The Keeper of Traken

Nyssa: How is it bigger on the inside?
Adric: The Doctor told me its because it's dimensionally transcendental.
Nyssa: What does that mean?
Adric: It means it's bigger on the inside.

The Keeper of Traken is one of those stories that seems to be near the top of tier two. No one ever lists it as a favorite nor does it make any kind of Top 10 list like The Ark in Space or Genesis of the Daleks. But it always seems to be well regarded as an interesting story and well performed. It's also a rather important story given that it introduces the Anthony Ainley Master and Nyssa, although she was not intended as a companion when Johnny Byrne wrote this story. So I'm highly curious about this one.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Adric bring the TARDIS into N-space and find themselves near the planet of Traken, a planet where evil is not permitted to flourish. The Doctor can't remember ever visiting there but consults his journals with Adric to refresh his memory. As they read, an old man in a chair appears in the control room.

The old man is the current Keeper of Traken. He requests the Doctor's help and shows images of evil creatures called Melkur which fly to the planet, become rooted in various areas and calcify as their evil is suppressed. He shows one Melkur being tended by a young woman named Kassia. She is later shown as a member of the council and recently married to another council member named Tremas. At their wedding, the Keeper shifted Kassia's attentive duties of the Melkur to Tremas' daughter Nyssa. Shortly after he names Tremas as Keeper designate, to succeed him after he dies. Kassia is upset by this and vents her fears to the Melkur. The Doctor agrees to help and the Keeper disappears.

On Traken, a man is found dead with a look of horror on his face. Tremas has readings which indicate that evil is growing on the planet. The council assembles to discuss the matter and they eventually vote to allow the citizenry to arm themselves as a means of protection.

The Doctor and Adric arrive shortly afterward and are arrested by the guards on suspicion of the murder and brought to the council. After they leave, the Melkur wakes and hits the TARDIS with a beam, causing it to disappear. The Doctor informs the council that he was summoned by the Keeper but when they go to find the TARDIS to verify his story, they cannot find it and grow more suspicious of him.

The Doctor appeals for them to ask the Keeper directly and they agree. As they go to summon him. The Melkur comes alive and walks to the doorway of the hall. The Keeper appears but is attacked by the Melkur's plasma beam while lingering in the back and cries out about the invasion of evil before he disappears again.

Assuming the Doctor was the evil spoken of, the guards advance and Kassia cries for their deaths but overdoes it and collapses. The Doctor appeals once more and his invoking of science intrigues Tremas. Tremas takes the Doctor and Adric under his protection while they investigate the energy readings. Kassia meanwhile comes to and slips out. She sees the body of a peasant killed by the Melkur and drags it into the brush, not wanting the Melkur to be discovered yet.

Tremas takes the Doctor and Adric to his home for rest and food while Kassia heads back to the Melkur, which has resumed it's former place. It begins speaking to her and assures her that Tremas will not assume the role of Keeper. The Melkur gives her a collar which allows him to use his powers through her.

After eating the Doctor and Tremas leave his house to investigate the energy readings while Adric stays with Nyssa. She shows him her father's equipment and Adric begins to take measurements of his own. He spots some unusual readings and drags Nyssa out to go show them to the Doctor. The Doctor and Tremas are meanwhile prevented from getting to the grove as the populace has crowded outside the gates based on the rumors of the Melkur coming to life. Tremas and the Doctor instead take an alternate route through the council room.

Nyssa slips Proctor Neman, the captain of the guards, some money and he disperses the crowd around the gate. Adric slips through but Nyssa is prevented from entering the grove by the rest of the council. They are assembling for Councilor Seron to stand examination before the Keeper due to his withholding of Tremas' energy findings. Nyssa is sent home while Adric is grabbed and shushed by the Doctor.

The Doctor discovers that the TARDIS is still there but has been shifted out of phase. The three of them head back to the cavern under the council chamber where the main power source is. There Adric shows the Doctor his readings which suggest a more powerful TARDIS than his arrived on Traken. The Doctor then perfects a small device to unphase the TARDIS.

Before they leave, they notice the power activating, indicating the Keeper is arriving. He examines Seron and finds him innocent but warns that they have been betrayed. Confused, Seron turns as the Keeper disappears to find Kassia now controlled by the Melkur. She fires bolts of plasma and kills Seron. The commotion attracts the Doctor and Tremas as well as the guards. She then claims Seron was found guilty by the Keeper and they move to arrest the Doctor.

They flee into the grove via the tunnel where the Melkur mocks the Doctor. The Doctor rematerializes the TARDIS but before they can enter, Kassia steps in front and stuns Tremas. Tremas, the Doctor and Adric are then captured via an electrified net from one of the guards. The group is placed in a holding cell with strict instructions to the guards to keep them under watch.

Kassia returns to the grove where she asks the Melkur to release her but the Melkur takes further control of her, insisting she become the new Keeper upon the death of the old one. They are interrupted by Nyssa, who had come to tend the statue. Kassia lashes out at her and orders her home, informing her that her father and the strangers have been arrested. Nyssa does go home but amplifies an ion bonder and heads for the prison.

Nyssa attempts to bribe Proctor Neman as she did before but he refuses. She then stuns him and another guard with the ion bonder, taking their key. She releases the Doctor, Adric and her father and stun two additional guards when cornered in a hall. With the alarms sounding of their escape, the group doubles back and takes refuge in Tremas' house, which had already been searched by the guards. The Doctor then convinces Tremas to let him see the plans for the source power supply. Looking over the blueprints, the Doctor and Adric make a contingency plan and then give them back to Tremas. They head back to the grove to get back to the TARDIS.

The remaining council members meet and agree that with the death of Seron and the arrest of Tremas, Kassia will become Keeper upon the death of the old one. Learning of the Doctor's escape, Kassia elects to reset the old trap and orders the guards away from the grove. This allows the Doctor's group to enter the grove where the Melkur warns off the Doctor once more. A view inside shows that the Melkur is actually the skeletal Master in his TARDIS.

A sudden lighting storm rises signaling the impending death of the old Keeper. The flames signaling his life go out and Kassia steps in to the empty throne. As she does so, the Melkur disappears. Realizing what is happening, the Doctor rushes to the council chamber to stop the council from giving Kassia access to the Source. They ignore him and finish her initiation. The Doctor orders Adric below as Kassia disappears and is replaced by the Melkur.

Adric and Nyssa run back to the TARDIS where Adric shares with Nyssa the Doctor's plan to short circuit the Source. Unfortunately, if taken to it's full conclusion, it would also destroy the Source. Nevertheless, they begin to work on the device.

The Melkur takes his place as the Keeper and begins to tap into the power of the source, aligning it with the bio-function of the body. He orders Neman in and has him confine the council members to their quarters, including the Doctor with Tremas. Once in Tremas' quarters, he and the Doctor pull out the plan for the source where the Doctor works out a code that will cause the Source to reject the Melkur as Keeper.

Aware of what the Doctor could do, the Melkur orders Neman to find the plans in Tremas' quarters. As he does so, the Melkur appears and destroys them, unaware that the Doctor has already crafted his plan. The Melkur disappears and the Doctor knocks Neman and the guards out, allowing Tremas and himself to escape. They stun two additional guards before making their way to the central chamber.

Within the chamber, the Doctor and Tremas are able to enter just over half the code before the Melkur reappears and freezes both of them. He overpowers Tremas' will and forces him to kill Neman and nearly kill himself. He then takes the Doctor into the inner sanctum of the Keeper where both disappear.

The Doctor reappears within the Melkur and finally realizes it's the Master. The Master intends to use the power of the Keeper to enhance his own and also take over the Doctor's body, using his regenerations to augment his own, which he has exhausted. Just before he does, Adric and Nyssa finish attaching their device to the Source and cause it to short circuit. The feedback causes the Melkur TARDIS to begin to fail and the Master loses control. The Doctor dashes out and the Master rushes towards his original TARDIS in the form of a grandfather clock.

Adric and Nyssa run upstairs as the Doctor reappears in the Keeper's sanctum. Tremas, aware of the plan, rushes downstairs to disconnect the device once the code is input. The Doctor shouts for Adric to input the last digits of the code. Adric is able to put in most of the code before the atmospheric instability blows him back. The Doctor is able to get out of the sanctum and enter the last digit of the code, restoring stability to the Source. He then urges the two remaining council members to become the new Keeper before the Master can put his TARDIS back in. Councilman Luvic rushes in and is accepted as the new Keeper.

With a new Keeper installed, the Doctor and Adric say their goodbyes and head back to the TARDIS. Though they intend to go to Gallifrey, the Doctor makes mention of trying to fix up the TARDIS a bit.

Tremas and Nyssa decide to head back to their home for some rest. He sends Nyssa ahead while he checks on something. Distracted by the incorrect time on a clock, Tremas reaches up to fix the hands. He becomes paralyzed as he touches the face and the Master steps out of the clock, which is his TARDIS in disguise. He merges his body with Tremas' and Tremas' body becomes younger but now with the Master's mind, effectively killing Tremas. He steps in to the TARDIS and disappears as Nyssa walks back in, confused by her father's disappearance.

Analysis

I can definitely understand why this story is considered second tier. There are elements that are well done and certainly the acting is fairly good. But it is very talk-y and not in a good way. After a pretty interesting set up, Episodes Two and Three become something of a slog before the story whips back into gear with almost a frenzied and mildly unsubstantiated pace. So it's a question of balance and what do you like and what do you not like.

The Doctor is enjoyable here but also rather restrained. Much of Season 18 reflects his advanced age (and Tom Baker's health problems made this easier to convey) but despite that, this was the first story where I felt that the Doctor really was marching to his own doom. I think it's because he lost the buoyancy of Romana and that lack of levity drags him further down, although he does get a small crack of humor here and there. I actually prefer the Fourth Doctor in a more restrained state as his sillier performances can result in loss of the plot for me.

I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed Adric in this story. There seems to be a strong level of respect between him and the Fourth Doctor and I think the age gap between them produces a strong mentor/mentee relationship. The Fourth Doctor played a with that a bit with both Leela and Romana but there was more bite back as neither were going to form a master/student relationship with the Doctor. Adric does seem to be on his way to. What's more, he doesn't argue or talk of going to the other side. The Doctor lands to investigate, Adric follows to learn, they develop plans and Adric follows. No whining, no arguing, no backbiting about how the Doctor is wrong. Adric is at his best when a heavy hand is on him I think.

