Underworld

The quest is the quest.

I think the only two things I had ever heard about Underworld was that it was a take on Greek myths (especially Jason and the Argonauts) and that it was rather famously shot largely on green screen. Both elements are not exactly the thing that fills you with confidence going into a story but I'm willing to keep an open mind, especially if the quality of the story can keep up with any shortcomings in production.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Leela arrive at the limit of the universe where a nebula is forming. Unwilling to get sucked in, the Doctor has K-9 reroute the TARDIS on to a passing vessel which is also approaching the nebula.

The ship is piloted by a small crew of Minyans, a race of people who were visited by the Time Lords in the past and revered them as gods. Ultimately, they rose up against the Time Lords and drove them off. The captain, Jackson, and his crew have been searching for thousands of years for a ship called the P7E, which contained a race bank and can be used to reconstitute the Minyan race after their home world was destroyed by civil war.

Jackson detects the sound of the TARDIS landing and enters it into the computer which registers it from the days of Time Lord intervention. One crewman, Herrick, is distrustful and thinks they should attack but Jackson is more patient.

The Doctor and Leela emerge from the TARDIS find themselves in a store room. Leela picks up a shield with a laser weapon attached and uses it to blow open the door. They make their way to the bridge, leaving K-9 in the TARDIS. When they arrive at the bridge, the Doctor and Leela are taken captive but in a restrained manner. Leela resists and one of the crew, Orfe, zaps her with a pacifier gun which gives her a calm, almost blasse demeanor for a few minutes. Orfe is forced to use the same gun on Herrick when he tries to attack the Doctor.

Before much can be said on either side, the sole woman crewman, Tala, collapses of what appears to be old age. Orfe and Herrick carry her to the regeneration pods where her youth is restored. She returns to duty and the Doctor is impressed. Jackson tells the Doctor of their question and of the many regenerations they have been through to try and see it through.

The ship becomes caught in the gravity of the nebula and is too damaged to allow full power to be used. The Doctor summons K-9 to the bridge and he and the Doctor conduct quick repairs, restoring power and allowing the ship to escape.

As they do, they detect the signal from the P7E and Jackson orders a turn around back into the nebula. As they enter the nebula, the hull is bombarded with small rocks and other matter and a planetoid skin begins to form around it. Jackson orders the guns to fire and manages to blast a small hole in the skin and the ship emerges from the forming body. However, the maneuver uses up nearly all the fuel and they are unable to redirect the ship as they crash into another planetoid from which the P7E signal is emitting.

In the depths of the planet's core, a rebellion is being suppressed. The underclass, called Trogs, are being put down by a guards. They capture an old man advocating the rebellion and pursue his son through the tunnels as he climbs to higher levels, eventually emerging on the same level as the crashed ship.

Jackson and his crew leave the ship to find the P7E but order the Doctor and Leela to stay behind. The Doctor and Leela wait a couple of minutes and then head out to explore on their own. The Doctor and Leela see the young man pursued by the guards and duck out of sight. He dashes towards the ship and they make a distraction, causing the guards to start following them. They hide in some old ore trams, giving the guards the slip and then head back to the ship.

Jackson and his crew wander through the tunnels until they reach a branch. Jackson sends Herrick on ahead with a radio relay while the others wait for his report. He is attacked by a guard who thinks him a Trog but Herrick rebuffs the guard's weapon with his shield gun. Irritated by the attack, Herrick picks up the radio and sarcastically replies to the call sign. Fearing the Trogs are gaining the upper hand and weapons, the head of the guards orders that area of the tunnels sealed and gas to be pumped into that area.

The Doctor and Leela return to the ship where they find the young man, named Idas, wounded. They tend to his wounds but observe gas being pumped into the tunnels. The Doctor orders Leela to take him onto the bridge and disconnect K-9 while he heads out into the tunnels to deactivate the gas. He finds a relay station and rewires it to suck the gas back rather than pump it out. The gas flows back into the control room where it knocks out the guards.

The Doctor returns to the ship where Idas and Leela are waiting. Idas gives the Doctor a map of the tunnels and speaks of the central room where the Oracle lives much like their own ship. The Doctor grabs K-9 and the four of them head back into the tunnels to travel to the central lair. The Doctor sends K-9 to find Jackson and his team and tell them where they are going while the rest head to the tunnel main entrance.

Leela disables the electronic shield with a spare shield gun from the ship and the three of them descend down the shaft with a gravity cushion. They are captured while boarding the ship and are taken to the control room where they find Idas' father Idmon about to be sacrificed by a hanging sword with it's cord being burned through. Just before the cord snaps, the Doctor lurches forward and pulls Idmon's bier to them. Leela fires a captured gun, knocking down the guards. The group and several other slaves rush back through the ship towards the entrance bridge.

Guards come up and surround them but they are cut down by Herrick who has run ahead of Jackson and the others. He provides cover while the others run back to the bridge. On the edge of the bridge, Jackson urges Herrick to fall back with the rest of them but Herrick impulsively stays to fight. He takes down a number of guards until he is eventually shot down. Stunned, the guards drag him into the ship.

In the tunnels, the group catches their breath. Jackson knows they'll have to reenter the ship but the bridge will be too well guarded to breach by force. Idmon and another slave named Naia tell the Doctor of how they gather ore to be crushed and used as fuel for the operations of the ship. The Doctor gets an idea of how to sneak on to the ship. He and Leela climb in a tram and have Idmon push it as though it's another load of ore to be dumped into the processing chute. As they are dumped, the other Trogs jump out and attack the guards. The guards manage to set off the alarm but are steadily pushed back, overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Herrick is interrogated by two figures known as Seers that work directly for the Oracle. Herrick is tortured and tells the Seers of the quest to find the race bank of the Minyons. The Seers deny that he is of the Minyon race as they are the only survivors but also claim no knowledge of the race banks. They remove their hoods to reveal that they are robots. They overhear that the guards are being overwhelmed but order them to stand and fight. One of the robots then suggests that give Herrick what he wants just have them go away.

The Doctor, Leela and Idas use the cover of the chaos to sneak through the tunnels and back to the ship. As they go, Herrick is released and given two golden cylinders, which he is told are the race memories. He makes his way back to Jackson and the others and together they return to the ship to prepare for departure.

The Doctor, Leela and Idas enter the ship and slip into the Oracle's chamber. The Doctor tricks the Oracle into revealing that the race memories she gave were fakes. He then pries open a hatch and steals the real race memories as she sounds the alarm. The trio retreats back through the shafts as the guards come through. The guards set off a trap and seal the trio into a part of the tunnel by collapsing either side.

Jackson readies the ship for take off despite K-9's warning that the Doctor has not returned. Jackson sends K-9 to find him and finishes the preparations. K-9 frees the Doctor, Leela and Idas and takes them back to the ship. Jackson nearly takes off when the Doctor returns and orders him to stop. He gives Jackson the real race memories and takes the fake ones to K-9 who diagnoses them as powerful fission bombs. The Doctor takes them to get rid of them and orders Jackson to wait for him but to fully prepare the ship.

