor's moving on from the past, that's it. That's all we needed. Why would Nardole tell them this? It seemed cheesy and even out of character for him. I'm pretty sure the Doctor would've told them if he wanted them to know.

4) UNIT make a cameo at the end, and apparently, we're going to have another Harmony Shoal story since they possess one of the officers.

BEST QUOTE

"With great power comes great responsibility." - Technically a Spiderman quote, but hey, classics are classics for a reason.

CONCLUSION

It's a bit of a headache, but hey, you can say the same about alcohol and we all love that, eh? Eh?
...
It's a good episode.


Now, let's talk a bit about Series 10. Personally, my feelings are mixed. My main hope of course is that Peter Capaldi does not regenerate. If that happens, I'm already satisfied since it means we get to see his incarnation improve under Chris Chibnall!

Some truly wonderful news is that Rona Munro, the writer who penned Survival(a story I cannot wait to review), is coming back to do an episode in Series 10 called The Eaters Of Light. I'm certainly excited.

I'm looking forward to the historical episode that's been promoted. I also can't wait to see more of Nardole and especially "the Landlord", played by David Suchet.

Now, things that concern me: Bill Potts. From the Series 10 clip and that one-off scene with the Daleks, she seems like a rerun of previous new series companions. Plus Ace(but she's almost a new series companion anyway). I'm just not sure if it's going to work or not, yet. I hope it will, and that Nardole's presence is enough to ensure a unique dynamic between her and the Doctor.

Also, the Emoji Planet. I don't even... that's a rubbish idea, okay? That's just a rubbish idea.

And of course, as I mentioned above, more of the Harmony Shoal aliens. I just don't care for them as villains right now. I hope they're more interesting next time.

Still, at least positive thoughts definitely outweigh the negative ones, and I'm looking forward to Series 10!! Merry Christmas!!

[rushy]

The big shock about Earthshock is that it's actually kind of rubbish.

WRITTEN BY

Eric Saward, who previously charmed with The Visitation and now takes on the role of script editor.

PLOT

The Cybermen want to invade Earth. Again. The means to do so are a bit convoluted, but they involve androids, bizarrely constructed bombs, a freighter with the ability to travel through time(if its only slightly augmented with Cyber-technology) and a bunch of Earth dignitaries coming together(which, as The Return Of Doctor Mysterio reveals, is a fairly timeless concept).

The resulting conflict leads to the unfortunate demise of one of the Doctor's companions, for the second and last time in the series thus far(companions with "wiggle room" do not count).

ANALYSIS

First of all, the positives: Peter Grimwade does a stellar job directing the story, and really giving it some energy and pace. The Cyber-march in particular is a memorable sequence, worthy of their appereances in the 60s. Another perfectly filmed scene was Adric's death. I could feel the tension ramping up with every passing second, especially since we were brilliantly told ahead that the spaceship HAD to crash. It was one of those "slow-motion car crash" moments that you just can't look away from, even though you know the outcome.

Malcolm Clarke returned to do the music for the first time since those dreadful electronic beeps in the Silurian stories. He completely redeems himself, however. The music here is atmospheric and creepy, and he even wrote one of my favourite scores in all of Doctor Who: "March of the Cybermen". Hey, whilst everyone are talking about bringing back old villains in New Who, could we have some old music back?

The rest, however, is rather drab and boring. It's one of those infernal runarounds without any interesting character development or story twists or anything. Earthshock exists mostly to shout "Look, the Cybermen are back!!" without actually doing anything new with them. It's a classic example of style over substance.

CHARACTERS

Let's talk about the guest stars this time first. James Warwick does a rather splendid job as military leader Lieutenant Scott and though we know little about him, Warwick exudes competence and confidence in the role. The Third Doctor would've loved having him around.

Some military people, blah-blah-blah(none of them noteworthy).

And then Beryl Reid happens. Oh boy, does she happen. I'm not familiar with Reid as an actress prior to this, but good grief, has there ever been a more miscast role? It's like a prelude to the infamous Eastenders crossover. Look, I'm all for variety and everything, but you just can't have any actor play any role.

June Bland does noticeably better and is somewhat believable, but at the same time, she too feels like she's from a completely different(and far more grounded) show.

