The Visitation

We're about 300 years too early.

The Fifth Doctor era is a rather odd one. Many of the reviews I read and listen to are by people around my own age so their memories of this era are bathed in childhood nostalgia. This usually results in comments along the lines of how the stories are thin or the companions are annoying, or the special effects look bad, but they still love the episode.

I do not have that nostalgia. The Visitation was my first foray into the Fifth Doctor era and it has a strong feel for both the best and worst of this era.

First, the good. It is very difficult not to like the Fifth Doctor. He is charming, caring, and still retains a majority of the wit of the Fourth Doctor. He is also has a charming arrogance that is less bracing than when it was displayed in previous doctors.

The guest cast on this episode was also very good. Despite the limitations of the costume (i.e. a rubber mask), the villain Terileptal had a convincing sense of menace as well as a bit of sympathy. But the real scene stealer is the pseudo-companion Richard Mace. He has good comedic timing and his sense of stage presence blew most of the others out of the water.

Unfortunately, this leads in to the not-so-good. Richard Mace showed what a good actor and a good Doctor-companion relationship could do. But this made the three regular companions look worse by comparison. Adric wasn't bad but the story had no idea of what to do with him. He gets "injured" and spends most of his time captured or moping about the TARDIS. Nyssa also gets relegated to the TARDIS, which is good because there were boards in the barn and house that we less stiff that she was. It was an unfortunately excellent example of poor acting. Tegan was a little better but her easy hysterics were off-putting and she also did very little to move the plot along other than be the "damsel in distress".

There is also the matter of the special effects and make-up. Some can't be helped as it was the 80's and bad hair and make-up were just the thing then. But the Terileptals and the androids were not the best. As long as things remained in shadow, it was easier to overlook their flaws and it helped with the atmosphere. But when the lighting was brought up to full, it brought the limitations of the time and budget to the fore. Not ideal and something that easily took you more out of the story.

It's hard to say how I would fully grade it. I liked the framework of the story, even if it's execution wasn't the best. I can forgive a lot with regard to make-up, sets, etc. if the story is engaging and the acting is done well (see Keys of Marinus). But, aside from the Doctor and Richard Mace, the acting wasn't quite up to snuff. Some positives, but I'd say the negatives outweighed the positives on this one.

Overall personal score: 2 out of 5.