The Doctor, Leela and Idas head back into the tunnels where the guards have been searching for him and the race memories. He hands them over to the head of the guards who orders him to leave. While those guards are distracted, Idas and Leela knock out other guards and free the working Trogs. The two of them gather up all the Trogs throughout the city and, per the Doctor's orders, have them brought to Jackson's ship.

The Doctor has them all board the ship but Jackson tries to throw them off due to the extra weight. The Doctor overrides him and once everyone is aboard, he orders them to take off. They do so but lack the fuel to achieve breakaway velocity. The begin to orbit the planet but the Doctor tells them to hang on.

The guard brings the cylinders to the Oracle but she recognizes them as the bombs. When told that the other ship has already left, she bows to fate and the Seers open the bombs. The resulting explosion destroys the forming planetoid and the shockwave pushes Jackson's ship out of the nebula. They set course for Minyos II, estimating that it will only take 300 years to get there. The Doctor, Leela and K-9 board the TARDIS and depart with the Doctor making an offhand comment about the parallels between Jackson and the story of Jason and the Argonauts.

Analysis

This was a bit of a disappointment of a story given it's rather interesting premise and a pretty good start with Episode One. But once Jackson's crew arrive on planet, the whole things just starts to crumble.

In many ways, this story was two different stories. The first episode gave so much potential to play with. You had a race of people that were shadows of Greek myths and had versions of Time Lord technology with them, at least a form of regeneration. These were people with whom you would expect to deal with the Doctor on more of an even footing and could be developed well. There were also some rather disturbing ideas as well. I found it very interesting that when Leela came back to herself after having the pacifier used on her, her reaction at that loss of identity was akin to a woman who had been raped. You could see this profound anger at what had been taken from her without her permission. It's a disturbing reaction, especially given Orfe's very casual reaction. But like the regeneration, nothing is done with that past Episode One.

While on the subject of Leela, we can chalk this story up as another wasted opportunity for her. She is written with the emphasis on her savage nature and not her intelligence. She also relegated to the role of bodyguard and messenger girl for the rest of the story. K-9 actually has a more active role than her. She is at least in most scenes so you never confuse the fact that she is the companion but aside from her line about how the Doctor has saved many fathers, after Episode One she could be swapped out for any other character. All semblance of the personality that is truly Leela is absent and that's a real shame.

Aside from the rescue by K-9, this is one of the stories where it could be argued that the Doctor doesn't really need a companion. There's no real deception going on in this story so the Doctor understands everything pretty much from the get go. That's not a bad thing except for what it does to Leela though. The Doctor is pretty much the best thing about this story and he does almost no faffing about either. He helps Jackson land, he helps people, he recovers the race memory, he saves people and he allows the enemies to be destroyed. There is the occasional joke and the general lightheartedness that the Fourth Doctor has during the Graham Williams era but overall it's very direct and you never question the Doctor being in charge. As long as he is the focus, the story is at least somewhat entertaining.

That same cannot be said for the guest cast. There is almost no personality among any of them. Idas spends three episodes with the Doctor as a pseudo-companion and yet he is instantly forgettable. The Trogs are almost never seen and their plight is only given a surface level examination. Even Jackson's crew is boring. Herrick is the only one who is given something resembling a personality and even then, it doesn't do much. His mouth off at the end of Episode Two is mostly to create a conflict for the cliffhanger and his staying behind on the bridge to be captured towards the end of Episode Three makes even less sense. Playing rearguard is fine but it should have been a slow retreat along with everyone else. It's just stupid and lazy writing to have him stay. But everyone else, even if they get lines, are so generic that you question why they are even there except to fill the screen.

These are also the most underdeveloped villains I've seen in quite a while. You have a mad computer (something that's been done a lot), two enforcer robots, a select team of security people and then the Trogs. Why was this society set up this way? Why did the computer go mad? Why does being the protector of the race memory mean that most of the population has to be controlled and culled with occasional cave ins? None of this is explained. You simply have evil because you needed evil to be there. In the original story, Jason defeats the guardians of the Golden Fleece with the help of Medea, the daughter of the king. If the Oracle and the robots represented the guardians of the fleece, then there should have been some backstory about taking possession and either Jackson or the Doctor getting help from someone on the inside and high up in the power structure to represent Medea. That might also have given insight into the motivations of the guardians and why the computer went mad upon having the planet form around the P7E.

But of all the failures of this story, and there are many, the worst has to be how it was shot. As the second to last story of the season, what little budget they had was gone. So the whole thing apart from the bridge of the ship and a couple of corridors was shot on green screen and it looks dreadful. Aside from always being painfully obvious that it is an illusion, green screen forces the camera to stay still, meaning that you can only shoot your actors coming or going and if you want a shift in shot or a zoom you have to cut to a new shot. That can be time consuming and expensive so most of the shooting is done at a distance. For me it felt especially pronounced as it wasn't that long ago where I was watching Revenge of the Cybermen and you had some very nice shots in caves there. That is what being underground should feel like and this just looks and feels awful.

There are other directing faux pas that I can't understand. One of the most prominent is when Leela and Idas free the Trogs. They shoot down one guard but there is another standing right there in the shot. As they free the Trogs he just slowly backs out like he realizes he isn't supposed to be in frame. It's an absolutely terrible shot and it makes it look like no one knew what was going on. There were other bad shots as well but that is the one that really made me question if the director had any idea of what he was doing.

I would argue that this story needed a major rewrite. I doubt there was much anyone could do about the lack of budget though I think it would be interesting to see if it actually might have cost less to back to Wookie Hole and film there rather than on green screen, which would have improved the look. But as for the story, some of the ideas involving the Minyons and the Time Lords should have been dropped to get to the planet sooner. Once there, it should have been a direct line to the ruler of a people who live in fear of the Oracle and her guardianship of the race memory. From that point, you have a representative of these people working with the Doctor, Leela and Jackson's crew where each lets their talents shine to defeat the barriers the Oracle has laid before them. That would have been a more direct rip of the Jason legend (and more akin to the Hinchcliff era) and would have probably streamlined the cast while also giving more attention to each of the characters.

I don't know if this story could ever have been great given the limitations facing it, but the writing and direction only amplified the problems with it. It only gets more disappointing given how well it started. About the only positive things I can say is that each episode is short and when action is happening, things move quickly. I enjoyed watching the Doctor and as bad as things looked, I'm not sure I could ever say that it was boring. So I'm going to give it a small pass in the regard that it generally held my attention which is better than some stories. But as for actively picking this one to watch again, I can't even imagine that it would occur to me to look for it.

Overall personal score: 1 out of 5

Horror of Fang Rock

Gentlemen, I've got news for you. This lighthouse is under attack and by morning, we might all be dead. Anyone interested?

It is rather ironic that the rather light and peppy Graham Williams era kicked off with possibly the darkest and most gothic horror story of Doctor Who's entire run. There has been speculation that while Philip Hinchcliff enjoyed the darker stories, he kept a restraining hand so as to not freak out the kids too badly. Graham Williams on the other hand, was much more hands off (as seen with Tom Baker's free hand in his portrayal of the Doctor in later seasons) and that allowed the gothic stories commissioned under the last part of the Hinchcliff era to go darker than he would have allowed. But that doesn't mean they aren't good.