Let's talk about the Cybermen: this redesign has become somewhat iconic as its the first time the Cybermen really had a fixed look for a while. People seem to like the transparent chin plate(through which you can see the biological mouth move), but personally, I found it distracting and I'm glad this idea gets abandoned in future stories.

David Banks is awesome. He is perhaps as badly cast to be a cyborg as Beryl Reid is to be a starship captain, but at the same time, he is simply so charismatic that you don't want him to go away at all. Judging from the interviews, he might've made an excellent Master(and certainly more fitting for Davison, because of his youth). Overall, the Cybermen are reinvented as simply another alien race rather than the frighteningly careless beings devoid of emotion, but at least they're a very good ordinary alien race.

Peter Davison gives a solid performance, though I question his boisterous entrance onto the spacecraft, where he tracked the Cyber-bomb signals. In some ways, he still seems like a slightly confused actor trying to find his way, but in some ways, that also makes him more likable! He's the first "underdog Doctor" trying to make his way in the big world and it's really endearing to watch.

What's not endearing is his continued clashes with the TARDIS crew. The strop at the beginning of the story was reminiscent of the early Hartnell stories, but if that was the case, I wish they'd just address how the regeneration has robbed him of his confidence and had him actively worry about that. Same thing with Peter Capaldi in Series 8 - if you're going to fundamentally change the persona of the Doctor, you need to have it addressed and brought to the forefront for it to be satisfying. We NEED to see that the man we know is still in there if you want us to continue.

Nyssa, for whatever reason, spends most of the story hiding in the TARDIS with the Earth military(who are actually kind of pointless in the second half of the story, now that I think about it... why have them tag along?) and constantly telling them not to go out, even after the Doctor's been gone for hours. Which is a pretty big U-turn from all the usual "What if the Doctor's in trouble?" dialogue that the companions always say to justify going into danger.

Tegan is surprisingly at her best in this story(that vacation in 1920s England must've worked wonders for her). For once, she's the glue holding the TARDIS crew together, seems genuinely interested in what the Doctor has to say and even manages to take down some Cybermen!! Bravo!

Adric... poor, poor Adric. Well, I'd like to start off by saying that I don't think he's the worst companion ever. Apart from select moments in a few stories, I didn't even hate him. He was awkward, yes, but also earnest and unique amongst the Doctor's friends and at his best, I genuinely liked him. He was particularly good next to Tom Baker, one of the few times that the Doctor's developed a father-son relationship with anyone.
Why they decided to have him act all snooty at times, I've no idea and that's sort of what spoils his legacy, but not too much. As I already mentioned in my Four To Doomsday review, Adric was an isolated child from another universe and likely found it difficult to cope with the Doctor's life. We should've seen more of that, yes, but I think Matthew Waterhouse gave it his all and that's really what matters in the end.

NOTES

*It's so refreshing to have the military act like natural officers, as opposed to modern stories like the Zygon two-parter. The only reply to an order is "sir", not some silly remark or immediate nervous breakdown.

*The lovable, old "Shouldn't we tell the others?" "Nah." cliche comes to play at the very beginning between soldiers and might be the very cause of everything that went wrong in this story.

*It's interesting how such a large chunk of this season takes place on Earth. It's the third time in a row now, and with the length of the classic stories, you really notice.

*I am completely on the Doctor's side as far as the argument with Adric is concerned. If the
Doctor doesn't want to risk taking his ship into E-space again, he shouldn't have to. Especially since Adric was a stowaway to begin with!!

*"Why should they(the androids) care if we attack the hatch?" a dimwit asks. Um, because the only reason they're there is to defend it against intrusion, maybe??

*Would advanced Cyber-androids really break down when having to choose between duty and survival?

*A VERY out-of-character moment: the Cyber-Lieutenant actively argues against his leader's orders! You can't blame David Banks for this...

*When did the Cybermen find out about the Time Lords? I mean, Gallifrey was introduced after their 60s appereances and as far as I can recall, none of that was ever mentioned in Revenge Of The Cybermen.

*I get that it's the future and anything's possible, but I find it hard to believe just how disinterested the Captain is in her crew being slowly killed off. She doesn't even care about the supposed murderers in front of them, freely letting them sit around on her bridge!!