I also thought Adric had a nice relationship with Nyssa. I suspect that the scene where Adric takes Nyssa into the TARDIS is probably the instigator to why Nyssa was brought along as a companion. She and Adric actually share a nice bit of chemistry and they function as near equals, although it's clear that Adric takes the more Doctor-y role due to his increased experience both with the Doctor and in overall scientific knowledge. But it plays well between both of them.

Nyssa herself does very well. Sarah Sutton is trying to be restrained but you also see more regular emotion with her, especially in her interaction with Adric. Now to be fair, I can also see the coldly logical and wooden Nyssa in her performance. Again, I'm not sure what direction she was given in her character bio, but as emotive as everyone else is, her attempt at passivity always seems to come across as emotionally distant and that in turn makes her look like a bad actor. But for the most part, she does well here.

I've been on record before stating that I actually really enjoy Anthony Ainley and I think he gets a bad wrap for as hammy as he plays the Master for most of his tenure. Many fans point back to Tremas to indicate that Ainley had good acting chops which is rather ironic for me because I thought Ainley was too understated as Tremas. Tremas is a scientist who's world is going through great upheaval, to the point that one of his good friends on the council is murdered. Yet he always seems strangely distant. He very much reminded me of what many of Nyssa's performances would be like in future stories. I don't think he was bad, but having gone through the high energy and emotion that you get both from the Master and his disguises, Tremas just didn't grab me in a way that I thought he should. I felt like I should have cared more about him when the Master takes over his body rather than just the meh I felt.

On the subject of the Master, I thought the Geoffrey Beavers did a pretty good job as the Master. He got a touch over the top just before he tried to take over the Doctor's body and when the Melkur TARDIS began to destroy itself, but his period of restraint before this was quite good and full of menace. In many ways, it reminded me of Sutekh, although I don't think anyone could live up to the vocal performance that Gabriel Woolf gave. But from an overall level, I thought it was pretty good; certainly within the acceptance level of the Master as done in The Deadly Assassin, and at least here you can understand what the Master is saying. The use of the Master's TARDIS as the Melkur is also pretty good as it puts and interesting twist on the capabilities of an advanced TARDIS.

The rest of the cast was fairly non-descript, suffering from the same lack of passion that seemed to plague Nyssa and Tremas. The exception to that was Kassia who went waaaaay over the top in many of her scenes. Her acceptance of evil to accomplish her own goal of not having Tremas be made Keeper was a rather large step given what we were shown initially. I would have liked to have seen some quiet and intimate moments between her and Tremas to flesh out that she cared about him so much as to risk the destruction of Traken just so that they would be together. But instead, she's so focused on the plan and the tasks she must do for the Melkur, that she barely spends any time with Tremas. That just gives the impression that she's more mad than anything else and her over-the-top performance just gets in the way of that. Overall, she's a less compelling and interesting villain than the Master/Melkur and many of her scenes feel like "just get on with it" so we can see what the real strategist is up to.

A common comment about this story is how stagey it feels. I can't disagree with that as the studio was never really given much of an attempt to feel atmospheric. I also think that the rigidity and formality of the performers outside of the Doctor and the Master added to the feeling of having stumbled on a play. That being said, the sets were nice and I thought the direction didn't hurt the performance in any way, even if it didn't add much either.

Ultimately, the primary flaw of this story is that the central portion of it is a bit of a dull slog. This comes from both the plodding dialogue and the almost impassive delivery of most of the players. If a character like Tremas or Nyssa started showing more passion (and there were moments where Tremas did come close to it) the story would have had more buoyancy throughout and it might be regarded higher than it is. I would say that it's not bad, but there's not a lot that would convince me to regard it as that good either. Middle of the road would be a good way to describe it.

Overall personal score: 2.5 out of 5

Four to Doomsday

Conformity, the true freedom.

This is the first story filmed for the Fifth Doctor, though third shown. I've heard fairly mixed reviews on it with some people really loving it and others being rather meh on it. I do believe that it set the defining tone for how people remember the Fifth Doctor era, at least in the span with Adric if not also with Nyssa. Certainly the impression people have of Tegan and Adric as well seems to be heavily cultivated from this story.

Plot Summary

Attempting to get Tegan back to Heathrow, the TARDIS accidentally lands on a spaceship outside the solar system. Detecting a slightly toxic atmosphere, the Doctor grabs a breathing helmet and heads outside to explore, leaving the three companions in the TARDIS. Outside, he observes advanced laboratory equipment and a floating ball with a camera that tracks his moves.

The Doctor heads back into the TARDIS and gets the others out. Nyssa and Adric examine the equipment while the Doctor asks the floating eye if he can see the leader. A door opens and he and Tegan head down the corridor. At the end they meet three humanoid aliens: the leader, Monarch, and his two associates, a male called Persuasion and a female called Enlightenment. Monarch states that they are from a far planet and are heading to Earth for a visit. They ask the Doctor about his ship and his companions. Enlightenment specifically asks Tegan about the latest fashions of her time. A little surprised, Tegan takes paper from the Doctor and draws a man and woman in fancy dress.

After the talk, Monarch has the Doctor and Tegan taken away for some refreshment. Nyssa had already been taken away by a man in Athenian dress while Adric had followed a few minutes later. Reunited, the group sits down to fruit with their Athenian server, whose name is Bigon. As they eat, three other persons enter: an Australian Aborigine called Kirkutji, a mute Mayan princess named Villagra and a Chinese Mandarin named Lin Futu. The group is forbidden by Monarch to discuss why they are there so they sit and wait while the others eat. As they finish, two people walk in dressed and looking exactly like Tegan's drawing. They reintroduce themselves as Persuasion and Enlightenment.

Persuasion and Enlightenment tell the Doctor that they are from the planet Urbanka which was destroyed when it's sun went nova. Their ship in now on a journey to Earth with 3 billion survivors for resettlement. Adric is skeptical but the Doctor takes it in stride and they retire to their quarters with Monarch locking them in.

The Doctor blocks the camera with a hat and activates the sonic screwdriver to drown the microphones. He agrees with them that something odd is going on if for no other reason than the periods where the humans are from on the ship don't match with the Urbankan's story. He decides they should explore and unlocks the door with the screwdriver.

Monarch, aware of the Doctor's suspicions, attempts to find out more about the Doctor and Gallifrey but finds no information in his computer. He separates the Doctor and Tegan from Adric and Nyssa by closing a set of doors between them. The Doctor and Tegan enter a hall where the various humans put on cultural displays as entertainment for the others. Persuasion enters and keeps a close eye on them as they watch.

Adric and Nyssa enter other compartments and are forced to put on their breathing helmets as there is no air here. However, humans are seen working in the environment. The enter and leave several rooms, observing people performing tasks with both high technology, robotics and advanced biochemistry. In each room, they note the human workers have a silver disk on their hands.

Monarch calls Bigon in and warns him against telling the Doctor too much. Bigon protests as he has always told the truth but Monarch suggests he remain silent. Bigon goes to the Doctor and Tegan and arranges a meeting with them later. Shortly afterward, two Greeks have a sword fight with one of the Greeks seemingly killed in the duel. This upsets Tegan and she runs out, the Doctor close behind.

The "killed" Greek is brought into a chamber where Adric and Nyssa observe him placed in a bed with a dome and then healed of his wound. They also notices that although stabbed, he walked in and showed no blood coming from the wound. Monarch, aware of Adric and Nyssa's observations, orders them to be brought before him.

Tegan and the Doctor return to their quarters where Bigon is waiting for them. He calms Tegan down by demonstrating that the man was not killed as he and all the other humans on the ship are in fact androids. Bigon also reveals that Monarch actually destroyed Urbanka through overexploitation of it's resources and pollution and is planning to do the same to Earth. He notes that any android that has a silver disk on it's had is a slave while those that do not have free will so long as they do not cross Monarch.

Monarch admits to Nyssa and Adric of his conversion of humans and his people to android state. Nyssa is appalled but Adric is impressed and begins answering Monarch's questions about the Doctor and the TARDIS. Eventually, Monarch asks Adric to bring him the Doctor so that he might see the TARDIS. After he leaves, Monarch has Nyssa hypnotized by Enlightenment and then taken away to be converted.

Bigon and the Doctor leave the Doctor's quarters to destroy the poison supply that will kill the people of Earth and to free the people from Monarch's tyranny. Tegan meanwhile has become hysterical and wants nothing more but to go back to the TARDIS to warn the people of Earth. The Doctor manages to calm her down a bit but she gets amped back up when Adric comes to collect the Doctor. Angry at him, she shoves him aside where he bangs his head against the bed and is knocked out. Tegan storms back to the TARDIS and opens it with the TARDIS key. Inside, she begins to press random buttons, trying to get it to take off.

As they pass through each section, the Doctor disables the monitors in each room, allowing Bigon to speak freely. This does alert Monarch to their progress, though he initially dismisses it as Bigon giving the Doctor a tour. In the android room, Lin Futu, in the middle of processing Nyssa, overhears the Doctor and Bigon talking about overthrowing Monarch and leaves to warn him. They spot Nyssa and free her before the conversion is complete.

Adric awakes and stumbles up after the Doctor, eventually discovering them in the android room. He argues on Monarch's behalf until Persuasion enters with Greek guards. They restrain both Bigon and the Doctor and sentence him to death for attempting to overthrow Monarch. Adric tries to intervene but is restrained as well. The Greeks force the Doctor down, intending to cut off his head. Nyssa, who had borrowed the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and a pencil earlier, uses the combo to create a surge in the silver plates on the hands and short circuits the androids holding Adric and the Doctor. Persuasion then tries to shoot the Doctor but Adric leaps in front of him. Monarch, not wanting Adric killed, orders the lot be brought to him.

Tegan, after mashing a ton of buttons, manages to activate the TARDIS and dematerialize it off the ship. However, the magnetic field of the ship forces it to rematerialize just outside the ship and hover in space. Tegan then pulls out the manual, trying to figure out how to get the TARDIS to either return to the ship or get back to Earth.

The Doctor denies trying to overthrow Monarch, though Monarch is skeptical. He has Bigon's personality chip removed while Nyssa is taken away and sedated as a hostage for the Doctor's good behavior. Monarch himself spares the Doctor's life and allows him freedom to further convince Adric of his benevolence.

The Doctor and Adric head back to their quarters where the Doctor pretends to see Monarch's side, much to Adric's delight. They head to the entertainment area where the noise of the performance drowns out their speech and the Doctor rebukes Adric for his folly. He forces Adric to choose to be with him or Monarch and Adric reluctantly chooses the Doctor.