Plot Summary

At a lighthouse off the south coast of England, a meteorite is spied crashing into the ocean by one of the keepers named Vince. He alerts the other two keepers, the head keeper Reuben and the engineer Ben, but neither see it. Shortly afterwards a thick, cold fog rolls in and the lighthouse lantern begins losing power, prompting old Reuben to bemoan the new electric lights rather than reliable oil lamps.

The Doctor and Leela arrive on the rocks outside the lighthouse, having intended to land in Brighton. The two head up to the lighthouse to dry off, especially as the Doctor has noticed the lamp having trouble and might offer assistance. Before they arrive, Ben heads down to the generator to investigate but is surprised by a creature from the meteorite and electrocuted. Subsequently, the power is restored and the lighthouse comes back on-line.

The Doctor and Leela enter and are greeted by Vince. He takes them to the keeper's room where Leela changes out of her wet clothes and into a spare set of Vince's, much to his embarrassment. The Doctor offers to go help with the generator as the light is flickering again. The power is restored before the Doctor can do anything but he does find Ben's body and his oil lamp which has been melted.

The Doctor informs Vince, who is broken up and goes to tell Reuben. The Doctor notes the lamp to Leela and she infers that he suspects a stronger and more sinister force. Reuben is suspicious of the Doctor and Leela but does not move against them. He shrouds Ben's body while Vince and the Doctor man the light, the Doctor very interested in Vince's story about the meteor he saw earlier.

Leela becomes suspicious and sneaks outside with her knife. Though she finds no one, she does discover a number of dead fish floating near the shore. At the same time, Reuben heads back up and sends Vince below to eat. Not hungry, Vince heads to the boiler room but finds Ben's body gone. Leela hears his cry of fright and runs back.

Vince sends a message up to Reuben, but Reuben is distracted by the Doctor noting an approaching yacht. Reuben sends up flares and increases the rate of the foghorn as the lighthouse is flickering out again, but he observes the yacht is traveling too fast. He alerts Vince to be ready and they all watch as the yacht crashes on the rocks.

Reuben, the Doctor and Vince rush down to rescue the passengers. They pull off Lord Palmerdale, his secretary Adelaide, Colonel Skinsale and the mate Harker. The captain of the vessel was killed in the crash. They learn that Palmerdale had driven the captain to drive the yacht full speed in order to get back to London in time to make a killing in the stock market based on insider trading information that Skinsale had given him to settle a series of debts. Harker lashes out angrily at Palmerdale, first simply refusing to set sail again in the fog and then actually attacking Palmerdale, accusing him of murdering the captain until he is pulled off.

While the passengers are being rescued, Leela observes the alien swimming below and away from the crash. She informs the Doctor who urges her to not tell anyone, but Rueben overhears. He suspects the Creature of Fang Rock, an old sea story where the lighthouse keepers were found killed or mad after a bad fog. The Doctor and Leela head out again where Leela shows the location she saw the creature along with the dead fish she found earlier. They also run into Harker, returning from securing the yacht who had pulled the body of Ben which had been dragged into the sea by the creature. The Doctor notes that Ben's body has been used by the creature to study human anatomy and it might become bolder in it's attacks.

Vince becomes frightened by Reuben's tales of the old creature, but the old keeper takes pity on him and tells him to man the light while he maintains the boiler. He heads down and stokes the fires but the whole lighthouse is alerted by the sound of his cries. Bolting down, the Doctor and Leela find Reuben missing and the door open. The Doctor and Harker do a quick search but cannot find him and close the door up.

With tempers starting to flare and nerves on edge among the rescued party, the Doctor sends Harker to man the boiler. While down there, Reuben comes back, although acting very detached. Reuben walks slowly up the stairs and locks himself in his room, ignoring questions about his well-being from Leela. In his room, Reuben begins to glow green and transform from that state into that of the green creature.

Palmerdale, still agitated over the potential loss of money, heads up to the top to talk to Vince. He bribes Vince with £50 and promises another £50 if he will send a message on the wireless telegraph. Vince agrees with the whole conversation having been overheard by Colonel Skinsale, who followed Palmerdale. Palmerdale hears someone coming up and ducks onto the parapet when the Doctor comes up to chat with Vince.

Palmerdale waits outside for the Doctor to leave, trying to keep himself warm. He is attacked and electrocuted by the creature and falls off the lighthouse dead. The Doctor heads below and finds Leela, using a sledgehammer to knock Reuben's door down. He stops her, noting that Reuben will emerge on his own.

The Doctor heads down to check on Harker who had heard the noise of Palmerdale's body hitting. They discover him and carry his body back to the crew room. Adelaide freaks out prompting Leela to slap her. The Doctor also checks the wireless telegraph and finds it damaged. He confronts Skinsale who admits he overheard Palmerdale's plans to send a message on it and sabotaged it to save his own honor. The Doctor notes that his honor may have killed them all.

While they are all distracted, Reuben leaves his room to find Harker, having returned to the boiler room, alone. The lights dim slightly and Vince, having had a change of heart and burned Palmerdale's bribe, signals down that the boiler pressure is dropping. The Doctor and Leela head below to find Harker's dead body. In the adjoining chamber they also find Reuben's body, set with rigor mortis. The Doctor realizes that the alien disguised itself as Reuben after killing him and instead of locking the creature out, the creature is locked in with them.

The Doctor discovers a transmitter near the boiler and realizes the alien is calling a larger ship. He destroys it and decides to destroy the larger version as well. He sends Leela up to gather the remaining people and take them to the lamp room as it's the easiest to defend. She runs upstairs to the crew room while the Doctor climbs the outside of the lighthouse to the quarters where he suspects the main transmitter to be located.

The alien Reuben enters the lamp room and kills Vince. He then descends the stairs and enters the crew room where Leela has just entered. Adelaide becomes hysterical and the alien kills her. That act buys Leela time and she and Skinsale bolt out of the room and up the stairs. They run into the Doctor who tells them to lay gunpowder normally used for flares on the stairs outside the lamp room.

The Doctor waits on the stairs and confronts the alien who changes into it's normal form, a Rutan who is scouting Earth in preparation for making it a base for an attack on the Sontarans. The Doctor warns the Rutan but it pursues him up the stairs. The Doctor ignites the gunpowder which flash ignites. The heat and flash stun the Rutan and it rolls back down the stairs.

Skinsale points out a launcher used for flares and the Doctor has everyone empty their pockets and pack the device with detritus and gunpowder to make a crude mortar. The Doctor worries about the Rutan warship that the scout has signaled and Leela suggests, based on the Doctor's ramblings, to use the lighthouse to make a laser. The Doctor thinks it a good idea but they lack a focusing crystal. Skinsale recalls that Palmerdale kept a small pouch of diamonds on him as insurance. The two men then head down to retrieve them with the Doctor ordering Leela to man the mortar and only fire when the Rutan was nearly on her.

