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REVIEW: Image of the Fendahl by Chris Boucher

SERIAL: 4X, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


Doctor Who owes much, as I have mentioned before, to the Quatermass serials of the 1950s. And while Quatermass and the Pit inspired two previous Who stories, Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Daemons, it is not the only influence Nigel Kneale had on this serial, Image of the Fendahl. In the 70s, Kneale wrote what could be considered a sci-fi ghost story called The Stone Tape, and this has influenced the writing of Image of the Fendahl. But is this story little more than, at best, a homage?

In an isolated priory, the obsessed Dr Fendelman and his backer Maximilian Stael performs experiments with a special sonic time scan, trying to determine the origins of an interesting fossil. Paleontologist Adam Colby refuses to believe that the human skull is 12 million years old, despite the evidence provided by chronologist Thea Ransome. But the time scan draws the attention of the Doctor, who knows that it is dangerous, given its proximity to a rift in time, and may cause a catastrophic collapse. The death of a hiker in the forest is covered up by Fendelman and Stael, and local wise woman Ma Tyler has premonitions of a greater disaster to come. The Doctor is certain that the skull is not human, but belongs to the alien gestalt called the Fendahl, a creature so powerful it feeds on death itself, a creature that was feared from Gallifreyan fairy tales. But Thea Ransome is affected by the skull, and both Fendelman and Stael have their reasons for disregarding the Doctor and pursuing their research. But humanity has been used, and the image of the Fendahl will soon become too solid indeed...

Despite the relatively unoriginal concept (human development being influenced by an alien race, with artefacts relating to the occult embedding themselves in race memory), Boucher does well, certainly much better than The Robots of Death. He writes an eerie and atmospheric story, with some interesting concepts. The Fendahl are far from the first or last Doctor Who monsters to feed off life energy, but they are one of the more terrifying applications of the concept.

The characters aren't all written that well, which is probably the main failing of this story, though the mostly understated performances make up for it, giving it a more realistic edge. Fendelman's motives for covering up things is obscure, though it can potentially be covered by the revelation later in the story, and Denis Lill plays him well. Adam Colby is probably the most written well of the supporting characters, but his actor, Edward Arthur, seems a bit off at times. Wanda Ventham has the best performance as the tormented Thea Ransome, a surprisingly strong character given what happens to her, and while a damsel in distress, doesn't so much as scream. Stael is understated evil, with Scott Fredericks restraining what could have been a scenery-chewing performance. Less successful are Geoffrey Hinsliff and Daphne Heard as Jack and Ma Tyler, which is a pity, as they end up as the Doctor's main allies. Once more, Tom Baker and Louise Jameson do well with their roles, with an interesting argument between the Doctor and Leela that ends with Leela needing to apologise to the TARDIS, believe it or not. Unfortunately, K9 is out of this story due to various reasons.

The production design and location work all come together very well, with some surprisingly excellent direction by George Spenton-Foster (who would later go on to direct one of my favourite Blake's 7 episodes, Gambit, written by Robert Holmes), with marvellous atmosphere. The special effects, for the most part, are excellent, with only two blunders: the effects of the explosion/implosion at the end, and the Fendahl Core's makeup which, while eerie, is still blatantly painted eyes on eyelids. However, the Fendahleen are a quite well-realised creature, and their weakness, while something of a deus ex machina, actually ties in well into the origins of superstition that this story examines.

Image of the Fendahl, with the exception of some minor problems, is pretty much perfect. It's not quite close to perfection, and it's not exactly original, but this story, which I have overlooked before, is a surprising gem.



SCORE: 9.5/10


Another DVD trailer. I have posted this one before, as it contained clips from The Time Monster, but it also contains clips from the next story, Underworld, along with The Horns of Nimon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPPZO4C_BTg[/youtube]

REVIEW: Underworld by Bob Baker and Dave Martin

SERIAL: 4Y, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No. (Or at least not every episode)


While some have accused the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era of plagiarising from various horror movies and books, one could make an argument that the Graham Williams era did so too, but from myths, fairytales, and literature. The Androids of Tara was a variation on The Prisoner of Zenda, City of Death drew to a degree from the Bulldog Drummond novels, and perhaps most telling of all, not one but three stories took elements from Greek mythology. The Armageddon Factor looked at the Trojan War, while The Horns of Nimon, of course, took elements from the Minotaur myth. Underworld took its cues from the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, but would it do well with what it took?

The Minyan spacecraft R1C has been travelling for a hundred millennia, and the crew, on a seemingly endless quest to track down the Minyan Race Bank, are nearing the end of their journey at the edge of the cosmos. But the Doctor and Leela's arrival on the R1C may cause trouble, for the Time Lords were indirectly responsible for the destruction of the Minyans. What's worse, the Race Bank, and the ship it was on, the P7E, is at the centre of a not long born planet. Determined to get the Race Bank, no matter what, Commander Jackson and his crew crash into the planet, where they find the descendants of the P7E enslaved by the Oracle and its Seers. Do the Race Banks still exist? Can Commander Jackson recover them? And what is the Oracle, and its Seers?

Underworld is a story brimming with potential that never comes through completely. It feels like it was rushed into production, a production that doesn't quite live up to scratch. The concept of doing a science fiction version of Jason and the Argonauts is an intriguing one, as is the weariness of a crew made to artificially regenerate over a thousand times and the Time Lords' culpability in the destruction of Minyos. And yet, it doesn't pan out. These potentially well done concepts were wasted, as were the concept of the P7E's descendants degenerating.

The characters range from average to bad, and while the performances of the R1C crew, the Guards, and the Oracle salvage them, the Trogs unfortunately fare far worse. The Doctor is rather averagely written, although a bit more angst and guilt about the Minyan's fate wouldn't have gone astray. However, Leela is written as an unintelligent savage, more willing to knife an unarmed man to death (I got the impression that Leela would not threaten someone who looked unarmed and weak), and having a rather angry and teary breakdown after being broken from her pacified state. Louise Jameson does well, but the script screwed her over.