*The Cybermen now have a concept of punishment, and are actively trying to hurt the Doctor for what he's done... okay? Even the Doctor points out that the Cyber-Leader is unusually "flippant" for a Cyberman.

*I get that this was also done in the 60s, but the Cybermen wrapped in plastic look ridiculous.

*Eric Saward seems to have borrowed from the concurrent Star Trek: The Next Generation and elaborated that the freighter travels at warp speed(directly contradicting the Pertwee era, where the hyperdrive was used in the humans' future), powered by an antimatter engine.

*This MUST be asked: is it really possible for some Cyberman machinery to alter the warp engine to such a degree that the freighter can travel back in time? I know time travel has been done as such in Star Trek, but it seemed very random here.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

Oh God... so many references! So many references!!!

1) The Doctor tries to pressure Adric into reading the book he received from the Cranleighs, "Black Orchid". A completely pointless reference to the previous story.

2) Adric demands that the Doctor return him to E-space, where he was found in Full Circle and specifically to Terradon, not to Alzarius(how bloody obscure and detailed is that?? Even I couldn't remember what Terradon was and I saw Full Circle only a few months ago!) Anyway, I like that they harken back to E-space, but seriously... bringing the exact location of Adric's people into this was just insane.

3) Adric argues that it's not impossible to find a new CVE to travel through, since the Monitor on Logopolis confirmed they're not random. Again, whilst all of this continuity does make sense in context, they're expecting the audience to remember way too much. Anybody who missed season 18 would be completely lost here.

4) Adric plans to track down Romana and K-9 after getting home. This is like if the Eleventh Doctor STILL talked about Rose. It's touching that Romana and K-9 haven't been forgotten, but I can't approve of this.

5) After a heated argument, Adric spitefully says that since his regeneration(which Adric witnessed in Logopolis), the Doctor's become decidedly immature. It's at times like these that I REALLY wish Tom Baker was around to smack some sense into these people... and yeah, pointless reference to regeneration is pointless.

6) The Cybermen, after analysing the Doctor, re-affirm that he has two hearts(a nice reminder), that he is a Time Lord, and that Time Lords are forbidden to interfere in history, which was established way back in The War Games. For some reason, I get a thrill whenever they mention this law. I love The War Games and everything it brought to the show.

7) In probably the most continuity-heavy moment of the series thus far, little snippets of the First, Second and Fourth Doctors appear on the Cyber-scanner as recordings taken during those stories. After such a long gap between appereances, I think it's nice that they brought the audience up to date on the Doctor's long history with the Cybermen.

8) This is later elaborated on as both the Cyber-Leader and the Doctor himself talk about how he froze them in ice tombs of Telos, how Mondas was destroyed and how the Doctor prevented the Cybermen from destroying the planet of gold, Voga(which happened in Tomb Of The Cybermen, The Tenth Planet and Revenge Of The Cybermen respectively). It's nice hearing about the previous stories almost as if they were legends, but these were not necessary references, apart from the last one, as they needed to set up using the gold in Adric's badge to stop the Cyber-Leader.

BEST QUOTE

"Now I'll never know if I was right." - Adric's final words.

CONCLUSION

It's not a great story or something I'll want to revisit any time soon, but it is a thrill, in a way.

[cosmichobo]

JN-T was keen on the idea of using the footage from old stories as seen in Earthshock, and previously at the end of Logopolis. We see it again during Mawdryn Undead, too.

As for this story being bleh - bah! I love it! Ok, maybe it's just because I love the Cybermen, and in particular this new re-design... Maybe it's because I love Adric, and yes, whilst he does die, it's certainly an Adric-heavy story. I think seeing the fight between Adric and the Doctor was quite amazing, considering the fact that, probably not since Hartnell's dummy spits, had we seen the Doctor argue so thoroughly with a companion - actually I'm thinking of The Chase, which was also to do with a companion(s) wanting to leave...

[rushy]

In memory of the great Sir John Hurt, I've decided to give the War Doctor another chance by delving into his first Big Finish box set, Only The Monstrous.

The Innocent is a solid introduction that actually makes me feel better about the show's decision to retcon the Doctor as a kind figure during the Time War.

WRITTEN BY

Nicholas Briggs. Why hasn't he written a televised story yet?