Skinsale searches Palmerdale's body and finds the bag of diamonds. The Doctor sorts through them, finds one of a good cut and size and drops the rest on the ground. The Doctor heads back up the stairs but Skinsale stays behind to scoop up the diamonds. The Rutan comes around the stairs and electrocutes Skinsale. It then pursues the Doctor. He climbs up and dives past Leela as she fires the mortar into the Rutan.

The Doctor spies the Rutan ship and sets about to create the laser. Leela comes down and gloats over the dying Rutan. She informs the Doctor of it's death but he chastises her for gloating over the fallen. With the ship approaching, he activates the beam and they run out of the lighthouse. Leela falls behind slightly to retrieve her hunting knife but they manage to get out and duck behind a rock. The Rutan ship explodes and the flash temporarily blinds Leela. She blinks a few times under orders from the Doctor and her eyesight restores but the flash altered the pigment, turning her eyes blue. They two then reenter the TARDIS and take off, leaving the abandoned lighthouse.

Analysis

Horror of Fang Rock is a wonderfully atmospheric story. It's a marvel of storytelling, directing and lighting. The acting is pretty good too. But it is also dark and exceptionally grim. It's one of the only stories that I can think of where the Doctor and companion leave and everyone has died. Almost all the time there is at least one survivor to tell the tale. Not here.

If I had to pick a single character who was a bit off in this story, it would be the Doctor. The acting was quite good and Tom Baker was in excellent form, but his character was a bit off. I think it was because he needed to be a bit slow and that seems very odd for his Doctor. The lighthouse was such a confined space and with only so much room for the Rutan to maneuver that it seems he should have figured out the enemy quicker. As it is, once he figured it was a Rutan, he dispatched it very quickly with the fire attack and then the mortar. Given that, it would have been nice to see the Doctor pick up things a little quicker and then perhaps have the Rutan put up a bit of a stronger fight.

Leela was quite good in this. This also is close to the end as he becoming educated. Leela is given a bit of a sixth sense, which I head cannon as a tuned "hunter's instinct", and that gives her an interesting edge. She also clearly is learning and retaining things from earlier. A Leela from an earlier story would not have thought to create a laser to destroy the Rutan ship. But you also see the savage elements still on full display as she is fully prepared to gut Lord Palmerdale if he disobeys and she gloats over the Rutan as it is dying. Frankly, I don't see either of these qualities as detriments. The detriment came in future stories when these became her dominant traits rather than the educated individual we see emerging in The Robots of Death and The Talons of Weng-Chiang. But here, she is quite enjoyable.

The guest cast is mostly enjoyable too. I have no qualms about any of the actors and if a character bothered me, it was due to the traits of the character, not the portrayal (Adelaide). Even the characters you are clearly not meant to like, such as Palmerdale, are enjoyable in that rougish way, especially as you know you will appreciate it when they are killed off.

I do though wish at least one of the likeable characters would have survived. Obviously Ben wasn't as he was the first victim and I think you could sense that the old salt Reuben would have to be killed off, but I was hoping that Vince could have survived. Or, if not him, Harker. That would have been rather amusing as the posh upper class are all killed while the working man survives on his wits.

Even though he was a bit of an ass, I wouldn't have even minded if Skinsale had survived. As an old army man, you could tell that he was a survivor and would do unethical things to keep himself alive. That gave him a touch of the anti-hero and would have done well to be the last man standing. But he is undone by greed, which is even dumber when you think that he knew about the mortar and could have come back for the diamonds after the Rutan was dead.

The sets and atmosphere of this story were excellent. They added a natural curvature and built everything close quarters so you get that tight, rounded feel from a lighthouse that you would expect. The lighting is dim and the whole thing is suffused with a dark atmosphere. You are even aware that there is no background music for several key scenes and that only the foghorn provides any ambience to the scene. It's very well done.

There are still a few limitations to the set. You can see some CSO fringing around the heads of folks when they are in the lamp room as they filled in the windows with CSO fog and that provides an odd look. The model work, both with the TARDIS and the yacht is also a bit suspect. I'm not sure how that could have been improved, but they are clearly models and that does detract, especially at the end of Episode One when the yacht crashes. It's hard to imagine how the captain could have been killed when the boat came in in that manner. But those are fairly small niggles.

The Rutan did pretty well, even if it is basically a green beach ball with a light and a few streamers added. Is it the scariest thing in the world? No, but it still works pretty well for an alien. But I can also see why they kept Rueben is as the alien for a full episode as it made their jobs so much easier.

Overall, this is an excellent story. It's probably a touch darker than it needs to be. Either having one other character survive or adding a couple of lines of humor here and there would have gone a long way to rounding the story one last little bit. But it is overall so well acted and put together that I doubt anyone could object to watching this thing several times over. This was my second time around with this story and I'd happily sit down to watch it a third time, especially with someone who hadn't seen it.

Overall personal score: 4.5 out of 5

The Robots of Death

Please do not throw hands at me.

Doctor Who does Agatha Christie. In some ways it's a bit anticlimactic since obviously it is the robots who are doing the killing; the title gives that away. But you at least have the question of who is ordering the robots to kill the crew. This one of the few times where a writer got to go back-to-back as this is Chris Boucher's second story, immediately following his introduction of Leela in The Face of Evil.

Plot Summary

The Doctor and Leela land on a sand miner in the middle of a multi-year tour. The miner is manned by nine crew and a host of humanoid robots. As they land, one of the crew is murdered by a robot while the rest are busy extracting ore from a sand storm. The dead man is discovered by a crewman named Poul who reports it to the Captain Uvanov. Uvanov is forced to turn control of the miner over to the robots while the crew retires to the lounge to investigate.

The shutting down of the scoops helps the Doctor and Leela as the TARDIS was removed by the robots as an obstruction and the two were at risk of being enveloped by the high speed sand. They are removed from the scoop by a robot and taken to a cabin to wait.

Meanwhile the crew is already snipping at each other with paranoia beginning to set in. Another crewman is missing, adding to the tension. They are told that the body was decorated with a red disk usually used to mark deactivated robots, often called a corpse-marker by robot workers. One of the robots enters and informs the crew of the two stowaways. Tension eases a bit as the two are believed to be the murderers and Uvanov orders a search of the ship to ensure that it is only the two.

The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to open the cabin door to find the TARDIS with Leela following him. She breaks off and finds the body of the first dead crewman and watches as two robots come to take him away. The Doctor finds the TARDIS but doubles back when he notices Leela hadn't followed him. He passes by a process bin and discovers the body of the second crewman inside. As he checks on him, the door behind him seals and the room fills with ore. The Doctor pulls out a snorkel, allowing him to breathe while he is buried by the ore. The command robot, SV7, discovers the Doctor and pulls him out. The Doctor informs him of the second body and SV7 takes the Doctor to the lounge with the others.

Leela returns to the cabin they had originally come from and discovers the body of a third crewman who had gone to look for the second. The scene is investigated by a detective robot named D84, disguised as a silent worker robot. The two are discovered by Uvanov and to protect his cover, D84 grabs Leela as if capturing her. Uvanov tries to interrogate her but she batters him off. She is also taken to the lounge.