Surprisingly, despite the production problems, the special effects work surprisingly well. There are some good model effects and laser effects (though both the video and sound effects do little to enhance what should have been a more exciting fight scene between Herrick and the Guards, but was badly directed with little energy), and while the CSO effects from this story are often lambasted, I personally think that, for the most part, they are surprisingly effective, given what they had. However, there are many dodgy shots, and far too many repeated tunnels (and noticeably repeated shots), which probably would have been disguised better with sets. Unfortunately, the production problems robbed them of most of their proper sets, and the direction by Norman Stewart doesn't give the story the pace and energy this story badly needed to elevate it from mediocre to average.

I tried desperately to like Underworld. It has a good beginning, and had decent potential, but it was badly squandered. Bad characterisation, some poor performances, and a rather thing and unentertaining story drag down the story from something that could have been good. Not bad per se, but mediocre, unfortunately...


SCORE: 6.5/10


And now, the DVD trailer for The Invasion of Time.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFtzAuxEJU0[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Invasion of Time by David Agnew (by Anthony Read and Graham Williams)

SERIAL: 4Z, 6X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Sometimes, Doctor Who is at its best when under pressure. With a shrinking budget and a strike, producer Graham Williams and script editor Anthony Read were forced to abandon the original (and expensive) season finale, The Killers in the Dark (sometimes erroneously called The Killer Cats of Geng-Singh). Forced to improvise a story at the last minute, as well as accomodate the departure of Louise Jameson as Leela, how would they cope? How well would the story turn out?

Leela is concerned. The Doctor has met with strange aliens, and refuses to tell her anything, even as he lands on Gallifrey and effectively bullies his way into the Presidency of the Time Lords. Banishing Leela from the Citadel, abusing his old teacher Cardinal Borusa, and letting the alien Vardans invade, it seems like the Doctor has gone completely mad. But there is a method to his madness, and the Doctor has a plan to stop the Vardans for once and for all. With both sides considering him a traitor, the Doctor will be hardpressed to save Gallifrey from the Vardans, but he doesn't know yet that there is another enemy, waiting in the wings, ready to conquer Gallifrey too...

Given how little time Read and Williams had to concoct this story, I am amazed at how well it manages to stand out. While there are some small disjointed bits, the only major blunders is the sudden (and not very well explained) appearance of the Sontarans, Stor's attempted suicide bombing at the end, and Leela's abrupt departure to be with guard commander Andred. Personally, in story terms, I feel that Leela had had enough of being kept out of the loop by the Doctor, despite her utmost loyalty to him, and K9 (mark one) shared her feelings. However, the story concept of the Doctor going mad with power, even if it is only a gambit to deal with the Vardans, is an absolutely brilliant one, with Tom Baker acting his heart out. And Louise Jameson does well in her last television performance as Leela, despite her rather ignomious departure.

The characters, while not excellent, work very well considering, with Andred, Borusa, Kelner, and Rodan particularly noteworthy, even if most of the work is done through the performances of the actors involved. We see particularly surprising depths to Borusa as well, depths that would be added to later in the series. The Vardans are at their best when they are still shimmering energy beings, although their later appearance would have been less disappointing if they had better-looking costumes. This is also the first time that we see the Sontarans en masse (up till now, we've only seen one or two at a time), although they only amount to about four. I can only rationalise Stor's actions at the very end if he had gone rogue from his commanders. But Derek Deadman makes an otherwise surprisingly good Sontaran.

The production design, for the most part, evokes the feel of The Deadly Assassin, without being too bogged down in it, but there are times when the cracks start to show. The use of an abandoned hospital as the TARDIS interior and the Gallifreyan control room doesn't quite work. It works in terms of scale, but it doesn't quite feel right most of the time. Most of the sets work well enough, given the time and budget that they had. The Vardan energy forms may look and sound like aluminium foil treated electronically (I had the CGI effects on this time around, although I have seen the original before), but for the time, it's quite effective, and so are the model effects used for the Vardan spacecraft.

Considering how little they had to go with, I feel that, while far from perfect, The Invasion of Time is great. I would dearly love to give it a better score, but I see too many flaws, unfortunately, flaws that are partly an artefact of the conditions it was made under.


SCORE: 8/10


And now, the DVD trailer for The Key to Time season.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBfOikzvum8[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Ribos Operation by Robert Holmes

SERIAL: 5A, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No


In order to give the Doctor a justification for his travels in time and space rather than accident, producer Graham Williams formulated what is, debatably, the first true story arc in the Doctor Who series. The Key to Time would be an overarching story made up out of six stories, about the quest to find the six segments to the eponymous Key. Of those stories, three of them were given to two new writers to the show, Douglas Adams and David Fisher, while old hands Bob Baker and Dave Martin would work on the finale. Two of the stories were assigned to Robert Holmes, and it was he who came up with the first story of the new season...

On his way to a holiday with K9 Mark 2, the Doctor is intercepted by the powerful White Guardian, who tasks the Doctor with finding the six segments of the Key to Time, in order to redress a coming time of cosmic imbalance. Given an assistant, the snarky Time Lady Romanadvoratrelundar, and a Tracer to track down the segments, the Doctor reluctantly begins his mission, travelling to the medieval world of Ribos, where conmen Garron and Unstoffe are planning a major deception. Deposed Cyrrhenic despot the Graff Vynda-K wants a planet to serve as a new powerbase, and Garron is hoping to deceive the Graff that there are vast stores of the powerful mineral Jethryk on the planet. But is Garron an agent of the Black Guardian, sent there to stop the Doctor, or is he just a conman who is out of his depth? What is the identity of the first segment, which can be potentially any shape? And can the Doctor and Romana learn to work together?

The Ribos Operation is one of those badly underappreciated gems in Doctor Who. You rarely see it on the best-watched lists, which is a pity. Holmes has written a world of cultural depth and complexity not often seen in Doctor Who, classic or new. Ribos feels like a real world, more than the usual ones the Doctor and company visit, and the characters, as melodramatic as they are, seem more grounded in reality. Garron is a con artist with an interesting past that involves selling Sydney Harbour. Unstoffe tries to take the initiative in the con, but ultimately shows significant character development after he is helped by Binro the Heretic, a man derided on the primitive world of Ribos for his views on astronomy and science. The Graff Vynda-K is a psychotic despot, but he has a loyalty to his soldiers, even when using them as suicide bombers.