Feigning tiredness, the Doctor and Adric leave the entertainment but sneak down to the android repair section. The monitor has not yet been repaired from the Doctor's earlier disorienting of it and he further knocks it out with a bit of cobalt. He then convinces Lin Futu of Monarch's plan to subjugate and destroy the Earth. They recover Bigon's personality chip and Lin Futu sends out Chinese dancers to perform the Dragon Dance in the entertainment area.

The Doctor and Adric enter the entertainment area and sit next to Bigon's soulless body, which had been placed in the seats on the floor. Under the guise of the Dragon dancer's leaving, they sneak Bigon's body back to the repair room where Lin Futu reinstalls Bigon's chip. Lin Futu also speaks to the leaders of the other factions and convinces them to join the Doctor while the Doctor wakes Nyssa.

A restored Bigon activates an override circuit in the slave androids and they all come out to perform entertainment at once. Knowing he has to recover the TARDIS, the Doctor has Adric put on a life suit while he dons his breathing helmet. They head down to a launch bay where the Doctor propels himself out on a tether, knowing he only has six minutes before his body succumbs to the cold.

Monarch, now aware of the uprising, sends Persuasion to stop the Doctor. He attacks Adric but Adric knocks the gun out of his hand. Adric repeatedly fires at Persuasion, but the gun has no effect on his android body. He overpowers Adric but the Doctor pulls himself back on the tether and yanks out Persuasion's personality circuit and tosses it into space. Furious, Monarch sends Enlightenment to help. She walks past a still stunned Adric and unties the Doctor's tether before he can come back a second time. Adric rises and rips out her personality circuit as well.

The Doctor, stuck about halfway between the ship and the TARDIS, pulls a cricket ball out of his pocket and hurls it at the ship. It bounces off the hull and he catches it. Retaining it's momentum, the ball and the Doctor hurl towards the TARDIS where the Doctor manages to snag the door and let himself in. He ignores Tegan and pilots the ship back into the entertainment area.

Enraged, Monarch cuts the life support for the rest of the ship. The Doctor gives his helmet to Tegan while Lin Futu repairs another helmet and gives it to the Doctor. With all four of them able to breathe, the Doctor pulls Monarch's poison out, giving it to Adric for safekeeping.

With no other options, Monarch grabs a gun and heads down to the TARDIS to kill the Doctor himself. The Doctor however grabs the poison and smashes it on Monarch. The poison causes his flesh to sink in upon himself and he shrinks to only a fraction of his size. The Doctor reveals that he was still mostly flesh as his ideas about faster than light travel and his own godhood could only be the product of organic thinking. The Doctor traps the shrunken Monarch in the borrowed space helmet, Monarch having turned the life support back on when he left the control room.

Bigon thanks the Doctor and tells him that they intend to fly the ship to a new planet and establish themselves there rather than try to reintegrate with Earth. The Doctor and crew reenter the TARDIS and prepare to try and get to Heathrow again. However, as they take off, Nyssa collapses.

Analysis

I can see how some fans might like this story, especially if they saw it when they were younger. After the dourness of Logopolis and the slow pondering of Castrovalva, this story, especially in Episode Four, would have seemed faster paced and more exciting. Throw in the highly metaphorical Kinda as the chaser and a younger person would have easily glommed on to this story as something fun an exciting. However, watching it in isolation, I can't say that I liked this one very much.

Looking over things as a whole, I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm just not fond of the Fifth Doctor era that much. The Fifth Doctor himself isn't the problem for the most part. The problems tend to lie in production, storyline and especially, the companions.

I don't think it will be a shock to say that my antipathy for Tegan and Adric has never been higher than in this story. In others, the negative aspects of their personalities have either been mitigated by more positive elements, a balance of their character against something else, or a simple lack of screen time. In this story however, Adric and Tegan are very front and center and the worst aspects of their personalities are brought front and center.

Probably more so than any other story I can recall, the Doctor is playing babysitter. It doesn't help that Monarch repeatedly calls them children and Adric's obnoxious comment to Tegan indicates that he clearly still thinks of Nyssa as underdeveloped in her femininity. I find this ironic as Nyssa is easily the most mature acting of all of them. She is still stiff in her performance, but at least she shows gumption, is never taken in by Monarch and works with the Doctor to stop the situation. Her only real drawback is that because she is aware, she is sidelined as the hostage for most of the story.

Adric is a naïve prat through most of this story. He is openly insulting to Tegan and rather dismissive of Nyssa. He buys in to Monarch with almost no prompting, proving himself exceptionally gullible as well as hardheaded as he still wants to believe in Monarch, even after Monarch orders the Doctor's initial execution. The only positive aspect of his buying in wholesale to Monarch's schlock is that the Doctor is able to exploit it and hide his intentions from Monarch. But, to me, that reflects more poorly on Monarch than it does offer any positive aspect to Adric.

Tegan, I felt like slapping for a good portion of the story. She is single-mindedly obsessed with getting back to Heathrow. Fine, we get it. She doesn't appreciate the opportunity in front of her and I can get past that. But the volume of whining she does about it does get annoying. On top of that, nothing she does is useful. In fact, she is the opposite of useful the entire story. She gets hysterical upon learning of Monarch's plan; a trait I hate in any character who displays it. Then she goes and mucks things up royally by actually moving the TARDIS. If she had fled to the TARDIS for a good cry and some isolation, she would have been far more useful. Instead she becomes so obsessed in her own hysteria that she abandons the three people she has traveled with, all of whom have some degree of expertise in piloting the TARDIS, and plops the TARDIS in a location where she can't move it and nearly gets the Doctor and Adric killed trying to recover it. I believe the Doctor would have been well within his rights to leave Tegan on the ship and leave it up to Bigon's benevolence to simply get her back to Earth, let alone get her to Heathrow.

Speaking of Bigon, he's a bit of a problem in this story as well. He is so eager to help the Doctor and overthrow Monarch that I can't understand why Monarch has permitted his existence to continue. Yes, Bigon was punished by being kept in isolation for one hundred years, but that didn't seem to take so why not destroy Bigon. If Monarch is as brutal a dictator as we are meant to think he is, why not fully crush all opposition? The man on the inside who makes the rebellion work, has too much power available to him. This makes Monarch seem naïve and incompetent.

In a similar vein, Lin Futu is a bit too easily convinced for my taste. Granted, he might have already been suspicious of Monarch, but he does rat out the Doctor very quickly when he frees Nyssa. He's been working for Monarch for thousands of years so why should he buy the Doctor's hasty argument that Monarch is mad and will destroy them all upon reaching Earth? It would be one thing if Bigon had mentioned that unrest had been growing but they were too scared to move against Monarch. But Bigon instead says that Lin Futu and Villagra are loyal to Monarch because of his promise to make them rulers of their people. I found it to be rather lazy and frustrating writing.

Now the villains. Enlightenment is fine, albeit a bit bland. She is at least good at her job. Persuasion is also not bad, although I would have expected a bit more competence from him in monitoring the Doctor. But you could argue that after thousands of years of docility, he got a bit lax with regard to a sharp mind like the Doctor.

As for Monarch, I'm so torn as I can't help but like Monarch. I think he is well acted and he sits high and mighty as you would expect a dictator to be. He is pompous and convinced of his own infallibility, which I suppose leaves him vulnerable. But he is too benevolent to match the description of crazy given by Bigon. He grants the Doctor too much freedom and he puts far too much trust in both Bigon and Adric. A ruler who makes those kind of shoddy decisions should have been overthrown long ago. Several times, Monarch could have easily stopped and/or destroyed the Doctor but he turns a blind eye, believing in their belief in him rather than with the keener eye of someone at the top for as long as he has been. Perhaps it is a function of his own belief in his deity, but it looks more like the combination of plot contrivance and dictatorial naivety.

Circling back around, the other primary performance I enjoyed was the Doctor. He is quiet, controlled and clearly using his head to try and get out of the situation they are in. He even goes so far as to call Adric the idiot he is in order to get him back around to thinking properly. He has a clear respect for Nyssa and far more patience with Tegan than she deserves. In fact, the limitations of the Doctor are generally through his companions. Left to his own devices or perhaps only with Nyssa, Bigon and the Doctor could have overthrown Monarch with relatively few complications. Instead, he wastes time acting as a babysitter to at least two people acting like brats. That the companions personalities improved a bit in other stories helps a little, but the fact that the Fifth Doctor is so much better when paired with older pseudo-companions in stories like The Visitation, Kinda, or The Awakening, speaks to how limited the Fifth Doctor is by these shackles.

Episode Four was something of an improvement for the story as it got away from the set up of ideas and actually got some action going. Once there was action, the story buzzed along. The fight and effects may not have been that great, but the Doctor's battle with Persuasion and Enlightenment as well as his cricket ball physics are the clear highlights of the story. Even people who enjoy this story cite that scene first when talking about it. Aside from the action, I think one of the main reasons it works so well is that it puts all the focus on the Doctor. Tegan is absent in the TARDIS, Nyssa is with the androids and coming out of her sedation and Adric can't say anything in his space suit. So the Doctor and his actions drive all the story at that point and that is where things shine. The Doctor should be the focus as much as possible. When stories don't, they tend to fall apart.

As far as the production, I don't know that I can say much. I thought the direction and effects were decent. Certainly the floating cameras were a pretty good effect for the day. I won't say that I thought there was anything groundbreaking or especially drawing on the production side, but it did well for what it was an what was available to them.

I feel a little bad dumping so hard on a story that I think is generally well regarded (or at least given indifference to), but I can't that I was bored or irritated by most of the story through the first three episodes. It had a slight pick up in Episode Two after a lackluster start but sank badly in Episode Three. Episode Four worked reasonably well but still had significant plot holes that just sat wrong with me. I think a younger audience would enjoy this story more. But the volume of bad simply outweighs the good for me in this one.

Overall personal score: 1.5 out of 5

Warriors' Gate

It's like talking with a Cheshire Cat.

Now the conclusion of the E-space trilogy and the departure of Romana and K-9. I've heard mixed things about this one and I think it is generally regarded as the weakest of the trilogy. All I really know about it is that involves time-sensitive lion-men so I'm coming into this one as a fairly blank slate.