In the lounge the crew interrogate the Doctor and Leela, some believing they are the murderers while others are less sure, paranoia running higher now. Worried about losing profits from the recently discovered storm, Uvanov orders the Doctor and Leela locked in the robot repair bay while the rest of them return to their duty stations. The Doctor and Leela are bound in place with metal straps and forced to wait.

One of the crew, a woman named Zilda, leaves her duty station and breaks into Uvanov's quarters. She pulls his old logs and begins to break down crying. She screams over the intercom about how Uvanov is a murderer before she gives another scream. Uvanov runs to his cabin where he find her dead.

Meanwhile Poul visits the Doctor, intrigued by the Doctor's statements that a robot might have performed the murders. Poul releases the Doctor and Leela and the Doctor, using Poul and Leela's information about how the first body was discovered, demonstrates how it was likely a robot. Poul is signaled by second-in-command Toos about Zilda and he runs to Uvanov's cabin. He orders the Doctor and Leela to wait in a cabin and he finds Uvanov bent over Zilda's body. He accuses Uvanov and relieves him of command, knocking him out when he tries to escape. Poul informs SV7 of the change in command. SV7 also informs Poul that crewman Borg is also dead.

The miner suddenly lurches as it's drive motors have been sabotaged. Poul runs to the bridge, followed by Leela and the Doctor. Discovering what has happened, the Doctor orders the motivators shut down despite the fact that they'll sink into the sand. Dask tries to stop him at first but then does the shut down himself. As the miner begins to sink, Dask heads below to repair the engines.

Poul informs Toos of his theory regarding Uvanov. He also tells her that Uvanov was disciplined for leaving a crewman to die on a previous voyage and that crewman was Zilda's brother. Dask manages to get the engines going again, raising the miner out of the sand just before the hull begins to buckle. Safe, the miner holds position while the robots begin repairs.

Toos leaves to get some rest, having injured her arm in the accident. The Doctor instructs Leela to follow Poul while he speaks with D84. However, Poul slips away from Leela and locks her in the lounge. Poul heads to the robot repair facility where he finds the robot that killed Borg with blood on it's hands. Seeing the blood triggers a violent attack of robophobia in Poul and he collapses.

The murderer, an extremist named Taren Capel, overrides the commands of SV7 and orders him to act as agent. Kapel then overrides the command structures of several other robots in order to take over the miner.

The Doctor discovers D84 investigating Zilda's body and discovers that D84 and Poul are investigating agents sent by the mining company after receiving threats from Capel. The Doctor theorizes and convinces D84 that Capel is posing as one of the crew to instigate a robot revolution. The two of them head to a place where the Doctor believes Capel is conducting his modifications.

SV7 gives instructions to other robots to kill Toos, the Doctor and Leela while he kills the others. One robot attacks Leela but she manages to slip past him into the hallway. Leela hides in the robot repair bay and discovers Poul hiding. She tries to get him to come but he has mentally collapsed.

The Doctor signals Toos from Capel's lab and orders her to head to the command deck with all surviving crewmen. She tries but is trapped in her cabin by the robot sent to kill her. The Doctor sends D84 to help her. After he leaves, Uvanov discovers the Doctor in the lab and believes he is altering the robots. However, a robot enters and attacks the Doctor. Uvanov grabs a probe and plunges it into the robot skull, damaging it's control circuits. The two flee into the hallway, pursued by the damaged robot.

The robot outside Toos' cabin breaks in and attacks her but is called back by SV7 before he finishes the job to pursue the Doctor and Uvanov. Leela discovers D84 checking on Toos. D84 then heads to collect Poul and brings him to the command deck while Leela and Toos head back themselves. While going, Toos discovers that SV7 has been compromised as well when she tries to communicate with the Doctor.

The three groups assemble on the bridge with only Dask missing. The Doctor reveals Poul and D84's mission and Uvanov also reveals that Zilda's brother died as a result of the same robophobia that Poul is now suffering from. The Doctor, Leela and D84 leave the bridge and head to the robot repair room while Uvanov and Toos rig anti-robot bombs from magnetized blast charges stored on the bridge.

The robots begin to attack the bridge under the command of Dask, who is actually Taren Capel. Dask tries to trick his way in but the two refuse. They send a signal for rescue and warning from the bridge. Uvanov manages to destroy one robot who tries to get in from another door. After destroying it, Uvanov and Toos leave the bridge to act as a distraction.

In the repair bay, the Doctor rigs an anti-robot pulse weapon from a damaged robot and one of the communicator. As he does so he orders D84 to bring a canister of Helium to him. D84 returns as the Doctor finishes the weapon and the group returns to Capel's lab. He hides Leela in a storage area, ordering her to release the gas when Capel enters.

Dask breaks in and damages D84 with a probe. Another robot restrains the Doctor and Dask prepares to torture him to death. As he begins, D84 activates the Doctor's weapon, destroying the robot guard and himself in the process. Dask tries to finish the Doctor off but he manages to throw him back. SV7 enters, the bomb having reduced it to it's core command of killing humans. Dask tries to order it off but the helium has affected his voice so that SV7 does not recognize his command and kills him. SV7 turns on Uvanov and Toos as they enter but the Doctor plunges the probe into it's head and disables it.

With Capel dead and the robots deactivated, the Doctor and Leela return to the TARDIS as a rescue ship approaches and take off.

Analysis

I greatly enjoyed this story. I think I even liked it better the second time around than the first. It is easy to imagine that the story is going to have a more traditional Agatha Christie development with a lot more twists and blind alleys among the various crew but they are removed rather quickly so that the traditional Agatha Christie portion of the story is more or less over by the beginning of Episode Three. That can throw you the first time you watch it. A second time around with that level of awareness allows you to get into the story better and how it flows from one genre into the next.

The writing in this story is excellent with a lot of witty banter being thrown about. It is also nice to have Leela's creator behind this story as she is well defined in her warrior ways but also has compassion, intelligence and good instincts. She holds her own with the Doctor, being instructed by him but also not putting up with too much garbage from him. He has one instance where he is sharp with her and she takes it in stride but it plays fairly well for laughs and doesn't diminish Leela's character in the story.

The Doctor himself is quite enjoyable. He gets off a number of one-liners and does a pretty good job of working through the situation without appearing either too omnipotent in knowledge or ignorant to the point of unbelief. His alienness sticks out fairly well but not to the point of being a major distraction or to be off-putting.

The rest of the crew is pretty good. Dask and Uvonov especially are good in the way they both garner and deflect suspicion until the truth is revealed. Toos is also pretty good, although she does get a little stereotypical wibbly when the robots advance on her. I'd have liked to see her with a slightly harder edge at that point, although I suppose it would be understandable given the stress of the situation. Most of the other crew don't get enough screen time to form much of an opinion of them except that they seem to be portrayed well enough.

The one exception to this would be Zilda. For most of her scenes she isn't bad, although slightly flat. However it goes very wrong when she steals the log in Uvanov's quarters. Her attempts to cry and show anguish are downright painful to watch. It is absolutely terrible acting. It is somewhat unfortunate that this is also the last impression she makes as she gets killed moments afterward and whatever decent performance she had earlier is shoved out of my mind by her final moments.