The performances come out well. Tom Baker and John Leeson are on fine form as the Doctor and K9 respectively, while newcomer Mary Tamm, despite her role being written as rather too antagonistic towards the Doctor at first, performs very well. The guest actors do very well, but especial praise should be given Iain Cuthbertson's plummy and affable Garron, Nigel Plaskitt's development as Unstoffe, and Paul Seed (later the director of House of Cards and To Play the King) having a wonderful turn as the menacing Graff Vynda-K. And while Timothy Bateson's turn as Binro the Heretic could be considered a little exaggerated, it still works.

The production design and direction come together very well on this story, rather like a period drama, only set on a planet far out in space. This is a theatrical story, but one you could believe in. In fact, there is really only one bad note to this entire story, and that is the Shrivenzale, but even that is not quite as badly realised as the giant rat from the previous Robert Holmes story reviewed here, The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Compared to the rather grandiose melodrama of that story, The Ribos Operation is slower paced and quieter, and yet manages to reach the same level.

If you're a fan who hasn't watched this story, then please, you owe it to yourself to try it out. It's an extremely good story that surprised even me, who hadn't ever watched it before. Watch it, and see that even a not-so-famous story can actually be quite good.


SCORE: 10/10

REVIEW: The Pirate Planet by Douglas Adams

SERIAL: 5B, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Of all the writers to write for Doctor Who's classic series, perhaps the most famous was Douglas Adams. Having submitted at least two storylines previously to the production team (one of which, Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen, would later become Life, the Universe, and Everything, while the other would later become the Golgafrincham Ark from the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series onwards), he was finally commissioned to write the second story for the Key to Time season. A gamble, perhaps, given Adams' relative inexperience with writing, but would it pay off?

To the dismay of the Doctor, the second segment for the Key to Time is on the dull, ice-coated world of Calufrax, but when he attempts a materilisation to spite Romana's quoting of the TARDIS manual, something goes wrong. Managing to materialise, the Doctor and Romana find themselves on the planet Zanak, formerly under the rule of the evil Queen Xanxia, and now under the thumb of the blustering cybernetic Captain, a former space pirate. A dictator who grants frequent 'golden ages of prosperity', causing the stars to change and the mines to become refilled, he also seems set on destroying the Mentiads, enigmatic psychics who seem to grow in numbers with each 'golden age'. Discovering that Zanak has transmat engines on a mind-boggling scale, the Doctor and Romana soon find out that nothing is what it seems on Zanak. Are the Mentiads malignant zombies, or benign telepaths? Are the mines miraculous, or do they come at an atrocious cost? Is the Captain really a blustering bully, or does he have a plan? And is the Captain's Nurse really just there to provide medical attention, or does she have a plan of her own?

Let it never be said that Douglas Adams doesn't have his own unique and quirky style, which seems to be stuffing as many concepts into a story as possible. He also loves to add his own brand of wit and humour. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. He is good on concepts, but a little worse on story structure and certainly on character. However, he succeeds in making things entertaining. He adds in hints that are only apparent in retrospect, such as the Captain's true intelligence, and stories about Xanxia.

The characters are mostly averagely written, particularly when it comes to the mainstream Zanak people and the Mentiads, and the performances range from decent to mediocre. However, it gets better when dealing with the Bridge crew, with the Captain, the Nurse, and Mr Fibuli all written well and with great performances, although a few more hints about the Captain's cunning and intelligence wouldn't have gone astray. Tom Baker's Doctor, Mary Tamm's Romana, and John Leeson's K9 all get quite a bit to do, with K9 getting into a wonderful battle with the Captain's robot parrot, the Polyphase Avitron, and Romana managing to upstage the Doctor quite a few times.

One of the things that I am really impressed with in this story is that, despite the budget limitations on Doctor Who at the time, they managed to execute many of Adams' concepts very well for the time. Sky cars are protrayed with some of the best CSO shots I have ever seen on the show, the inertialess corridor is also well executed, and the sets within the bridge are pretty damn good. The Zanak streets and houses are less well-realised, but still play the part.

If I had to put my finger on two things that brought this story down, it would be the writing and the performances that flowed from it. Adams was all too often ambitious with his concepts, but didn't pay enough attention to his characters. The ones on the Bridge are good enough, but the characters of Kimus, Mula, and especially Pralix don't get realised well enough. There is also a tad too much humour in this story, and while it does get serious as the story progresses, it can be off-putting to a viewer watching the first episode and getting discouraged.

Despite this, I decided that The Pirate Planet was entertaining and original, with many Douglas Adams trademarks appearing ("I'll never be cruel to an electron in a particle accelerator again!"), and an intriguing concept. It's certainly not dull, even if sometimes the acting is.


SCORE: 8.5/10

REVIEW: The Stones of Blood by David Fisher

SERIAL: 5C, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No


While Graham Williams had promised to cut down on the horror and violence in Doctor Who, it did take some time before this took effect, with stories like Horror of Fang Rock and Image of the Fendahl continuing the Holmes/Hinchcliffe style of horror story. However, the last horror story of the Graham Williams era actually was in the Key to Time season, written by new writer David Fisher. The Stones of Blood, at least in part, seemed to continue that tradition...

With a fresh warning by the White Guardian, the Doctor and Romana trace the third segment of the Key to Time to Earth in the twentieth century, and a mysterious stone circle. Archaeologist Professor Amelia Rumford and her friend, Vivien Fay are surveying the circle, which has inconsistencies in every survey done, as if the stones themselves move. Local druid Leonard de Vries is performing sacrifices to the local Celtic war goddess, the Cailleach, sacrifices of blood. And the stones themselves are alive, and hungry for blood. Who is the Cailleach, and what links this Celtic deity to a criminal over four millennia old, a criminal who is hiding in plain sight while their captors are trapped in hyperspace?