PLOT

After destroying the Dalek fleet with a Time Destructor, the War Doctor crashes onto the peaceful planet of Keska and is faced with the memory of his former, heroic life when he finds them under siege with nobody to help...

ANALYSIS

Basically, what this story does is establish the character of the War Doctor, and re-affirm that he's not some kind of anomaly. We see this depressing, grim incarnation in a situation that any one of his other selves could've found themselves in and all I can say is, he hasn't lost his touch. It really helps to connect his incarnation to those others.

I was quite surprised at how easy it was to follow what was going on, as I remembered having some real trouble with the medium(the lack of description for the surroundings bothered me, as I couldn't tell what exactly was going on). For the first time, I wasn't constantly checking the time and hoping to just get the story over with(even when it was good).

I'm now very excited to get into more Big Finish, specifically the rest of the War Doctor stories although I will of course finish the televised stories before seriously tackling it. Still, it means that I will definitely not be done with this franchise for years and years to come.

CHARACTERS

In case you've missed or forgotten my thoughts on The Day Of The Doctor, I was really not impressed with the War Doctor. I missed Christopher Eccleston's sober Doctor badly(he's my favourite of all of them) and I thought that the only man who could've replaced him was Paul McGann, which Dark Eyes only seemed to prove.
I don't want to say John Hurt's Doctor was dumbed down for the kids, but that's the feeling I got. Moffat writes every Doctor the same(making it even sillier that he wouldn't bring back McGann), so Hurt got the same carefree silly lines that the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors did and it just diluted the point of his Doctor completely for me.

Here, however, Hurt gets to be the leading man of his own story and as a result, both his performance and position in the franchise improve. I feel like I finally know what kind of a man he is and that's someone in deep denial of himself and the universe around him. He's a joyful, caring, free-spirited person buried under a veil of pessimism and ruthlessness.
In a bizarre paradox, he's a good man who strives to be a bad man because he thinks that's the right thing to do.

Rejoice, played by Lucy Briggs-Owen, is a great "what if" companion. We don't learn that much about her backstory, except that she's the daughter of an important official, but her stoic "kindness for the sake of it", patience and curiosity balanced out with the War Doctor's grumpy doomsday-promoting perfectly. She was like an older, wiser Lynda with a Y.

Cardinal Ollistra, played by Jacqueline Pearce(of The Two Doctors and Blake's 7 fame) is a really interesting character, in that she still holds the Doctor as something of an embarrassment, like the Time Lords did in the classic series.

NOTES

*Okay, so Big Finish now has the new series licence, but they still have to fake the TARDIS sound effects and the intro music? Are those rights held by someone else?

*I could swear there's sound effects from Terminator Genisys in this(the Time Destructor).

*They never really explained what kind of an effect the Time Destructor had on the Doctor apart from injuring him enough to make him sleep for a year. I kept wondering if the reason he looks so old is because of the Destructor, but that's never confirmed.

*So, what exactly happened when the Doctor declared that he's a monster? I know it sounds absurd, but did he punch Rejoice in the face in a fit of rage? Because that's what it sounded like. Somehow she ended up falling off of the boat.

*I hope the Doctor's dreams come back to play in future episodes, because they kept repeating those every time he lost consciousness and it didn't seem to lead anywhere.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) The Doctor uses a Time Destructor to stop the Dalek fleet. This horrific Dalek weapon was introduced in The Daleks' Master Plan, where the First Doctor activated it, resulting in Katarina's death by rapid aging and the Daleks being reversed into fetuses. I think it's a really interesting concept and I'm glad to see it make a return here.

2) When talking about the Time War, the Doctor mentions how the Time Lords sent him back in time to stop the development of the Daleks in Genesis Of The Daleks(a concept that, as far as I know, can be attributed to Russell T. Davies). This is another neat reference.

3) The effect of the Time Lords capturing the Doctor's TARDIS at the end seems to be identical to their first appereance in The War Games(a strange windy sound followed by time slowing down). Another neat, subtle moment that adds to the War Doctor's legitimacy.

BEST QUOTE

"What is war, if not the embodiment of hypocrisy?" - Cardinal Ollistra.