Plot Summary

An Earth ship is attempting to go into warp drive. It is carrying a group of sedated humanoid lions called Tharls aboard and using one of the Tharls, named Biroc, as it's unwilling navigator. The ship is damaged an stuck in a neutral space between E- and N-space. Biroc appears to pass out and the captain, Rorvik, orders him taken below. Biroc comes to and shakes off his custodians, running out into a white void.

On the TARDIS, the Doctor and Romana debate about how to get back to N-space while Adric listens quietly. The Doctor suggests just pushing random buttons to see if anything will happen, though Romana restrains him. Adric however, does push a random button and the TARDIS flies off. Their flight is intercepted by Biroc, who appears out of phase. His appearance also opens the TARDIS to time winds which damage K-9.

Biroc guides the TARDIS to the null space and then leaves, although giving a warning about the people they will soon meet. Seeing K-9 damaged, the Doctor has Romana start to repair him while the Doctor leaves the TARDIS to follow Biroc. The Doctor and Romana also note that they are in a bridge of space between E- and N-space.

The TARDIS shows up on the scanner of the human ship. Already thinking of leaving to find Biroc rather than attempting to wake another Tharl and potentially killing others (and cutting into their profits), Rorvik and two others leave the ship to investigate the TARDIS. They find it and attempt to gain entrance.

The Doctor follows Biroc through the void to a small castle gate. Inside is an old hall, covered in dust and cobwebs. Biroc finds a mirror and passes through it. The Doctor enters and starts looking around. As he does so, one of the suits of armor comes to life and lifts its sword to attack him. The Doctor dodges it but the armor continues to pursue him, soon joined by a second.

To determine if Rorvik and his crew are friendly or not, Romana leaves the TARDIS but gives Adric warning to wait for her signal. She converses with Rorvik, who becomes suspicious that she might be a time sensitive person and invites her back to his ship to examine the damage. Romana sends gives a signal for Adric to be cautious and wait in the TARDIS and then goes off with them.

Adric however, does not obey and instead waits a few minutes and then decides to head off looking for her and the Doctor with K-9. K-9 is still damaged and they soon get lost in the void. Adric gets an idea to help K-9, removing one of his ears to help him triangulate better. It helps K-9 but Adric becomes lost himself.

The Doctor manages to corner himself in such a way that the two robotic suits of armor damage themselves. He opens up their circuits and begins to interrogate them. They are Gundan warrior robots, designed to guard the gate. They lose power before they can elaborate leaving the Doctor frustrated. However, K-9 arrives at the gate and the Doctor decides to hook him up to give a temporary power boost to the robots.

On Rorvik's ship, he grabs Romana and hooks her up to the navigation unit. She is unable to provide complete navigation but she does give enough for the castle gate to show up on the scanner as a physical location. Rorvik decides to head out to investigate with most of the crew. He orders two crew members to bring out one of the Tharls to be woken up on his return.

Rorvik and his men arrive at the gate just as the Doctor is getting information about there being three gates and they all being one. They threaten him to reveal more but are distracted by one of the robots suddenly getting up and passing through the gate. The Doctor grabs K-9 and dodges through the fortress. At risk of being cornered again, he leaves K-9 and passes through the gate, leaving Rorvik and his crew alone with K-9.

The two remaining crewmen on Rorvik's ship pull out one of the Tharls but against orders, try to revive him. They end up electrocuting him instead and leave the body for someone else. However, the Tharl is not dead. He gets up and makes his way to the bridge where he finds Romana bound to the navigation chair. He loosens the straps but has to hide before undoing them completely as the two crewmen left behind enter.

The two men debate what to do with her and are startled by her opening her eyes and asking questions. They leave her on the bridge as Rorvik calls them over the radio to ready a piece of heavy equipment called the M-Z for transport. Romana then slips out of her loosened bonds and hides under a tarp in the equipment bay.

Rorvik and his men fire at the mirror gate but their weapons bounce back at them. Rorvik sends three men back to the ship while he radios to prep the M-Z. K-9 follows, attempting to get new masters but he is unceremoniously tossed out of the ship when he attempts to enter.

While the door is open, Adric slips in and hides under the same tarp as Romana. The tarp covers the M-Z, which is rolled out of the ship. However, it is left while the engineer, Lane, looks over the damaged warp drive. Romana and Adric slip out and look at the ship, discovering it is made of dwarf-star alloy. K-9 rolls up shrieking about the mass contraction of the null space. His warning alerts the crew and Romana is recaptured though Adric and K-9 run escape.

Romana is taken back inside the ship while the rest of the crew push the M-Z to the gate. Inside the ship, the loose Tharl, named Lazlo, emerges and knocks out Romana's guard. He takes her and they vanish to the gate and pass through it. They emerge in the upper balcony, watching Rorvik and his men.

After passing through the gate, the Doctor meets Biroc who appears to be waiting for him. Biroc informs him that although K-9 will be repaired, only organic matter may pass through the gate. The Doctor follows Biroc through a series of gardens until the both reemerge in the fortress at an earlier time. The Tharls are feasting about the table while being served by human slaves.

The Doctor realizes that the Tharls were the slave masters who ruled a great empire and built the Gundans. He also notes they show as little compassion for their slaves as did the human crew who has now enslaved the Tharls. The dinner is interrupted by a squad of Gundans who break in and attack the party. Romana, sensing danger, runs down to the Doctor. The Doctor is then instantly transported back to the present where Rorvik and his men surround the Doctor and Romana at the table.

Rorvik demands to know the secret of the mirror, believing it to be the way out, and refuses to believe that it can only be accessed by the Tharls or other time sensitives. K-9 Enters and warns the Doctor of the null space collapsing on itself. The Doctor is confused but Romana tells him that Rorvik's ship is made of dwarf star alloy, making it a matter sink in the void.

K-9 attempts to pass through the mirror but loses power. The Doctor runs toward him and Rorvik, frustrated at the lack of answers, prepares to shoot him. Through the mirror, the Doctor sees Biroc, admitting that the Tharls were wrong in their enslavement of others. He now plans to change the future.

Before Rorvik can fire, Adric appears from behind the M-Z device, threatening to fire it. The Doctor runs up and mans the controls, ordering Romana and Adric out while carrying K-9. He follows shortly after and all four reenter the TARDIS. Rorvik starts to pursue but decides not to bother. He fires the M-X at the mirror but the blast rebounds, destroying the device. Rorvik, becoming unhinged, leads his men back to the ship.

Once on the ship, Rorvik turns the ship so that it's engines point toward the fortress. He intends to create a back blow from the engines and try to shatter the mirror that way. The Doctor sees this on the scanner and heads out to stop him, fearing the rebound will destroy everything in the void. Romana comes with him to help.

Rorvik observes the Doctor and Romana entering the outer hull of the ship and goes after them. He also orders his men to wake the remaining Tharls. As Rorvik exits the ship, Biroc and Lazlo are hiding near it. Biroc follows while Lazlo enters the ship. Rorvik catches up to the Doctor and stops him from creating a power drain on the engine. Romana starts the process but Rorvik knocks her aside and stops the drain. Biroc appears beside them and tells the two Time Lords that they should do nothing. He takes their hands and the trio disappears as Rorvik gloats.

Inside the ship, the two low levels who tried to reanimate Lazlo, Sagan and Aldo, beg off and Royce tries to reanimate the Tharls. He electrocutes three of them and is preparing a fourth when Lazlo comes up behind him. Royce attacks him but Lazlo overpowers him, electrocuting him with a severed cable. Lazlo then begins to wake the other Tharls.

Biroc, Romana and the Doctor appear outside the TARDIS. The Doctor enters but Romana refuses, electing to stay in E-space with the Tharls rather than return to Gallifrey. The Doctor gives her K-9, telling her to fix him. The Doctor dematerializes in the TARDIS while Biroc, Romana and K-9 enter the fortress and pass through the mirror.

The human ship discharges it's engines but the blast rebounds off the mirror. Much of the fortress is destroyed along with the human ship. However, out of the wrecked hull, the reanimated Tharls emerge and pass through the mirror. The TARDIS briefly materializes in the Tharl's garden before disappearing again and returning to N-space. Romana and K-9 watch and the walk way with Biroc, promising to help him pass through time and free his remaining enslaved people.

Analysis

I think it is safe to say that Warriors' Gate is weird. In many ways, it reminds me of The Curse of Fenric in that there is more story here but that there wasn't enough time to put it down. Unlike Fenric though, I doubt any of that extra material was ever filmed.

First I must praise both the direction and conception of the story. The direction was very well done and you felt instantly in good hands with the opening tracking shot leading from the sleeping Tharls to the bridge. There were a lot of good camera shots and interesting points of view throughout the story. The conception was also quite good as the whiteness of the void gave it a surrealistic feel. Yet at the same time, there was a feeling of being grounded in reality with the realism of the crew and even the Tharl's abandoned fortress. The gardens were also bathed in surrealism, keeping the watcher heavily off-balance as to what was really going on. So from a visual point of view, this story is excellent.

I also enjoyed the acting for the most part as well. The Doctor had a bit of a minimal role in this one and was off on his own quite a lot. In many ways, this was Romana's story and she did very well. Her confidence was well on display and she held her own very well against the human crew, who also acted fairly well although with a caveat or two.

Adric was also pretty good, being used lightly and mostly for comic relief. Contrasting earlier Adric stories with later ones, the key for him is in limiting his screen time. He should always be a junior companion, with a stronger character taking the main companion role. The problems arose when he was elevated to senior companion in the Fifth Doctor era and tried to hold his own against Tegan and Nyssa. It was in this overexposure that his character flaws, as well as the limits of Matthew Waterhouse's acting, rose to the surface and made him unlikeable.

Rorvik dominates among the crew and he does fairly well, especially as his mania to escape grows. He does lose it in his final gloat scene. That was over-the-top and poorly acted in contrast to his excellent earlier performance. It leaves an unfortunate bad aftertaste.

The rest of the crew is also pretty good, although fairly unremarkable. I got the feeling that there might have been a bit more backstory with Sagan and Aldo as these two were clearly designed to be a comic relief team in the Robert Holmes double act vein. However, they don't do much other than look disinterested in Rorvik's orders and bow out whenever it comes to doing anything that might inflict actual harm on anyone. Their repugnance as electrocuting Lazlo is shown and you can see that humanitarian side when they beg off attempting another revival. But without time or development, they just sort of are there and you don't feel that bad for them after they are blown up with the rest of the ship.