The Stones of Blood, like The Pirate Planet before it, is a writer's debut story filled with great ideas, but lacking in other areas. However, unlike The Pirate Planet, there are less deficiencies in terms of character, and the problems are more to do with inconsistencies of tone. The first half or so of the story seems like straightforward Holmes/Hinchcliffe fare, but the second half, dealing with Cessair of Diplos and the Megara justice machines, is rather jarring, especially given the humour in this section compared to the relatively grim nature of the story. And while it is implied that Cessair of Diplos was the agent of the Black Guardian, why didn't the Black Guardian take the segment from her once she had evaded her captors? And shouldn't there be more of an explanation as to how crows and ravens are used by the Cailleach/Cessair?

Besides the Doctor, Romana, and K9, both Amelia Rumford and Vivien Fay are well written and performed, with Beatrix Lehmann and Susan Engel doing well. The druids are less well written, with the performances more functional. And I get the feeling that the Megara justice machines, while very wittily written and relatively well performed, would have been suited better to a much different Doctor Who story.

The production design for most of the story is excellent, with viewers hard-pressed to tell the difference between the location stones and the one used for the studio sequences. The Ogri are at their best when not moving. One is a little hard pressed to accept that a stone can move like it does, although when not moving, they are most sinister, and the special effects and sounds are most suitable. The hyperspace ship is rather jarring compared to the rest of the show, and makes one more critical of the faults, although the Megara are quite well realised given the technology of the time, if slightly inappropriate as whirling fairy lights.

The Stones of Blood is not as good as it could have been, and has significant inconsistencies in tone, but it is still a good story. Not quite a classic, but not too bad.



SCORE: 8.5/10

REVIEW: The Androids of Tara by David Fisher

SERIAL: 5D, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No


While the Holmes/Hinchcliffe era of Doctor Who was noted for its homages to horror films and literature, it was far from the only era to take a nod from literary and cinematic sources. Perhaps most notably from the Williams era was the second story from David Fisher, which took as its inspiration the political intrigue and romance novel The Prisoner of Zenda. But would this story surpass the original inspiration?

The Doctor is determined to take a brief break from searching for the Key to Time, and Romana is just as determined to find the fourth segment on her own when they land on the feudal world of Tara. Romana finds the segment easily enough, but she soon gets taken into custody by Count Grendel of Castle Gracht, while the Doctor is suborned into repairing an android double of Prince Reynart, whom Grendel hopes to usurp. It is double trouble everywhere, with Romana resembling Reynart's beloved, Princess Strella, who is currently Grendel's prisoner, and androids everywhere used in a political web of deceit. But with the Doctor and Romana now hopelessly entangled in the power struggle between Grendel and Reynart, can they regain the fourth segment and stop Grendel?

I have noticed that many of those stories that are homages to other stories often have an advantage in terms of storytelling, and The Androids of Tara is not one of the exceptions. While many of the tropes of The Prisoner of Zenda are used, some of the elements that would be more disagreeable to a modern audience (such as the prince's dipsomania and his disdain towards peasants, though Reynart's men have this) are dropped or modified. The power struggle is remarkably singular, but works to fill the four episodes available.

The characters are all written fairly well, with the exception of Farrah, whose disdain towards peasants and the Doctor is disquieting. The acting is all done as well as can be done, with particular praise going to Peter Jeffrey as Count Grendel, who plays the role with particular aplomb, and his consort, Lois Baxter as Lamia. Tom Baker and John Leeson are doign well, but it is Mary Tamm who deserves particular praise. Playing multiple roles, as Romana, Princess Strella, and the androids thereof shows her abilities, even if much of the time she is a damsel in distress. However, Tom Baker's Doctor does get a chance to shine with more than just words when he has a fencing duel with Grendel.

The production design, like with The Ribos Operation, is wonderful, showing off how the excellent period drama design department can be used to great effect to create an alien planet and culture that doesn't age as badly as others. Rich and sumptuous, it is helped by significant location filming in and around Leeds Castle (incidentally, one of the few Doctor Who locations I have ever visited).

There are a few bum notes to the production. The android prince at times looks too much like a dummy, especially when being repaired, and the Taran Beast is so obviously fake, well, it's worse than the giant rat or Shrivenzale. And a few characters are rather grating.

Still, while not perfect, The Androids of Tara is not far from it. Sumptuous and enjoyable, it is an interesting gem in the middle of the Key to Time saga. It certainly surpasses its source material in many respects.



SCORE: 9.5/10

REVIEW: The Power of Kroll by Robert Holmes

SERIAL: 5E, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No


Robert Holmes would eventually have a long hiatus from writing from Doctor Who, but his last story before this hiatus had two prerequisites. Other than the quest to find another segment for the Key to Time, Graham Williams requested the biggest monster to ever be seen in the series. Holmes had stated later that this was a mistake, and that this was his least favourite story to write, but would this be reflected in the quality of the story itself?

Landing on the third moon of Delta Magna, the Doctor and Romana explore this swamp world, where a conflict is brewing between a group of humans manning a refinery turning methane into protein, and the original inhabitants of Delta Magna, the Swampies. Centuries ago, the Swampies were forced to the third moon to make way for human colonists, and the leader of the refinery, Thawn, is determined to wipe them out. A gun runner called Rohm-Dutt has apparently been sent by Swampie sympathisers to arm them. And deep in the swamp lives something very large and very dangerous, a creature that the Swampies worship as their deity, Kroll.

Compared to previous efforts by Robert Holmes, this story is rather messy. The characters lack the usual distinctiveness of Holmes' characters, and for the most part are unlikeable and singular. The plot is really just an excuse to bring the biggest monster Doctor Who had seen to that point (debatably so, given that they have had at least one living planet in the past), and while the mystery of where the methane comes from is intriguing, it somehow lacks energy, which is a shame, considering the quality of The Ribos Operation earlier this season.

While the characters lack the Holmes touch, the performances are quite decent enough at times, with John Abineri as Ranquin and Neil McCarthy as Thawn being the best performances. John Leeson puts in a unique physical appearance (as K9 is not seen in this story due to the swamp) as Dugeen, and puts in a competent, if not stellar peformance. Unfortunately, Philip Madoc is wasted as Fenner, though he does decently, but the rest of the guest performances don't work. Mary Tamm and Tom Baker do the best they can with their dialogue, but either Holmes was getting sick and tired of writing for the series, or else he did this in a rush.