CONCLUSION

We're only getting into the thick of it next time, but this was a really nice way of getting to know the War Doctor. It elevated him in my eyes exactly as I hoped it would and I'm properly hyped for some Time War madness next episode.

Goodbye Sir John, and thank you for these performances.

[rushy]

The Thousand Worlds surprised me with how connected it was in plot to the previous episode. As the box sets are described as "anthologies" and the plot was well wrapped up, I thought we were going to get into a completely unrelated adventure here. In an ingenious twist, however, we get both a sequel and delve into the Time War at the same time.

WRITTEN BY

Nicholas Briggs. I wonder how many hours of Doctor Who he's written in comparison with the supposed record-holder, Steven Moffat.

PLOT

The Doctor is drafted by Cardinal Ollistra to recover a Time Lord lost in the "Null Zone" part of Dalek territory, where no time travel can occur. To his horror, however, he finds that the Null Zone is in fact a devastated, future version of Keska that the Daleks are using as a laboratory to regain their advantage in the Time War...

ANALYSIS

It's brilliant. That's all there is to it. I'm completely engrossed in the story and the intrigue. There's a sensible hero, real stakes, mysteries... this is Doctor Who. This is science fiction. I think I've just been converted into a Big Finish fanboy. The thought of going back to Moffat and JNT after this is kind of depressing, lol.

I loved the twist of revisiting Keska because as I said, I didn't expect to return here at all. And the hellish industrial landscape was exactly the sort of place I'd imagined the War Doctor to be in. So I got what I thought I wanted and what I didn't even know I wanted. How great is that?

The story's still far from a resolution, but I'm eager to find out what the naughty Time Lords are really up to with this mission...

CHARACTERS

John Hurt continues to absolutely nail it as the War Doctor. But first, I do have a slight criticism: I think there might be one too many witty lines(at one point, he actually has to whisper them under his breath in front of Daleks, risking extermination for a great number of people). It's nowhere near the pantomime levels of recent TV Who, but it's a mild issue nonetheless.
Other than that, though, he's a fantastic, gruff lead and a great hero for a series where pretty much the entire universe is out to get him. I've really fallen in love with the War Doctor, guys. I may actually kind of like him more than some of the 'proper' Doctors.

Rejoice returns! Battered and aged, but as loyal and inherently wise as ever. Whilst I miss the innocent attitude, her experience adds a new layer to the complex dynamic she has with the War Doctor. And by complex, I mean it's the same old "he needs someone to remind him he's not a monster" thing, but actually done right. It's in their personalities, not some artificial nonsense like in the TV show.

Veklin, Bennus and Arverton(played by Beth Chalmers, Kieran Hodgson and Barnaby Edwards, respectively) are a curious trio. It's a lot of fun to see more Time Lords(or Gallifreyans) with interesting personalities and I have a feeling that we'll be exploring their backstories soon. As far as characterisation goes, Veklin's cynicism and obsession with duty is maybe slightly overplayed, but she bounces off of the simple-minded Bennus wonderfully.

Then there's Seratrix, played by Alex Wyndham, who is eerily reminiscent of the renegade Straxus from Dark Eyes, although the soft-spoken actor and storyline seem to suggest he's not as treacherous as he looks. We'll see.

Jacqueline Pearce continues to charm as the Doctor's equivalent of a nasty aunt.

NOTES

*Would one Time Destructor really set the Daleks back so far that they have to resort to working with minor genocidal aliens? They didn't have another fleet ready or something? I thought the Time War was waged throughout the universe, not confined to certain battles. Now it just feels like a regular war again.

*Also, why don't the Time Lords send someone back in time to find a flaw or plant a weakness in the Daleks' technology so they could strike them in the future when they're supposedly at their weakest?

*Nicholas Briggs also directed the story, and I must give him extra credit for using sound effects so well that the story came to life despite the restricting audio format. It's a bit late for that credit I suppose, given that he's no doubt done this so many times before, but as a newcomer, I find it amazing how easy it is to follow the story.

CONTINUITY ADVISOR

1) When pressed to tell his name by a desperate slave, the Doctor refers to himself as "John Smith". A nice touch, although it feels a little weird to hear the War Doctor use the name.

CONCLUSION

The plot thickens. But will it pay off?