The design of the robots and the set were quite nice. There are a couple of moments of obvious CSO but for a studio-bound story, this is done very well. The art deco design of both the environment and the robots is very nice and it gives the ship a very arty feel that becomes more timeless than if they had tried to something futuristic from a 70's point of view. The robots especially had an element of grace but also creepiness. There is a touch of the uncanny valley effect going on but it probably would have been worse if they had attempted to have more realistic faces rather than the stylized features they had.

If I had to come up with any negative points, it involves the mystery. Even though I knew it was coming, I still feel like the reduction of the crew and the leaving of the "whodunit" element of the story happened too quickly. I would have liked it a little more if we'd gotten a bit more with the non-core members of the crew and kept the paranoia level going for longer rather than it shifting to more of a thriller story in Episode Three.

My second criticism is when SV7 is reprogramed. Teran Capel's face is visible on the screen and even slightly scrambled and tinged, it was very obvious that it was Dask due to the lack of facial hair. He is shown with a mask in his next scene and if he had to appear on a screen, appearing in a mask would have kept up the illusion that Capel was either Dask or Uvanov. It would have added more tension to the cliffhanger in Episode Three when the robot attacks the Doctor and you might still be suspicious of Uvanov as the dialogue suggests you should be. I think that was a directorial mistake and one that spoils the surprise although not in a terrible way.

Overall, this is a very good story. Your enjoyment of it probably depends on how much you enjoy the murder myster/thriller genre and as someone who enjoys these, it puts this right in my wheelhouse. I also happen to be fan of art deco and enjoy the set and robot design that much more. It is not perfect, there are acting and a couple of production flaws. But it is good enough that I enjoyed it more on my second time through and even watched a couple of scenes a third time and enjoyed those as well. This would be an easy one to pull off the shelf and get lost in for an evening.

Overall personal score: 4.5 out of 5

The Invisible Enemy

Contact has been made.


Many of the things I have heard about The Invisible Enemy have been less than stellar. It also seems to take on a specific tint based on your feelings towards K-9, who is introduced in this story. I happen to like K-9, despite his overpowered abilities at times, so I've been somewhat curious about this story, even with it's flawed reputation. This story also happened to kick off the Graham Williams era. Horror at Fang Rock was the first story to air, but this story was the first to be shot, so it also is fair marker of what to expect in the non-holdover stories from the Philip Hinchcliff era.

Plot Summary

A trio of men from Earth is flying to Saturn's moon Titan to relieve the base crew there. They pass through a cloud and become infected with a virus which takes over their minds. They land on Titan and kill the base crew. The base manager, Lowe, becomes aware of the attack and sends out a distress signal.

The Doctor and Leela, traveling in the TARDIS, pick up the distress signal and head towards Titan to help. Leela is immediately on her guard as she senses great evil and danger. The Doctor dismisses this but while examining the console, becomes infected when the TARDIS passes through the cloud. He is able to resist complete mind control, but has space out moments.

They land on the base where they discover the dead crew. Lowe, resorting to guerilla tactics, has killed one infected crewman but was locked in an airlock. Leela frees him before he freezes to death. She is able to bring him back around but when the Doctor comes to examine him, Lowe is infected as well. After the Doctor leaves, Lowe warms himself for another moment before running down the corridor. Leela pursues him.

The Doctor, having been identified by the Swarm as the carrier of the nucleus for the clouds plan to propagate itself, is bent to the will of Swarm by the two remaining crewmen. He is then sent to kill Leela. He comes up behind her but manages to fight the control of the Swarm long enough to warn her to get out of the way of his shot. The Doctor then puts himself into a meditative state to preserve his mind.

Leela finds Lowe, who has hidden his eyes behind blast goggles to disguise his infection. He pretends to have been wounded in a firefight. Leela shows him the Doctor and Lowe suggests taking him to a medical base on an asteroid. Leela manages to coax the Doctor out of his state long enough to get the coordinates to this base so that the TARDIS can land there.

After landing, the medical team take the Doctor to be examined by Professor Marius and his diagnostic computer, K-9. Lowe, still faking eye injury, is sent to a different medical bay where he infects the duty doctor. Leela stays in the lobby for a bit before wandering down towards the bay where the Doctor is being examined.

Marius determines that the Doctor is suffering from a neurological virus that feeds off intellectual stimulation. The Doctor revives briefly to agree with this assessment and reasons that Leela, relying mostly on intuition and instinct, was rejected by the virus. The Doctor requests that clones be made of him and Leela. Marius agrees but notes that the clones will only last ten to twelve minutes due to their instability.

The Doctor dismisses this and requests that the clones be made. Sensing danger, the swarm orders Lowe to accelerate plans of taking over the station. He and the duty doctor infect two others and then push out more. The cloud meanwhile infects a shuttle and causes it's crew to hurtle toward the asteroid.

The clones are made and the Doctor clone leaves the room. The out of control shuttle forces Marius and his assistants to evacuate the bay leaving the real Doctor, Leela and her clone and K-9. The shuttle crashes into asteroid, destroying part of the corridor leading to the medical bay. With Marius temporarily out of the way, Lowe and his men attack but Leela fends them off. Leela fights them until her gun runs out of power and retreats into the room. K-9 takes up the fight and drives Lowe off.

The clearing allows Marius and his team back in along with the clone Doctor, who brings trans-dimensional equipment to shrink the Doctor and Leela clones. Marius does so and places them in a syringe. Lowe comes over the com and orders Marius to surrender or be destroyed. Marius ignores him and injects the Doctor and Leela clones into the real Doctor's head.

Lowe threatens to destroy the base but Marius agrees to surrender the Doctor. Once Lowe is off screen, Marius warns Leela and asks her to buy time. She and K-9 prepare a defense and fight off Lowe and the other infected personnel for a time. However, Lowe infects K-9 and K-9 stuns Leela before rebooting.

Lowe and his men enter the medical bay. They kill one doctor and infect Marius who informs them of the Doctor's plan. Lowe has a clone of himself made, shrunk and injected into the Doctor. Meanwhile, the nurse who had also been in the medical bay but hid by Marius, sneaks out. She finds K-9, who has purged himself of the virus by rebooting, reviving Leela and tells them what happened. Leela takes the nurse's outfit and makes up her face to make it appear she is infected as well.

In the Doctor's head, the Doctor and Leela clones make their way through his brain, following a trail of damage. Leela begins to sense danger and doubles back while the Doctor presses on. She discovers the Lowe clone following them. He wounds her with his gun but she damages the brain tissue around him, causing the Doctor's antibodies to attack and destroy him. Leela returns to the Doctor, who has discovered the sentient nucleus. The Doctor destroys it's outer covering but time expires and the Doctor and Leela clones die off and are absorbed by the Doctor. The unprotected nucleus flees to the Doctor's tear duct where it is collected by Marius and increased to humanoid size.