One of the best things that you can say about this story is the extensive location work, with Delta III being a dangerous-looking place. However, the sets range from the decent to the abysmal, with the production design flaws at the time being noticed by a BBC executive. And the model work, usually a part of the series done well, is quite mediocre, with Kroll being rather disappointingly realised with a model that could have been better. One wonders if this was the story that lost quite a bit of design money.

While not truly abysmal, The Power of Kroll could have been much better, if the writing and production had been better. As it is, it sits rather below average for Doctor Who, and is the bad apple of the Key to Time season.


SCORE: 7/10

REVIEW: The Armageddon Factor by Bob Baker and Dave Martin

SERIAL: 5F, 6X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No


With the final story of the Key to Time saga, originally titled Armageddon, Bob Baker and Dave Martin, who had contributed many a notable character to the Doctor Who mythos (Omega, Eldrad, K9), ended their joint contributions. Although Bob Baker would later return to both write the serial Nightmare of Eden and create the spin-off series K9, and Dave Martin would later write a Doctor Who book, this story was to be their last joint story, one which would bring the Key to Time to its ultimate conclusion.

Atrios and Zeos, two planets at war with each other for the past five years. Atrios is ruled, in theory, by Princess Astra of Atrios, the sixth child of the sixth generation of the sixth royal family of Atrios, but in practice, by the war-mongering Marshall, who would like nothing more than to exterminate the Zeons. But no matter what the Atrians throw at the Zeons, the Zeon bombardments keep coming. Into this mess arrives the Doctor and Romana, who are searching for the sixth segment of the Key to Time, and shortly thereafter, Astra disappears. At first, the Marshall intends to have them executed, along with Astra's lover Merak, but changes his mind, apparently on orders from a third party, the malevolent Shadow who has Astra in his power, and who wants the Key to Time. Why are the Zeons apparently capable of bouncing back from any attempt at attack on them? Who is the Shadow, as well as his malevolent master? And what does it have to do with Princess Astra? The Key to Time may be reassembled, but the price may be too great...

It seems that, as a partnership, they saved their best for last. The Armageddon Factor is an ambitious story that managed to juggle multiple plotlines simultaneously. What is so amazing is that so much of it manages to work at once. We have the conclusion to the quest for the Key to Time, we have the Marshall at one end, and the Zeon supercomputer Mentalis on the other of the war, and the Shadow playing both sides against the middle. It could easily have been an utter mess, and yet it all slots together. There is even a brilliant twist for the sixth segment that plays into a moral conflict for the Doctor, and helps the conclusion of the saga.

The characters are all varied, and while not written optimally, are done well enough, along with their performances. Lalla Ward is rather functional as Princess Astra, a shame, given the way she shines as the second Romana later on, while Ian Saynor as Merak is rather melodramatic. However, John Woodvine as the Marshall, Davyd Harries as Shapp, and William Squire as the Shadow take roles that could have been too cartoony and, for the most part, make them good. Barry Jackson as Drax, the Del Boy-style Time Lord and former schoolfriend of the Doctor is a surprisingly good role. While Tom Baker's Doctor and Mary Tamm's Romana are good as usual, K9 and his voice, John Leeson, get an unusual amount of chances to shine, speaking to Mentalis and being controlled by the Shadow. Not to mention the surprise appearance of the wonderful Valentine Dyall as a very pivotal character indeed.

The production design is a triumph of design over budget woes. Although the sets are low budget and functional rather than spectacular, it works for the show. Atrios is a military bunker city starting to fall apart, Zeos is all sterile, abandoned but dusty, and the Shadow's world is one of the more convincing alien caverns in the series, with a variety of eerie effects being used to enhance it.

I think that the main problems with The Armageddon Factor are mostly to do with the performances more than anything else. They work, yes, but they could have been better, and I feel that at times, while William Squire's performance as the Shadow is done well, the writing of the part isn't as well done as it should have been. Ditto with Lalla Ward as Princess Astra. It is a little hard to see how they could have seen that (barring the haughty regal attitude) and thought of her as a replacement for Mary Tamm. And Drax's inclusion in the story seems a touch gratuitious, although he is a charming character.

The Armageddon Factor, however, lets Bob Baker and Dave Martin's joint writing career end on a high note, along with the whole Key to Time saga. Problem is, this is where the real problems begin...


SCORE: 9/10

Okay, now the DVD trailer for the next story, Destiny of the Daleks.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G8N7vkkd2k[/youtube]

REVIEW: Destiny of the Daleks by Terry Nation

SERIAL: 5J, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


With Blake's 7 being worked on, it's no wonder Terry Nation didn't have much time to work on Doctor Who afterwards. But when he was asked to contribute one last Dalek story, I wonder whether he knew whether it was to be his last. Unfortunately, what was to be Nation's last Dalek story would be also the worst he scripted...

The Randomiser deposits the Doctor and Romana on a devastated world, soaked in radiation and filled with ruins, with seismic activity from underground workings. Separated, the Doctor and Romana soon learn that they are on the planet Skaro, homeworld of the Daleks. While Romana is forced by the Daleks to work for them, the Doctor has been captured by the Movellans, a race of warriors who seem all too eager to help him against the Daleks. And the Doctor, with escaped slave Tyssan and the Movellans, soon realise what the Daleks are after. For Davros is entombed, deep within the remains of the old Kaled bunker, and far from being dead, he is about to be revived. But why do the Daleks want Davros, having left him for dead centuries ago? What are the Movellans' motives for coming to Skaro? And are they really the Doctor's allies?

Story-wise, Destiny of the Daleks is a mess. The concept of the Daleks being at a logical impasse against a robotic race is a good one, although it is often implied that the Daleks are no longer cyborgs but instead completely robotic. The Movellans are also an interesting invention. And yet, these concepts are buried beneath a storyline that is very average, with the Daleks utterly boring, and a rather confusing prologue where Romana apparently regenerates for no apparent reason (I can stomach her trying on new bodies like they were clothes without using up regenerations, but still...). The need for radiation medicine is forgotten swiftly, there seems to be a callous disregard to the prisoners (not on the behalf of the Doctor, who actually seems agonised about it) as cannon fodder, and the humour is used inappropriately much of the time.