So you have good acting and good visuals. The problems with this story arise in the storytelling. I can handle weird just fine, Kinda being a prime example of an excellent but off-the-wall story. Warriors' Gate however suffers from a lack of focus. Surreal and odd is fine, if it is held in a tight focus or gives something that allows the audience to grab on to at the end to try and make a measure of sense of it. The Mind Robber would probably be a good example of surrealism explained.

However, in this story, the focus shifts all over the place. There are sidebars with minor characters and the main thrust of the Tharl's story is split between the more standard adventures with Romana and the highly surrealistic adventures with the Doctor. I think the ultimate problem is time. There is more to the story and that was cut out of it. I'd be curious if the cuts were made from the original run or if additional cuts had to be made because of the Romana leaving inclusion. Either way, the fall of the Tharls, their enslavement and the source of their power are never really resolved. Nor is it ever really addressed as to how the return of the Tharls to their gardens allows the TARDIS to pass through the gate and back into N-space. It just leaves you hanging and that leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste with the story.

I also wish Romana had been given a bit more time in her leaving. It was hinted at with her reluctance to return to Gallifrey at the end of Meglos and it returned here in Episode One where she expresses disdain at the idea. So her leaving is not out of the blue. However, it is so rushed that it just feels almost backhanded. I know that they were up against the clock but I would have liked a moment between the two Time Lords in the Tharl gardens. It would have also could have provided a better explanation as to how the Doctor and Adric got to N-space through some action of Biroc's or the like. Of course, the episode was running long so that was essentially impossible, but I think it would have made for a more palatable end.

Overall, I'm torn. The story looked good and was well acted. But the pacing got too fast at the end and the story had too many holes and loose threads. It is enjoyable enough and I would not call it bad, but there is not enough to compel me to actively seek this one out to watch again. But for the visuals and portrayals, I'll easily sit through it and find enjoyment in that.

Overall personal score: 3 out of 5

State of Decay

There's nothing worse than a peasant with indigestion.

State of Decay is the second part of the E-space trilogy and also a holdover story. Terrance Dicks originally wrote this story back for the Philip Hinchcliff era but it got put on the shelf because it would have gone on around the same time as a BBC production of Count Dracula and that would have been too much vampire at one time. The one thing I don't know is if Terrance Dicks was brought back to rework the script or if Christopher Bidmead just took the script as submitted and reworked it with his own twists. Bidmead certainly would have added all the references to E-space so he may have just done the whole thing himself.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Romana land on an Earth-like planet, hoping to find help in getting out of E-space and back into N-space. The planet they land on has only one village surrounding a large tower in which are "the Three Who Rule": the king, Zargo, the queen, Camilla and the councilor Aukon. The Doctor and Romana explore the town which appears to be medieval in style. However after they leave, the headman of the village, Ivo, alerts others using a radio communicator.

K-9 is left on the TARDIS to do some calculations and discovers that Adric has stowed away. While he cautions him, Adric convinces K-9 to let him out of the TARDIS to explore on his own. He also comes to the village and is taken in by Ivo and his wife, Marta, as their son was recently taken by the Three Who Rule to serve in the tower.

The Doctor and Romana walk out of town, hoping to find other settlements but are taken by a group of rebels, who oppose the Three. They are taken to their lair where they have been trying to figure out how to work some antiquated technology they found. The Doctor and Romana look it over and manage to get it working. The computer is a primitive one and came from a cargo ship that left Earth but was pulled into E-space through a CVE. The computer lists three crew members and pulls up their pictures. One of the rebels was once a guard of the tower and recognizes their faces as the Three.

Concerned, the Doctor and Romana leave the rebels and head back towards the village. They are unaware that one of the guards in town reported their presence to the Three. Aukon dispatches a cloud of bats to find the Doctor and Romana. The cloud discovers the two walking towards the village and one bites the Doctor. The cloud engulfs them as they hunker down but lifts and flies back to the tower. As they do, a squad of guards finds the Doctor and Romana and takes them to the tower.

In the tower, the Doctor and Romana are greeted by the king and queen. They are welcoming but become increasingly nervous by the Doctor and Romana's intelligence and their knowledge of the old spacecraft. The Queen becomes somewhat entranced when Romana cuts her finger on a broken glass, but manages to break her gaze.

Outside the tower Aukon enters the meeting house, having detected a third alien intelligence when scanning for the Doctor and Romana. He orders the patrons to line up, including Adric. He quickly zeros on Adric, who also gives himself away with a questioning and slightly defiant attitude. Aukon takes the boy back to the tower.

The king and queen are summoned by Aukon, leaving the Doctor and Romana alone in the throne room. Aukon has hypnotized Adric and informs the others that the time of the great awakening is at hand. The king and queen are pleased but still hesitant about the Doctor and Romana.

The Doctor theorizes that the tower is actually the old space ship and he searches around and finds an access passage below the thrones. They enter it and find old control mechanisms. Descending further, they find hibernation chambers with the other crew but all have been drained of fluid. The tanks, normally full of fuel, are instead filled with blood.

The Doctor and Romana enter the base of the tower to find a large cave with Aukon waiting for them, having been alerted by the king and queen of the Doctor and Romana's escape. He tells them of a great awakening and how they will be part of the Great One's plans. Aukon attempts to hypnotize the Doctor but he resists and closes his eyes. Though he resists, the king and queen return and the two are taken captive. They are also informed of Adric being taken, though they were unaware that Adric had snuck aboard the TARDIS.

Back at the rebel lair, one of the rebels, Tarak, decides to go and help the Doctor, having been a tower guard. He goes alone as no one will aid him. He sneaks in and knocks out one of the guards, stealing his uniform. He watches as Romana and the Doctor are led into a chamber to await being offered to the Great One while the Three sleep.

In the cell, the Doctor recalls a Gallifreian legend of a great war between the Time Lords and a race of great vampires. The Time Lords prevailed but one escaped and remains in hiding. The story triggers Romana's memory that she ran across an old order of Rassilon's in the archives to install a book of records in all Type 40 TARDISes. As they talk, Tarak breaks in, knocking out the guards and freeing them. They prepare to head back to the TARDIS but Romana remembers Adric. Tarak suggests the boy might be held in the keep. They decide that Tarak and Romana will rescue Adric while the Doctor heads back to the TARDIS to find Rassilon's record book.

Ivo meets the remaining rebels in their lair. He informs them that the Three are planning a great ceremony and this is the time that he will lead the village against them. He urges the rebels to aid them, but Kalmar defers, still believing that the time is not right. Ivo tells him that he will attack anyway.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor and K-9 search the TARDIS mainframe but find nothing. The Doctor then remembers there are old data tapes and discovers the records among them. The records validate the story he heard and that one vampire did escape the Time Lords. He also learns that the only way to kill the vampire is to totally destroy it's heart, which the Time Lords did by crafting ships that fired steel bolts into their hearts.

Romana and Tarak head down to the keep where Zargo and Camilla are sleeping. They find Adric but in trying to wake him, they wake the other two. They attack Romana and Tarak. Tarak tries to fight them off but Zargo kills him in the fight. Camilla, angry at the loss of live blood, turns and attacks Romana and Adric. Romana tries to run but Zargo grabs her. Aukon however stops them, insisting that Adric will become one of them and Romana is to be sacrificed to the Great One. The two are taken to the throne room and bound.

The Doctor decides that he needs help and rematerializes the TARDIS in the rebel's lair. Using the scanner that he and Kalmar fixes, the Doctor shows them the Great Vampire sleeping beneath the tower. Ivo is summoned and the Doctor makes a plan where the people will storm the tower with K-9. They will take out the guards while the Three are busy with the ceremony. That will give the Doctor time to put his own plan into action.

In the tower, Romana appeals to Adric to help her. He defers, stating that as they have lost, he doesn't see what good it does to be on the losing side. He appeals to Aukon that as he will be joining them, he shouldn't be bound. Aukon agrees and allows him out of his bonds. The Three then take Romana and Adric down to the crypt.

As the ceremony begins, the townspeople storm the tower with K-9 stunning guards as well. They take the throne room and the Doctor heads into the service areas again, ordering the townsfolk to take care of the remaining guards and then evacuating the tower when K-9 gives the signal. The Doctor finds three different control rooms but two of the three are completely out of power. The third however does have a little battery power left and the Doctor initiates a launch. K-9 orders evacuation while the Doctor heads down to the crypt.

The ceremony is interrupted by the launch of the spaceship. Adric tries to attack the Three and free Romana, but he is slapped aside. The Great Vampire begins to emerge from it's tomb as the ship takes off. The ship climbs into the atmosphere and then U-turns back to it's launching point. The spire of the ship buries itself into the tomb of the Great Vampire, piercing it's heart and killing it.

The Doctor enters to rescue Romana and Adric and the Three try to attack him. However, without the Great Vampire, they lose their power and decay into dust. The villagers enter prepared to fight but find the battle over. They thank the Doctor and Kalmar asks the Doctor for help with the technology. He conducts some minor repairs but tells them to work it out on their own, which would allow them to flourish as their own technological civilization. He, Romana, Adric and K-9 then leave in the TARDIS.

Analysis

I really enjoyed this one. You can trust Terrance Dicks to craft a good, straight-forward story and the return to gothic horror is a nice interlude from the heavy hand of science that Christopher Bidmead can sometimes use. Yet, science is still used and the vampires explained away without invoking the normal religious tropes that would have gone against the show's format.

Both the Doctor and Romana are quite good in this. The Doctor is serious and does not take the threat lightly but he also cracks quips here and there, putting the vampires off their game slightly with his seeming whimsy. Romana is very active in this one and there is a seriousness to her as well that is occasionally absent in some of the lighter fare. Given when this was originally planned to run, I would assume that Terrance Dicks originally wrote the companion as Leela and I think a degree of that direct action was retained in Romana's character, which suits her.

Adric was pretty good in this as well, but I think that is also because he was largely absent from the story. Again, going back to when this was originally written, Adric probably took the role that was originally written for Ivo's son. There are a few references to him after the opening scene where he was taken but he seems mostly to have been dropped other than as a motivator for Ivo to finally rebel. But if he was supposed to be in the position that Adric was, the scenes that remained make a lot more sense. Still, the limited use of Adric allows him to focus better which improves his acting. It also helps that as the Doctor and Romana are still getting to know him, his apparent betrayal of them is much more believable, even if his efforts to help were effectively useless in the end.