From the remains of Leela's clone, the Doctor absorbs her immunity factor and return to normal. The nucleus, now realized as a large crustacean, orders the return to Titan and to bring the Doctor with them as food for the new hatched enlarged swarm. Leela joins the party and quietly undoes the Doctor's straps. As they enter the lobby, they leap up and dash into the TARDIS, although it is unable to go anywhere with the dimensional modification unit in the lab.

As the nucleus leaves with Lowe and other infected parties, the Doctor and Leela slip out. They knock out Marius and tie him down while the Doctor examines blood samples from him and Leela. He is able to isolate her immunity factor that he has absorbed and injects it into Marius. Marius returns to normal and they use it to cure anyone else on the base that has been infected. Marius also cultures the factor to create a stronger serum for the Doctor to use against the nucleus.

Once the serum is ready, the Doctor and Leela prepare to leave in the TARDIS. They take K-9 with them with permission from Marius. On Titan, the nucleus is sealed in an isolation chamber and prepares to fertilize and hatch the next brood cycle of the Swarm. The Doctor and Leela land and shoot down the control room guard. Leela discovers that the Swarm is adapting to her gun and the power required from K-9 is draining his batteries.

The Doctor takes K-9 and neutralizes another guard while Leela heads off to find others. The Doctor attempts to release the serum into the system but is stopped by Lowe. K-9 uses the last of his reserves to take down Lowe and the Doctor seals him in the chamber. With the serum lost, he finds Leela who had just killed another guard with her knife. He has her take K-9 back to the TARDIS while he searches for the nucleus.

The Doctor finds the nucleus in the chamber and jambs the release mechanism to seal it in. He then disables the piping and begins to pump pure oxygen into the air. He also releases vents, allowing unfiltered atmosphere into the base. He runs back to the TARDIS, nearly leaving Leela and K-9 behind. The nucleus, sensing danger, attempts to escape but is trapped in the chamber. The oxygen and methane begin to mix and when the nucleus forces the chamber door, it sets off the trigger of Leela's gun, which the Doctor had booby trapped and ignites the mixture, causing the whole base to incinerate.

With the destruction of the nucleus, the rest of the Swarm dies. The Doctor and Leela return to the asteroid base to take K-9 back. However, Marius informs them that he is scheduled to return to Earth soon and will not be permitted to take K-9 back due to his weight. He offers to let K-9 go with the Doctor and the Doctor agrees, although much less enthusiastically than Leela.

Analysis

So this is Doctor Who does Fantastic Voyage long before Into the Dalek. It was a real up and down story for me. It started on a bit of a wrong foot for me but improved as the virus development continued. It reached a high point during the segments where the Doctor and Leela clones were searching the Doctor's brain to find the nucleus. However, once the nucleus was extracted, it became a regular monster fight and it fell off rapidly at the end.

First the positives. I enjoyed the Doctor in this one. It's always interesting when you see the Doctor at a disadvantage and having him taken down so that he's really only his old self in Episode Four is enjoyable. There was a little bit with the clone Doctor in Episode Three but those scenes were a bit limited so you don't get a full Doctor experience until the following episode.

Unlike a few fans out there, I like K-9 and enjoyed him in this story. Of course, it also exposes one of the primary complaints about him in that while the Doctor won't use a gun, he has K-9 to gun down anyone who opposes him. Of course, you could say that about Leela too given that she stabs one infected man in the neck with her knife, so I don't buy that as a reason to dislike K-9 overtly. He is also much more computer-like in this story and I thought that a better read on his personality than the friendly servant persona he takes on later.

I also enjoyed the set up for this story. It's very easy to do a monster or aggressive alien story but trying to fight a virus is a bit more of a challenge. I enjoyed Fantastic Voyage and for Doctor Who to do their own spin on it is an interesting idea. Throwing in a little traditional outside action with infected crewmen was also entertaining if not overly stimulating. That the virus fed off intellectual activity and could also pass through computers was an interesting addition that gave the Swarm just that much more potency.

Now the less than good. I was almost immediately put off on how this story characterized Leela. The idea that Leela would either cower in fear at any point is contrary to the development of Leela in her previous stories. I also strongly disliked the fact that she is characterized as being intellectually inferior, to the point of having a less developed brain. This is also contrary to the Leela we have seen in other stories where she is shown to be highly intelligent but simply ignorant of the universe outside her planet. The story actually switches in the middle, suggesting first that she is immune to the swarm because of a psychological reliance on instinct rather than intellect to an actual biological factor that keeps her immune. It would have been better storytelling and less insulting in general to keep her intellect as had been developed previously and explain away her immunity by exposure to other contagions on her home planet, producing an inherited immunity.

Despite all the problems with Leela, I was more or less enjoying the story up until Episode Four; then things deteriorated. While it was good to have the Doctor back to his normal self, the nucleus of the Swarm was not an overly impressive monster. It had no intellect and needed help moving around due to the limits of the costume. All it did was rant megalomaniacally and act like any other generic villain. In a way, the enlarged nucleus reminded me of Mestor the giant slug from The Twin Dilemma and all the limitations seen there.

I also didn't care for how easily the infected crewmen were dispatched when back on Titan. One goes so far as to back out of the control room to allow the TARDIS to land, giving up a proper defensive position against the Doctor and Leela coming out of the TARDIS. All three guards were taken out badly in my option. The first backed out of the room, allowing K-9 and Leela to shoot him coming through the door. The second chased after K-9 when he drove by, allowing the Doctor to drop him from behind. The third is stabbed by Leela, after fending her off briefly, despite her having the drop on him when he should have seen her. All three were lazy writing and lazy directing.

Nearly as annoying was the overall resolution. Leela suggests several times that they simply blow up the base but the Doctor overrides her for a more intellectual answer. He fails there and ends up blowing up the base. Similarly, after dispatching the first guard and they are showing more resistance to the guns, the Doctor states they will have use their intellect more. But they never do. It's more gun fights and brawls with the only intellectual activity being how the Doctor sets up the bomb on the base and even that is pretty simple chemistry.

I don't mind a good shoot-em-up here and there, but generally I expect the Doctor to have to think his way out of situations more often than not. This goes double when the Doctor and his companion's militant actions are shown to be less effective and the Doctor emphasizes the need to outthink the enemy. But in this case, there was very little outthinking. The closest we had to that was when Leela disguised herself to rescue the Doctor. The rest was a standard brute force approach that just left things a bit wanting.

It's a bit of a mixed bag on production. On one hand, the story is on film and that always makes things look a bit better. It has a nice feel in the view. On the other hand, there are a number of things that look very cheap and not all of them are due to the limitations of the time period. I suspect that Graham Williams was almost immediately feeling the budget pinch after the fallout of The Talons of Weng-Chiang and that forced the production team to cut corners.

The sets were minimal but that didn't bother me, although the TARDIS control room didn't look right as it had a small, cramped feel. The sets of the Doctor's brain looked pretty good, even if you could tell they were cheating in a few places, when they used real sets. The moments where CSO was used did not look so good. There were also a few other dodgy moments. There is a point where K-9 blasts a wall to produce a barrier and you can see the points where the base was chiseled away to make it fall. This is more than just a precut outline, it actually had parts of the wall missing making it look very cheap. There were also a couple of points where laser effects were not added. You would hear the noise, the actor would double over, but there was never the added red line that you saw in other shots. Again, it gave the effect of a story that had run out of money at the end.