The Doctor is rather too mercurial here, ranging from the ridiculously flippant to the overacting self-sacrificing, and while Lalla Ward is a delight as the second Romana, she doesn't get much positive things to do, being captured by both the Daleks and the Movellans. Davros is reduced to a raging tyrant with no subtlety (with the exception of a surprisingly pathos-filled line about him not accepting 'the luxury of death' until he is satisfied with the Daleks), and while David Gooderson tries his best to emulate Michael Wisher, his performance is below average, not helped by the lack of electronic treatment on the voice. Tim Barlow is decent as Tyssan, and the Movellans are performed quite well, despite the semi-ridiculous costumes and the slightly unfortunate implications of having a race of villainous robots played by ethnic actors.

The production design is fairly average. Although there's some pretty good model effects and special effects, the sets themselves, with the exception of the Movellan spaceship and a few areas of the Kaled city, are pretty mediocre. You can feel the budget stretching, especially when you spot amongst the Dalek prisoners costumes used before. However, Romana's Doctor-like costume, with coat and scarf, is an intriguing one.

Destiny of the Daleks, then, is a disappointing start to the final Graham Williams season, and disappointing for Terry Nation's last Dalek story. Mediocre and a waste, unfortunately, of good ideas that went nowhere fast.


SCORE: 6.5/10

REVIEW: City of Death by David Agnew (by Douglas Adams and Graham Williams, from a story by David Fisher)

SERIAL: 5H, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes


Given Doctor Who's budget, it is amazing that they manage to get any overseas location work done at all. But they do. In the new series, locations such as New York (Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks), Rome (The Fires of Pompeii), Croatia (The Vampires of Venice) and Utah (The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon) are used, and even in the classic series, locations ranging from Amsterdam (Arc of Infinity), Lanzarote in the Canary Islands (Planet of Fire) and Seville in Spain (The Two Doctors) have been used. But it was one story, hurriedly rewritten by Douglas Adams and Graham Williams, from a story by David Fisher, that started this trend, when "Cité de l'Amour" became the "Cité de la Mort"...

On holiday in Paris, 1979, the Doctor and Romana experience a couple of glitches in time, one of which happens in front of the Mona Lisa, where two suspicious figures, the Countess Scarlioni, and Duggan, are watching the painting. The Countess has an alien bracelet designed to scan the alarm systems around the Mona Lisa, while Duggan has been hired to investigate her husband, the enigmatic Count Carlos Scarlioni, who has been selling strangely authentic and valuable antiques that nonetheless seem somehow wrong. But Scarlioni is funding experiments in temporal manipulation, and intends to do so by stealing the Mona Lisa, and selling it, along with multiple copies in his cellar, all of them painted by da Vinci himself. What links Scarlioni with the mysterious Captain Tancredi in Renaissance times? What does he hope to achieve with the experiments in time? And what links it all to a long-dead race? The Doctor, Romana, and Duggan are in a gamble with time, one that may hold the fate of all life on Earth in the balance...

Given how supremely last-minute this story was, not to mention the period of Doctor Who history this was produced in, it is amazing how well this story stands up even today. This is probably the only Doctor Who story to be played more or less for comedy all the way through and actually work in the process. Everything is neat, simple, and with a lovely twist that involves all life on Earth. Witty and intelligent dialogue, interesting concepts, and a thumping good plot.

Tom Baker as the Doctor and Lalla Ward as Romana are at their finest here, with marvellous banter, and yet an ability to switch from the comedy to drama in an instant when required. Julian Glover is an absolute delight as Scaroth and his human splinters, giving an urbane charm and even a pathos at times that adds depth to the character, and Catherine Schell plays his wife wonderfully, taking part in many of their plans. David Graham makes a rare appearance in front of the cameras (he originally played Dalek voices in the sixties) as Professor Kerensky, and while his performance is rather comical, it also has an added sense of realism when he shows despair and tiredness, and only his death scene is actually ridiculous. Tom Chadbon as Duggan makes what could have been a singularly thuggish character immensely entertaining.

In terms of production, this story comes together in a wonderful way. Model work and effects work to their utmost (with an impressive explosion of the Jagaroth spaceship), the location work and the studio work have an impressive synergy, and the direction is Michael Hayes' finest hour. In fact, besides the aforementioned death of Kerensky, the only real bum note is the rather excessive showing off of the Parisian streets while the Doctor, Romana, and Duggan dodge traffic.

Although Douglas Adams is not the sole contributor of this story by a long shot, this is his finest work on the series. Robert Shearman (or was it Paul Cornell?) said that the golden age of Douglas Adams on Doctor Who was only four episodes long and was called City of Death, and I agree with him wholeheartedly. Brilliant, witty, and the best example of comedy in Doctor Who when done completely and utterly right.


SCORE: 10/10

And now, a DVD trailer for the next story, The Creature from the Pit.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUmAwZt5N-w[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Creature from the Pit by David Fisher

SERIAL: 5G, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


With the third season of Graham Williams' time on Doctor Who, and the investiture of Douglas Adams as a script editor, the rot began to set into the series. Tom Baker, by his own admission, became proprietorial around the role of the Doctor and harder to control by directors, especially where comedy was concerned. Adams' career with The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy was taking off, and he found it hard to work on editing the scripts. And the budget was still shrinking, with much of it committed to the location filming for City of Death and Douglas Adams' ambitious finale Shada. Unfortunately, the rest of the season suffered, and The Creature from the Pit suffered in more ways than one...