The Three were pretty good, although they could get a touch over the top at times, especially Aukon. He had a quite creepy vibe to him but his near-religious frenzy regarding the Great Vampire was a bit much at times. I think Camilla got into the vampire spirit best as I got a lot of classic vampire movie vibe from her performances, especially when she was giving into the blood frenzy. I think that if the music had been a bit different, this would have been really scary for kids and it still might have for all I know.

I was also amused that the Three have positions that are actually inverse of their own standing. They were styled as Zargo the king, Camilla the queen and Aukon the chamberlain. However, it is Aukon that is in communion with the Great Vampire and seems to have the most actual power. Camilla likewise is clearly stronger and more given over to her vampiric powers than either of them. Zargo is more like a weak king who is led by the nose by the other two, though he too does display a measure of ferocity when given over to the vampiric lusts.

The Great Vampire is an interesting idea, though not great in execution. There is a model shot of him on the scanner that looks pretty bad and then you only see his hand emerging from the ground before the spire of the ship pierces him. That was probably a good thing as I doubt they could have made him look that good and they probably wanted to avoid a situation like The Dæmons where the antagonist just looked bad. Still, it did make for a bit of an anticlimax in how easily he was dispatched, which in turn destroyed the Three so easily.

The sets and costumes looked quite good. It is very difficult to fault the BBC on anything that looks period and this one is no exception. About the only bad moment was the climax as the model of the spaceship flying to its apex did look very much like a model and superimposing of the Great Vampire in the crypt through green screen also looked rather fake. But those are small nits to pick in an otherwise well done story. As good as it looked, I wish the whole thing could have been done on film instead of just the outside scenes as that would have added a whole new level to the gothic horror element.

One thing I will appreciate is how much Christopher Bidmead restrained his hand in reworking this story. Obviously he had to add the stuff about E-space and the scenes with Adric, presumably dropping other scenes as well to make room. But in all of this, he did not give over to his natural desires to impose science everywhere. He did toss the beginnings of a small argument about the nature of science between Kalmar and one of the other rebels just as the Doctor arrives in the TARDIS early in Episode Four, but aside from that, he left the gothic horror as it was. Granted, he was probably mollified enough by the use of technology but given the potential mystical origins for the Vampire race and their war with the Time Lords, I'm still impressed that he didn't muck with that. I think with too much change, the essence of this story would have been lost and I appreciate leaving it with the air of unknown and mystery.

I can always tell when I genuinely enjoyed a story as I usually have trouble doing a full write up of it. It's always much easier to write about things that don't work and how they could have been fixed rather than just stating that a story works well for these reasons. This was not a perfect story as I did have some small problems with it, but the overall structure, the acting and the production made it a highly enjoyable story. I could easily watch this one again without complaint.

Overall personal score: 4.5 out of 5

Full Circle

It has come full circle.

Part one of the E-Space trilogy and the introduction of Adric. I've heard good things about this, including the idea that Adric's introduction was also his best story. I can't speak to that, although I will admit that in the Adric stories I have seen, his acting is usually a bit subpar. Of course, he also has Nyssa who usually has less personality than a block of wood, to offset him, but that's a discussion for another time. Anyway, on to the story.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Romana are returning to Gallifrey although Romana is unhappy about it. The TARDIS is suddenly caught in a bit of turbulence although no damage occurs. When it appears they have landed on Gallifrey, they find themselves on a totally different planet, the planet Alzarius. The Doctor and Romana begin to examine the TARDIS to figure out why they didn't materialize on Gallifrey.

Nearby a group of people are residing by a river. A small group of youths sneak from the underbrush and steal several river fruit that the people have gathered. Some of them give chase to the youths but they elude them and the youths gather in a nearby cave. They celebrate their theft, teasing Adric, the younger brother of Varsh, about his dreams of leaving in the starliner and his continual wearing of a badge for mathematical excellence he earned before leaving the society. Angered by this teasing, Adric vows to raid fruit by himself.

As Adric approaches the camp, the river and surrounded marsh begin to bubble and release large quantities of mist. First Decider Draith declares that mistfall is approaching and that everyone must follow established procedures. The people gather up their belongings and head back to a space craft where the other deciders and a scientist named Dexeter had been examining the river fruit, which have become infected with strange eggs.

Draith sees Adric stealing fruit and gives chase to him. Adric runs but trips, injuring his knee. Draith tries to grab him but Adric throws him off and Draith hits his head, stunning him. Draith begins to sink into the marsh. Adric tries to pull him out but an unseen force pulls harder and Draith is sucked into the river.

Injured and in shock, Adric stumbles away and discovers the TARDIS. He bangs on the doors and when Romana opens them, he collapses inside. She and the Doctor take him to a bed where Adric speaks of mistfall not being a legend as he had been told by his brother but true. The Doctor, beginning to suspect what has happened, heads out with K-9 to observe the mist. As he does so, a group of creatures begin to rise out of the water. The Doctor orders K-9 to follow the creatures while he heads off to investigate elsewhere.

Adric, fully healed from his injury, heads back to the cave where his brother and friends are. Romana has given him a homing device to find the TARDIS again should he need to. The others decide to hide in the TARDIS as they are locked out of the starliner. Adric feebly tries to stop them but fails. They enter the TARDIS as Romana had left the doors open and try to take control. Adric distracts his brother and Romana gets the drop on Tylos, although she returns his knife after holding it against his own throat as a measure of good faith. Their quarrels are put aside though when the Marshmen lift the TARDIS and drag it to the cave the youths were hiding in.

The Doctor discovers the starliner and enters using his sonic screwdriver. He is unaware that a Marshchild that he smiled at earlier is following him out of curiosity. Once inside, the Marshchild becomes agitated and scared. It attracts the attention of the people who threaten it. The Doctor also discovers it and tries to calm it down. However, the people in the ship knock the Doctor out and net the Marshchild. Both are taken before the Deciders. Second Decider Nefred has been promoted to First Decider and he and Decider Garif have asked a citizen named Login, who is also the father of one of the outliers (Kerea), to be the new Third Decider.

The Deciders elect to hold the Doctor while the Marshchild is given to Dexeter for examination. The Doctor is allowed to see Dexeter's work. The Marshchild has been put under anesthetic, allowing Dexeter to take tissue samples. The Doctor decries Dexeter's methods but does find the information interesting. He discloses to the Deciders that the marsh gasses aren't toxic, much to Login's surprise. Nefred admits that some lies are told to the people for their own protection. Login takes the Doctor aside and offers to help him get back to the TARDIS if he will help him find his daughter. The Doctor agrees.

The TARDIS is placed in a cave by the Marshmen who attempt to break in. K-9 enters the cave to observe but one of the Marshmen knocks his head off with a club. Romana and the outliers wait inside until they hear the thumping stop. Opening the door, she sees the Marshmen retreating from the cave as the river fruit have begun to burst open with spiders hatching from eggs. The outliers panic and run back into the TARDIS. Varsh closes the door, trapping Romana outside. Adric tries to open the door but accidently starts the TARDIS on coordinates preprogramed by Romana. Romana sees the TARDIS disappear. She tries to fend off the spiders with a riverfruit but it bursts open and a spider falls on to her face and bites her. She stumbles and passes out.

The TARDIS materializes inside the starliner just as the Doctor and Login were preparing to leave. The outliers exit and Login is delighted to see Kerea again. The Doctor grabs Adric and the two go back into the TARDIS to return to the cave. The other three are arrested and taken before the Deciders. The Doctor and Adric return to the cave and collect Romana and K-9's body (his head having been taken by the Marshmen as a new club). Romana is infected with a psychotropic toxin. She does not remember the Doctor but now has a mental link with the Marshmen.

The three return to the starliner and the Doctor heads back to see the Deciders while Adric waits with Romana. The Deciders have elected to give Dexeter permission to conduct experiments on the Marshchild and he prepares to slice into it's skull while awake. The Doctor, observing over a viewscreen, shouts at him to stop but Dexeter ignores him. As the blade bites, Romana gives a scream of pain and the Marshchild bursts from it's restraints. It kills Dexeter and begins to smash the lab. It sees the Doctor on the screen and remembers him as a friend. It tries to grab him but smashes through the screen and electrocutes itself.

Furious at their actions, the Doctor points out that they could have left at any time as the ship is ready. Login is stunned by this but Nefred admits that although the ship is ready, they don't know how to fly it. This surprises the Doctor and he heads up to the lab to check on a theory. Before he can validate it, Adric finds him and tells him that Romana has gone. They head back to the TARDIS to look for her but figure that she has left. Romana has snuck below to the emergency hatches and opens them to allow the Marshmen in. The Marshmen begin to attack the people and the ship.

The Deciders attempt to herd the people into secure locations within the ship while the Doctor is attacked by a Marshmen using K-9's head as a club. He disarms that Marshman but others come. They stop when Romana appears, acting like one of them. The Doctor manages to appeal to a small part of her old self by motioning towards the TARDIS, which distracts both her and them. He then heads back to the lab to develop a serum to cure Romana. The Deciders waffle on whether to try and take off but the Marshmen breach the book room and begin to attack. One smashes Nefred on the head and the other two Deciders carry him out. They find a new safe room where Nefred reveals to the other two that they cannot go back to their home planet because they were never from there to begin with. He dies shortly afterwards.

The Marshmen break into the lab just as the Doctor finishes developing the serum. Attempting to fend them off, he discovers that they cannot adapt to the atmosphere when large volumes of oxygen are released into it. Adric, Varsh and Kerea grab oxygen tanks and drive the Mashmen back. Romana, having followed them, collapses due to the atmospheric change and the Doctor gives her the serum. He then continues his studies of the cell structure of the Marshmen with Kerea helping him.

Adric and Varsh drive the Marshmen further away but their oxygen tanks begin to run out. Adric runs back to the lab to grab more while Varsh holds his ground. The Doctor goes with him and also finds Decider Login. He tells Login to flood the ship with oxygen as that will drive the Marshmen away. He does so, but before it takes effect, Varsh is overrun by the Marshmen. Adric tries to pull him out of the room and behind a closing door but he is unable and Varsh is killed. The Marshmen begin to flee out the emergency exits and they are resealed once they are gone.

In the aftermath, with Romana recovered, the Doctor informs Login and Garif that they are actually descendants of the Marshmen. The Marshmen evolved from the river fruit spiders and when the starliner crashed, a group of Marshmen got aboard. Cut off from their fellows and in a different atmosphere, they evolved into their current form, a secret contained within the files only given to the First Decider. The Doctor shows them how to launch the ship as Login and Garif have decided that they should leave as that is what they have been preparing for.