Following a distress signal to the deeply forested but metal-poor planet Chloris, the Doctor, Romana, and K9 investigate, tracking the signal to a strange metallic egg. Soon, the Doctor is captured by the minions of Lady Adrasta, a tyrannical ruler who holds a monopoly on the metal wealth of the planet and who throws anyone who incurs her displeasure into the Pit, a decrepit mine with a gigantic green blob creature within. When Romana's attempt to rescue the Doctor goes wrong, she is captured along with K9, and the Doctor flees into the Pit, where he makes the acquaintance of astrologer Organon. But is the creature really a ravenous killer, or is it something else? Why does Adrasta seem intent on killing it once she thinks she is capable of doing so? And what links the creature to approaching destruction from far, far away?

The story concept of The Creature from the Pit is sound, and the structure is too. Simple, yes, but sound. The notion of making the creature, Erato, out to be a benign creature despite what is said about it is, while one done before in Doctor Who, a well used one. And some of the dialogue is amongst the best in the series, with Lady Karela, upon murdering a metal bandit by the name of Torvin, remarking that she had just added six inches of steel to his collection. Unfortunately, the execution brings it down.

The characters vary wildly. Lady Adrasta and Karela are both well-written and performed (if somewhat melodramatically) by the marvellous Myra Frances and Eileen Way respectively, and Organon, while a bit too comic, is nonetheless a good character brought to life by Geoffrey Bayldon. Unfortunately, the other characters, in terms of writing and performances, range from average to really bad, with the most egregious offenders being the metal bandits. Tom Baker is unfortunately rather too inappropriately comic here, and Lalla Ward as Romana tries not good enough with an admittedly poorly written role. David Brierley as K9 does a decent job, but cannot quite match John Leeson's performance.

I cannot really complain about the design work for this story, as the sets both in the studio and prefilming are quite good. So are the wolfweeds, predatory plants of Chloris. But the titular creature, Erato...I'm not sure how it could have been done better at the time (although the model shots of the larger creature proper are fine), but the big phallic pseudopodia doesn't help credibility, and it looks, even without it, like a big green plastic bag. Bubble wrap would have been far more convincing, unfortunately.

The Creature from the Pit had significant potential, but it was dragged down by story problems and pretty poor execution of a Doctor Who monster. Not really mediocre, but below what should be even average, and symptomatic of the problems with that season.


SCORE: 7/10

REVIEW: The Horns of Nimon by Anthony Read

SERIAL: 5L, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


There are three stories in Doctor Who's history that draw heavily on Greek mythology for inspiration, and were collected together later as a DVD boxset called Myths and Legends. The Time Monster drew on legends of Atlantis, while Underworld took a new look at the Jason and the Argonauts myth. Both, in my opinion, didn't do too well, so would the third, taking inspiration from the myth of the Minotaur, do any better? Well, if fan consensus is anything to go on, I would be in for a rough ride indeed...

The Skonnon Empire collapsed decades ago, but it looks set for a resurgence, with a mysterious being called the Nimon promising power beyond imagining, enough to found a Second Skonnon Empire. In return for tributes in the form of teenagers and radioactive crystals from the nearby planet of Aneth, the new Skonnon leader, former technician Soldeed, is apparently to lead a new war on the galaxy. While repairing the TARDIS, the Doctor and Romana crash into the Skonnon ship containing the last tribute from Aneth, and are separated when trying to free both ships from an artificially created black hole. While Romana and the Aneth teenagers are sent into the Power Complex to become victims of the Nimon, the Doctor struggles to save them. But what is the Great Journey of Life the Nimon speaks of? Why does the Power Complex look familiar from the sky? And what does the Nimon really want with the tribute?

I'll be perfectly honest. As a script, The Horns of Nimon is nearly perfect. The characters work, the Nimons feel sinister, and the concepts involved feel brilliant. There's a few howlers in terms of jokey dialogue with the Doctor, but other than that, I feel that with a different production, The Horns of Nimon would have worked far more effectively. As it is, in the production stakes, it got royally screwed over.

Unfortunately, Tom Baker is at his worst with his jokiness here, and David Brierly as K9 doesn't work well enough. However, Lalla Ward as Romana shines, taking the initiative and being a strong character, one of the few highlights of the production proper. While I don't know whether Graham Crowden as Soldeed was miscast, he certainly does things in a pantomime manner that is too much even for this era of Doctor Who, and Malcolm Terris as the Co-Pilot is almost as bad. The other performances are fairly average, and could have been done better, though John Bailey as Sezom performs his part better than pretty much the rest of the guest cast.

The production designs vary. Most of the sets are functional, although the Power Complex is one of the better sets of sets with the good idea of a reconfiguring labyrinth. However, the Nimons are an abysmally realisation of an otherwise excellent concept, and have got to be the silliest monster seen (in terms of costume and voice) ever in the classic series of Doctor Who. It is a crying shame since they are an excellent monster on paper.

Unfortunately, Shada never got completed, and thus, The Horns of Nimon remains the denouement of the Graham Williams era. A wonderful script utterly let down by a crappy production, it is an unfortunate mess that is more puerile pantomime than proper production. Still enjoyable, if you can stomach a pantomimey nature, but very disappointing.


SCORE: 6.5/10

PROGRESS REPORT FOUR: ABOUT TIME, OR CUTTING VIOLENCE, CUTTING HUMOUR, AND CUTTING BUDGETS

STORIES: Total for this era: 15

Cumulative total: 66. 14 William Hartnell, 6 Patrick Troughton. 17 Jon Pertwee. 29 Tom Baker

TIME: Total for this era: 10 days

Cumulative total: 75 days

PERCENTAGE NEVER WATCHED BEFORE: 10/15, or 66%

Cumulative total: 24/66, or 37%

MILESTONES:

First episode with K9

First female Time Lord (other than Susan)

First episode with Romana

First mention of the Guardians

The Key to Time season arc

Stories written by Douglas Adams

Largest monster in Doctor Who

Three years (1977-1980)

COMPANIONS: Leela, K9, Romana I and II

THOUGHTS: Although villified as the era where the show began to decay, the Graham Williams is of surprisingly high quality, at least for the first two years. The first season was more of a transitional period from the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era, with two stories that would have been right at home during that period, but it also introduced K9, one of the more popular, or at least famous companions of the Doctor, and while of varying quality, was of decent quality overall.