The Doctor and Romana return to the TARDIS with a repaired K-9. The Doctor discovers a new optical circuit that Adric had stolen and given to the Doctor. He installs it to see the starliner lift off. He also tells Romana that they passed through a CVE and are trapped in E-space, an area with a negative spacial dimension. They take off in an attempt to find another CVE that will allow them to return to normal space. They also are unaware that after returning the optical circuit, Adric stayed aboard.

Analysis

Taken as a whole, this is a good story. It does have some unfortunate flaws that keep it from being great, but it definitely better than average. I will admit that I think it was built up a little too much in my mind by some of the things I had heard about it and that left me a little underwhelmed.

The Doctor is very good in this. The Doctor is rather dour in Season 18 stories, in keeping with the mood of the season, but here that mood lifts a bit and you can see some of that old childish spirit come back. You can also see some of the outrage come back in his fury with both Dexeter and his methods as well as the Deciders for their deliberate deceptions. He is quite enjoyable and the only downside is how little he is actually seen, especially in Episode One.

The Deciders were all also very good. George Baker gets special attention as Decider Login since he is the most well known actor and had the largest part. But Draith and Nefred were also quite good. It is never explicitly stated, but there is a bit of a suggestion that Draith might be Adric and Varth's father. That gives his death scene a bit more poignancy and doubles the overall tragedy of Adric given that both his father and brother were dragged out of his hand to their deaths. Nefred was also quite good as a man who clearly had the weight of hard secrets on his shoulders. He was excellent at portraying a man who might be doing the wrong thing but always trying for the good of the society as a whole and I appreciate that level of performance.

Still, it is hard not to give great praise to George Baker as Decider Login. He was quite well done as a practical man thrust into leadership. He also functions very well as a pseudo-companion with his ignorance of the situation having just been promoted. He asks the questions that you would not expect from Romana and Adric is not around to ask. He didn't have to give a great deal of emotional range but he played off Tom Baker very well and the two made an excellent team.

The direction in this story was also excellent and made up for what could have been several deficiencies. It's always nice to see a story on film so there is a plus there. The filming of the Marshmen was always done with a bit of shadow in the right areas and it made them much more believable and scary. About the only part that didn't work were some of the close up shots of the Marshchild. Those were hard to avoid but it was much easier to see the edges of the mask in those cases. The spiders were another scene where the direction and film style made up for what could have been a very cheesy effect. The spiders were puppets and that couldn't be avoided. But the direction was such that they gave a real vibe and it would be easy to get creeped out by them if you have a genuine hang up about spiders.

The overall story was pretty good too. There was a nice bit of action, but the overall mystery of what the colonists actually were is what drove the story. I suspected that the people would be related to the Marshmen but I wasn't convinced enough that I was constantly interested in seeing what came next. You can't get a much better driver to a story than that. The dialogue was fairly whit-y and managed to avoid long expositional scenes. Even moments where Login (and the audience) was being brought up to speed, the dialogue flowed naturally and not in a grand info dump or "lets repeat things we already know" way. I thought it a well written and well paced story.

All that being said, the outliers nearly bring this story to a crashing halt. If there is a major drawback to this story, it is them. The actor who plays Varsh isn't too bad, but the other three are near dreadful. I had heard that some consider this Adric's best story and it might be from a character point of view, but it certainly not from the standpoint of his acting ability. Overall, I think Kerea was the worst, followed shortly by Tylos and then Adric. All three of them are stiff and remind me of school play acting. There are pauses in dialogue with no natural lead ins, emotional jumps from nowhere and yet they all still come across as boring.

The scene where they attempt to take over the TARDIS is particularly bad as they never can seem to get a handle on how to play it. It doesn't help that Romana, who isn't great in this story, still runs rings about them in acting ability. When she holds the knife on Tylos, you can see her express her meaning and menace in only how she moves and how she uses her eyes. Tylos meanwhile tries to express his fear but is so clearly overmatched that it just wastes her efforts in this scene. It's a real waste of a good effort by Romana and that is a shame.

Another moment in this story that underwhelmed me was Varsh's death. I had heard about it before, including his scream for Adric and I was expecting a bit more out of the scene. It plays fairly well but I had imagined Varsh screaming for Adric as the Marshmen actually attacked him in more of a plaintive wail rather than a yell down a hall to hurry and help him. His yell there made his near silence as he is dragged beneath the closing door a bit anti-climatic. I think it would have played better if he had screamed as he was pulled from Adric's grasp. I also think the scene played a bit odd in how fast he died. After losing his grip. Adric immediately jumps up and turns the wheel to open the door. We find the Marshmen gone and Varsh's body lying there. It happened so fast that it loses it's effect because it is less believable. If Adric had had more trouble opening the door or Varsh had been dragged down a shaft where they would have had to find him later, that would have given it more effect. Some of this is my own hang up because the imagination played it differently that what actually happened, but it does feel like a lost opportunity. Having Kerea come in with a very wooden giving of Varsh's belt to Adric as a memorium didn't help the situation either.

Overall, I think the good fairly outweighs the bad on this one. It is not excellent, though it had that potential. But it is still good enough to go back and watch again. I think it would be even better if you didn't have the specter of Adric as a companion lingering over the story, but that's a minor quibble. I don't know if I would expressly seek this one out to watch again, but I certainly wouldn't mind if someone else put it on.

Overall personal score: 3.5 out of 5

Kinda

You will agree to be me, sooner or later, this side of Magnus or the other.

Kinda is another one of those stories that seems to leave fandom fairly divided. The story is fairly deep and somewhat surrealistic, not something that is going to immediately appeal to kids, hence it's divided reputation. Limitations to the set design and props budget also drag this story down in the eyes of some fans. I however am always up for a good bit of surrealism so let's see what we can make of this one.

Plot Summary

The Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric land on the planet Deva Loka following Nyssa's fainting spell. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to set up a delta wave generator and puts Nyssa to sleep for 48 hours. While she sleeps, the others walk through the jungle and come across a set of crystalline wind chimes. Adric wanders off the Doctor follows but Tegan stays by the chimes, the music having a hypnotic effect on her, lulling her to sleep.

Adric and the Doctor find a mobile exo-suit which Adric accidentally activates. The suit escorts them to an outpost where they are taken in by a military expedition. The expedition is led by Sanders, an old military man. The security chief is Hindle and the scientist is a woman named Todd. Three other people came on the expedition but have disappeared, one of whom left the suit that escorted them there.

Sanders and Todd take the Doctor and Adric in and inform them both of their mission (scouting for possible colonization) and the concerns for the missing crew members. Hindle, growing increasingly erratic as the mission progresses, is deeply distrustful of the newcomers. Todd shows the Doctor two of the locals (the Kinda) that they have taken hostage. The Kinda never speak and live a primitive lifestyle, but they are decorated with the image of the double helix, suggesting a less primitive mind than initial impressions give.

Tegan, still entranced in the jungle, goes into her own mind where she becomes lost in darkness with shadow images questioning reality. She is confronted by a young man with a snake tattoo who pushes his mind on hers, going so far as to create an identical Tegan and posing the question as to which Tegan is real and which is his creation.

Hindle calls Todd and the Doctor back to the main hall but becomes enraged after they leave, smashing most of her lab. He becomes mesmerized by the two Kinda hostages when he views them in a mirror and releases them from their cell. Sanders leaves to go on patrol and leaves Hindle in charge over the objections of Todd. After Sanders leaves, Hindle arrests the three of them, pulling a gun on them as well as arming the two Kinda. He places them in the holding cell overnight.

In the jungle, an old blind woman named Panna is waiting with a young girl. Unlike the other Kinda, she speaks and expresses the danger of the non-Kinda (referred to as the "not-we"). One young man named Aris, who had been spying the expedition as his brother was taken as a hostage, comes to the old woman who warns him to stay away and be patient. He leaves as the sound of Sanders' exo-suit approaches. As he enters the clearing, the young girl gives Sanders a wooden box. He hesitantly accepts it and opens it.

Back in the habitat, Hindle allows the prisoners to come out to see if they will join him. He declares that the trees are going against them and that they will have to sterilize at a radius of 50 miles using fire and acid. The Doctor tries to talk Hindle down but as he is clearly unhinged but Hindle refuses to listen. Adric says that he will help Hindle and he is allowed to stay and work while the Doctor and Todd are returned to the cell.

In Tegan's mind, she continues to struggle with her identity. The young man plays with her some more and then disappears, as she loses herself in the dark. Frightened, Tegan calls out and agrees to the young man's demands. He reappears and shakes her hand. As he does so, the image of the snake on his arm crosses over to hers. She wakes up in the jungle with the image of the snake on her arm. She wanders around the site until Aris appears. He too becomes mesmerized by the chimes and Tegan surprises him. She speaks to him, telling him that she can give him the power to rescue his brother. He accepts and she takes his hand, allowing the snake to pass from her arm to his.

In the control room, Adric palms a set of key cards from Hindle's desk. He attempts to pass them to the Doctor, but is spotted by Hindle. All are taken out of the cage to watch as Adric is punished for theft. Sanders then returns, catching Hindle off guard. As Sanders enters, he is not his normal self. He is much happier and looser. He gives Hindle the same wooden box and tells him to open it. Hindle refuses and further unnerved by this, he locks Sanders up along with the Doctor and Todd. Over the video, he orders the Doctor to open the box.

At first the box seems to contain nothing other than a spring joke. However, both Todd and the Doctor feel a surge of energy. It drains power from the base and opens the cage. They both have a vision of the Kinda and the old woman Panna beckoning them to her cave. Taking advantage of the loss of power and Hindle's location in the main control room, Todd and the Doctor flee into the jungle, Sanders being left behind in a trance.

As the power comes back, Hindle becomes even more concerned about the outside world. He orders that explosives be set up around the base to prevent anyone from attacking as they and all of them will be blown up. Sanders gleefully helps, having been taken out of his normal mind by the powers of the box. Adric tries to object and even leave but he is kept in place by the Kinda guards.

The Doctor and Todd wander through the jungle until they come upon the Kinda. They make friendly with a jester to show they are friendly, which pleases the Kinda. However, Aris comes upon them and orders their capture and death. The Kinda are taken back as no man has the power of speech. The Kinda become convinced that Aris is the fulfillment of a prophecy saying that a man would be given a voice when the "not we" arrive. The girl who helped Panna doesn't believe it and takes the Doctor and Todd to Panna's cave.

Arriving at the cave, Panna takes Todd in but is confused by the Doctor being able to receive the vision as well. She refers to him as an idiot and brings him inside as well. Before she can begin her ritual, Aris and the other Kinda arrive. The girl joins them after opening her mind and being overcome by the power of Aris' thought. Aris then leaves, planning to destroy the base and the "not we".

The Doctor notes the snake marking on Aris' arm and Panna states that it is the sign of the Mara, a legend the Doctor is familiar with. Panna begins a vision for the Doctor and Todd where they see clocks ticking down and violence beginning to consume the Kinda, leading to their destruction. They emerge from the vision to find that Panna is dead. However, the girl returns and takes Panna's staff and beckons them on, having become the new repository for Panna's consciousness.

The group makes their way towards the base but pass near the wind chimes to find Tegan, still asleep. They wake her and discern that the Mara seems to have fully passed out of her. She reluctantly tells them of her dreams, including a hazy vision of when she was fully possessed by the Mara. Using her story, they confirm that the Mara has entered and is in full control of Aris.

In the base, Hindle, Sanders, and Adric continue to build a model city. Adric becomes more and more agitated with their behavior and manages to slip away. Sanders follows but as he is also witless, he makes no effort to stop him and returns to Hindle. Adric slips in to the exo-suit and leaves the base.

Aris leads the Kinda outside the base and has them build a box similar to the exo-suit out of wood. As Adric emerges, the Kinda move to engage it, but unfamiliar with fighting, they run away when Adric panics and engages the weapons system. Aris' box is damaged and he runs into the jungle. Adric is unable to stop the exo-suit but the Doctor manages to pull him before he injures himself or others. The young girl, Karuna, gathers the scattered Kinda while the Doctor, Todd, Adric and Tegan enter the base.

The Doctor and Todd confront Hindle while Adric and Tegan wait in the bay, Adric agitated at his inability to disarm the explosives. The Doctor and Todd try to calm Hindle down by complimenting his new city but he is wise to their attempts to take the detonator. He admits that he is able to control the two captive Kinda through a mirror which they believe had trapped their souls. The Doctor makes a grab for the detonator, which knocks down part of the model city but also destroys the mirror.

Angry at the partial destruction of the city, Hindle threatens to activate the explosives when Todd discovers the box given by the Kinda. She tricks Hindle into opening it and the psychic power within knocks him out but also drives the madness from his mind. The Doctor disarms the explosives and the two captive Kinda flee outside to the rest of their people.

The mirror gives the Doctor an idea and Adric shows the Doctor to a storage bay filled with solar collector panels. He gives the panels to the Kinda and has them lure Aris into the middle of a circle of them. Once in the circle, the Kinda flip the panels and they become a circle of mirrors. The Mara, unable to look at itself thrashes and leaves Aris' body. Two Kinda pull his body from the circle while the Doctor closes the gap. The Mara snake inflates, trying to find a way out of the circle but cannot. Unable to look at itself, it loses power and disappears back into the realm of thought.

Karuna restores sanity to Hindle and Sanders and Todd prepares a final report noting that the planet is unsuitable for colonization, although Sanders makes noises about retiring here. The Doctor, Adric and Tegan head back to the TARDIS where Nyssa has just woken. The group then departs, filling Nyssa in on their adventure.

Analysis

There are two general categories of Doctor Who stories, whether you like that particular story or not: ones that you can pop in at any time and enjoy and ones that you have to be in a specific mood for. Kinda might be the extreme example of a story that you have to be in the right mood for. This is a deep story with a lot of the plot and development left to the audience to figure out. I like that, but I can see how someone would decide that they are not in the mood for that at any particular point.

There were two movies that popped into my head while I was watching this story. Tegan's surrealistic dreams reminded me a great deal of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with the absurdism and yet sinister surrealism. The scene of the circle of mirrors driving the snake out of Aris struck me strongly of the knight of the mirrors scene in the movie version of Man of La Mancha where Don Quixote is forced to confront the reality of who he actually is by viewing himself in a circle of mirrors. As I enjoy both of those movies, I didn't see a detriment to either comparison.

Overall, this story is quite good. It is well acted for the most part while the story is complex but doesn't feel the need the lead you by the nose. If I were more versed in Eastern philosophy and mysticism, I would probably understand a bit more of the story, but I enjoyed it well enough even without it.

The women were the real stars of this story. Todd worked very well as the Doctor's pseudo-companion, to the point that I think many would have been happy if she had come along and Tegan and Adric got left behind. Todd is inquisitive as a companion should be, but she has a strong independent streak. She also has an instantly good rapport with the Doctor, to the point that they trust and interact well with each other in a very short span of time. In many ways, Todd was channeling the stronger companions of the Fourth Doctor era as she seemed a nice blend of the spunkiness of Sarah Jane and the intelligence and logic of Romana.

I also really enjoyed Panna. She was direct and had a "I'm too old to take your s***" vibe. I loved the fact that not only did she constantly call the Doctor and idiot, but she didn't even allow him to go into his jokes about being an idiot. The first time she did, I couldn't help but think of the Twelfth Doctor's speech near the end of Death in Heaven where he confesses that he is an idiot in a box.

This was also a decent story for Tegan, although only in the first two episodes. Attempting to find logic and devolving into a panicked state actually made sense in her nightmare. I also thought she played well off the trickster form of the Mara who had a bit of a King Joffery vibe going on, although in much more psychological way. I also enjoyed possessed Tegan as it gave her a few scenes of sinister fun. Her chucking apples at Aris was also a fun bit of Biblical parallel given her femininity and the snake symbolism.

Unfortunately, Tegan's good run comes to an end once the Mara enters Aris. She gets a good little nap in Episode Three and then is back to her normal self in Four. I think she is attempting to express shame, though not really knowing why but her interaction with the Doctor still seems rather odd. Her scenes with Adric in the dome are also pretty bad but Adric bears more of the blame for the quality of those scenes.

The expedition men are pretty good as well. Sanders is old school colonel at first like you would expect in some Agatha Christie movie. Then he turns on a dime to a playful child who enjoys building castles out of boxes. Hindle is also quite good. He edges close to the line of overdoing the performance of a madman at a few points but he dials it back now and again. There is an interesting inconsistence in his performance as well. When threatened, he goes into hysterical shrieking about how everyone (including the trees) is against him. But in a secure moment, he lapses into a child-like state about how they are going to fix everything. It feels more genuine because you can't predict what form the madness is going to take. One of the best moments, both in performance and because of how it expresses the situation, is when the castle is knocked over and one of the paper men is torn. Hindle is broken up and when Todd suggests they can fix it, Hindle shrieks about how you can't fix people. It sums up the whole moment in one quick scene.

Unfortunately, like many of the Fifth Doctor stories, a strong pseudo-companion and good guest cast means that the regular companions are once again shown to be terrible. Tegan does a bit better but her interaction with Adric brings her back to the annoying level of whininess that we have seen in prior stories. Nyssa is non-descript as Christopher Bailey wrote the script without knowing that she would be a companion. So she is conveniently left in the TARDIS for the whole story. That you don't miss her speaks volumes of the typical contributions of her character.

Adric is also not in a good state in this one. He doesn't listen to the Doctor and despite earning the confidence of the Doctor to be left behind, does nothing with it. He contributes nothing in his plan to gain Hindle's confidence and ends up spending all that time just trying to escape himself. When he does finally succeed, the Doctor is forced to rescue him before he kills someone and harms himself in the process. The worst moment though is waiting in the bay with Tegan. Adric whines like a spoiled child about being left behind and lashes out at Tegan. I'm actually surprised that Tegan doesn't slap him silly for his arrogance and blame-shifting.
I like the overall story. I like an enemy that is more abstract and less corporeal. I don't quite get why the Kinda would have the wind chime area given that the Mara could manifest in those unprepared by the powers of the chimes. Perhaps it was a prison set up for the Mara and only when outsiders came in was there a risk of escape for the Mara. But regardless, an enemy working from within to destroy innocence strictly as a means to manifest evil is an interesting concept for a story.

It is also interesting to juxtapose the imagery of the Mara attempting to drive Tegan man into accepting it and then the madness manifested in it's possession of Aris with Hindle's genuine madness through mental overtaxing. Despite the Mara being the enemy, Hindle always seems to be more of the threat as his madness is inherently both self-destructive and uncontrollable. It is a pure representation of chaos while the Mara is an agent of chaos but still bound by the limits of the vessel in which it operates. When Aris leads the Kinda, there is an implied threat but the actions of Aris are shown to be incompetent and the Kinda desert him when their own innocence is threatened by something they don't understand. Although threatening, the Mara seems weak and the battle against the Mara is more for the saving of Aris and potentially others like him rather than for the society of the Kinda as is implied in Episode Three.

Now, on the subject of the Mara, that ties in to one of the limitations of this story: the effects. The setting of the story isn't bad nor are the costumes, but there does seem to be some problem with the atmosphere. It is very hard to shake the feeling that all of this is taking place in a studio and I'm not sure if it's the set design or the lighting or what, but there are moments where you are taken out by something that doesn't seem right. There is also a very 1980's look to everyone that I'm sure is difficult to avoid, but it still looks a bit off.

But the worst offender from an effects standpoint is the final manifestation of the Mara. The Mara emerges from Aris and the team does a decent job with a rubber snake to give it a real and thrashing look. However, the snake continues to grow and it looks like the inflated balloon that it is. There are flashes and quick cuts that help, but it still is pretty obvious that the Mara is closely related to an inflatable streamer seen outside a used car lot. I'm sure they were attempting to make the Mara scary but even if the effects are good, there is a logical flaw. If the Mara is towering over the Kinda mirrors, how is it still managing to look at itself? At that size and height, it should have been able to break eye contact with the mirrors and break out of the circle. The story and effect would work much better if a smaller snake (perhaps like a python) were thrashing about but still contained within the height of the mirrors. I can handle less than stellar effects but this was just a point that didn't seem to make sense from a logic point of view.

Taking the story as a whole, this was quite good. Again, I can understand why some might not care for it and I also would have to say that I would need to be in more of a thinking mood rather than a more mindless mood to enjoy it. But I did enjoy it this time around and I see no reason why I wouldn't continue to enjoy it a second time around. It's not a perfect story, but it is nice to get a real thinker of a story now and again. I'm sure on a second pass I would get even more out of it knowing what little things to look for.

Overall personal score: 4.5 out of 5