The Key to Time, conceived by Graham Williams as a means to justify the Doctor's otherwise random adventures, was a masterstroke, and most of the stories were of high quality, the only below average one being The Power of Kroll. We also meet Romana for the first time, first played by Mary Tamm, before being replaced by Lalla Ward. However, the budget began to decline thanks to economical problems at the time, and restrictions were being put on the storylines in order to avoid complaints from Mary Whitehouse.

The third and final season, unfortunately, was where everything really started to go wrong. Douglas Adams was brought in as script editor, and if the quality of many of the scripts are anything to go by, he was, intelligent though he may be, unsuited to the task. So too was the shrinking budget, with many shows appearing below par, and only City of Death being of excellent quality compared to the rest (although unfortunately, I am yet to watch Nightmare of Eden). Doctor Who veered more towards the pantomime, and Tom Baker began to make the show, and not just the part, more his own, more than he should have. The show, as a consequence, damn near fell apart, and the abandonment of what could have been an excellent story, Shada, didn't help matters.

Ultimately, though, while his era as producer ended as failure, most of Graham Williams' era should be seen as a triumph of managing to keep the show running through difficult times, as well as introducing characters who would continue to make an impact on the show to come. Overlooked, this era is in some need of reappraisal.


BEST STORIES: Image of the Fendahl, The Ribos Operation, The Androids of Tara, City of Death

WORST STORIES: Underworld, The Power of Kroll, Destiny of the Daleks, The Creature from the Pit, The Horns of Nimon

REVIEW: The Leisure Hive by David Fisher

SERIAL: 5N, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


After the debacle that was Graham Williams' last season as producer, the man who would later become the longest running, and the most controversial amongst fandom, producer of Doctor Who came in with a new look for the potentially ailing programme. John Nathan-Turner had had experience with the series for several years, and while his way of producing may have caused fans to deride him, there is no doubt that he brought Doctor Who into the Eighties, and his debut story, The Leisure Hive, is a marvellous example...

When an ill-fated holiday in Brighton ends up with K9 being damaged due to ending up in the ocean, the Doctor and Romana head to Argolis, the first of the Leisure Planets. But the Leisure Hive, with its entertaining possibilities in the science of tachyonics, has a dark history, for the Argolins are the last, sterile remnants of a race devastated by a nuclear war with the reptilian Foamasi. And one of the top Argolins, Mena, is desperately funding experiments by the human scientist Hardin to use tachyonics to reverse time, in order to save her dying race by rejuvenation. But something is going wrong as the Doctor and Romana arrive. Mysterious aliens stalk the corridors, a tourist dies during what should have been a harmless experiment, the Leisure Hive's human agent, Brock, has brought an offer from the Foamasi to buy Argolis, and Hardin's experiments turn out to be fraudulent. But can Hardin's experiments succeed? Why does the Foamasi White Lodge want to buy Argolis? And what is the deadly secret of the aggressive and glory-seeking Argolin Pangol, the impossibly youngest member of a supposedly sterile and dying race? Pangol is determined to lead Argolis on a suicidal course, and the Doctor and Romana will be hard pressed to stop him...

Although in theory, the production of The Leisure Hive should not have been quite so different from that of the previous season as, say, Jon Pertwee's first season was to the last of Patrick Troughton, but all throughout the story, there is a significant paradigm shift in the way things were done. While this caused significant friction between the lead actors of Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, and the production team now headed by producer John Nathan-Turner, executive producer (and former producer) Barry Letts, and script editor Christopher H Bidmead, the end result is stunning, especially when you compare it to most stories in the previous season.

It looks more colourful, glossier, and there is a seriousness that was lacking for at least the past year. And while real scientific concepts had been used in the previous season (black holes, neutron stars and quantum mechanics), it feels more grounded in this story. At least three plots, all interlinked, make The Leisure Hive a complex story that is brought quite well to life. We have the Foamasi activities on Argolis, Pangol's machinations, and the experiments of Hardin, and how, while he has many things right, he was forced to fake his results for funding purposes.

The characters as written are entertaining, with the two main elder Argolin characters, Morix (played by Laurence Payne) and Mena (Adrienne Cori) having a strong level of pathos at their fate. David Haig's Pangol is a gleeful and entertaining warmongerer whose singular character and lack of depth is easily overlooked. I feel that John Colin as Brock could have been oilier, though he does a decent enough job, as does Nigel Lambert as Hardin, who is strongly implied to be a lover of Mena's (or as strongly as you can with a Doctor Who story). Lalla Ward as Romana is, despite the behind the scenes problems, a delight, and while Tom Baker doesn't quite give his all as an aged Doctor, is still quite good the rest of the time.

The production design is colourful and extravagant, although the Hive doesn't quite seem exactly like the tourist attraction it purports to be. And the direction by Lovett Bickford is also quite excellent, although this apparently led to the story going way over budget. However, the Foamasi costumes, I feel ambivalent about. While weird and alien, they also seem a little bit too cute and cuddly to seem at all menacing, or at least when seen in anything other than atmospheric glimpses of parts of their anatomy. And I have to wonder what the hell was with that nearly two-minute long pan over Brighton Beach at the start. It was utterly boring.

The Leisure Hive is an auspicious start to the Eighties era of Doctor Who, and the reign of John Nathan-Turner. Bringing Doctor Who into a new era is not something to be done lightly, and they managed to do it with an impressive story.


SCORE: 9/10

And now, a DVD trailer for the next story, Meglos.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6OxviNXK_s[/youtube]

By the way, I decided not to review K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend. Instead, I intend to do it at the end of the classic series, along with the TV movie and the BBC website/Big Finish version of Shada. It's just so that I have an 'era' to lump it into...

Just caught up with your blog just in time. I am a huge Tom Baker fan. I don't think even David Tennant compares to his greatness. He was so eccentric and funny at the same time. And now you're talking about the Romanas, both of which top my list of best companions of all time. The first one was great for her witty banter with the Doctor (IMHO, she saved The Power of Kroll. turning it into "so bad it's good" instead of bad. The second one was cute and funny, and even had a somewhat childlike quality to her.
I'm gonna keep reading this. I'm anxious to see your opinions on the much-hated Colin Baker era.