Finally there is the design of the Swarm nucleus itself. What bothered me most about this was that the Swarm was supposed to exist and breed like a virus, infecting a host and multiplying that way. However the nucleus, especially once grown, acted more like a bacterial infection where all was based on the power of the central life form. Without the nucleus, the rest of the Swarm died off where a true virus would be able to recreate itself if most of it were destroyed. I also had mixed emotions on the nucleus' appearance. It had many aspects of a microscopic organism and I appreciated that. But it did bother me that it had bulbous eyes. Why would a microscopic organism have eyes to begin with. It made it look more shrimp-like in appearance and less threatening in a way.

Overall, I'd have to say this was a less than middling story. It's not bad as there are good elements to it and good moments as well, especially in concept. But a lame conclusion, lazy writing and production shortfalls drag this story below the average. At four episodes, it zips along fairly well but the disappointing ending leaves a bad taste in the mouth. I could watch it again but I wouldn't go out of my way to.

Overall personal score: 2 out of 5

The Talons of Weng-Chiang

The bird has flown the coop. One of us is yellow.

The Hinchcliffe era officially ends with the Doctor and Leela doing Sherlock Holmes. Hinchcliffe gave the BBC something of a middle finger with this story, blowing his budget completely out of the water on costuming and set design, both of which have been well praised by fans. However, the story is also well known for being mired in racism both deliberate, as would have been appropriate for the time, and natural.

Plot Summary

Following a show in Victorian London by illusionist Li H'sen Chang, he is confronted by an angry man whose wife was used as a model in his show and subsequently disappeared. Chang denies all knowledge and the man leaves to go see the police. As he walks down the alley, he is attacked by Chang's ventriloquist dummy, Mr. Sin.

The Doctor and Leela arrive as this is happening intent on taking in a show. They arrive at the scene of the attack with several Chinese men taking the body away. The men attack the Doctor and Leela but the pair manage to hold their own. The men flee with the body when they hear police whistles but Leela manages to trip one up and capture him. The police take all three back to the station for questioning.

During a later performance of Chang's show, the theater owner, Henry Gordon Jago, observes blood dripping off Mr. Sin's arm. He dismisses it but he is also unsettled by one of the stagehand's stories of large rats in the basement, though he dismisses the claims.

The Doctor and Leela have their information taken down by the police sergeant, though he is somewhat dismissive of them. Mr. Chang arrives shortly afterwards to serve as an interpreter, despite the Doctor catching the man off-guard by speaking Chinese. Chang slips the man a poison capsule and he dies quickly. Chang leaves, although the Doctor is suspicious.

The Doctor and Leela then head to the mortuary to have a look at the body, which the Doctor is convinced was killed by poison. He noticed that the man was a member of the Scorpion Tongs, a sect devoted to the god Weng-Chiang who was prophesied to return. In the mortuary, he finds Professor Litefoot doing an autopsy on the man whose body was being taken at the beginning. He had been fished out of the Thames but there were large bites on his body like those done by large rodents. He also finds long rat hairs on his clothes.

The Doctor and Leela then head down into the sewers to where the body was likely dumped. There they are confronted by a large rat, grown to nearly ten feet in length. The Doctor sets of a small flash which temporarily blinds the rat, giving them time to get back up to the surface. The Doctor figures the rat is guarding something and sets back to the police station for a plan of the sewers.

Back at the theater, Mr. Jago and the stage hand check the basement to make sure it is clear and find a woman's glove. Jago pockets it and then dismisses the stage hand. After he leaves, Jago sees Chang who then hypnotizes Jago into forgetting the angry man who came earlier. Jago is then sent back to his office.

Chang heads to the basement and then through a secret hole into a hidden lab. There he meets with a masked figure who demands additional people to experiment on to cure a disease the man is suffering from. Chang warns the figure of the Doctor but the masked figure dismisses him as a threat. The two then ascend into the street.

Back at the police station, the Doctor is left a note by Professor Litefoot. The Doctor meets up with him as he is preparing to leave and Litefoot confirms the Doctor's theory that the victim was gnawed on by a large rodent. He also notes that the man who killed him must have been of small stature based on the angle of the stab. Litefoot then invites the Doctor to dinner to discuss things further.

The Doctor and Leela take a cab with Litefoot back to his house but the Doctor leaves halfway there to stop at the Palace Theater. Litefoot and Leela instead enjoy a buffet meal alone, with Litefoot being amused at Leela's complete lack of table manners.

Chang, Mr. Sin and the mysterious figure arrive outside Litefoot's home. They have tracked the figure's time cabinet to this neighborhood but are unsure of what house it is in. Chang and Sin leave to investigate while the figure heads back to the theater.

In the theater, the Doctor undoes the hypnotism performed by Chang on Jago. Using Jago's returned memories the Doctor puts together more of the story. They search the theater, discovering a hologram which created the stagehand's ghost story. The Doctor also detects that a lair must be hidden here, although he is unable to find the entrance. The masked figure reappears and the Doctor chases him through the theater but he is able to escape. The Doctor instructs Jago to watch and gather information while he heads to Professor Litefoot's home.

At the home, Litefoot and Leela finish dinner but Litefoot detects movement outside. Peering through the window, he catches a glimpse of Chang and heads out with a pistol to chase him off. He does a circuit around the house but doesn't find anything. Reentering the house, he is knocked out by Mr. Sin who then advances on Leela. She throws a carving knife into Sin's neck but he continues to advance. She then dives out through the window where the just arriving Doctor finds her. The noise catches the attention of the police and Chang recalls Sin and the two disappear, though having discovered Weng-Chiang's time cabinet. The Doctor goes in to help Litefoot but Leela jumps on the back of the cab to follow Chang.

Litefoot is groggy but unharmed. The Doctor also discovers the time cabinet, which Litefoot purchased while living in China with his father. The Doctor makes a plan of the sewer system while Litefoot recovers and figures the location of the hidden lair under the theater. He then borrows a Chinese cannon gun from Litefoot and asks his help in getting to the sewers from the Thames.

In London, Chang hypnotizes a prostitute and brings her back to the theater. He stashes her in his dressing room and then hypnotizes one of the cleaning women. Whilst doing this, Leela substitutes herself for the hypnotized prostitute. Chang then takes both women, unaware of the switch, to the figure's lair. Chang promises the time cabinet that night but the figure is angry at his repeated mistakes and dismisses him.

The figure places the cleaning woman in a machine where she is enveloped by gas. Leela strikes out, knocking the figure down and turning off the machine, but the cleaning woman has already had her essence drained. The figure fires a ray gun at Leela but misses. She then escapes into the sewer but the figure uses a gong to summon the huge rats guarding the entrance.

She runs through the sewer pursued by one. It catches up and attacks her, only to be shot down by the Doctor, who had entered the sewer earlier via a boat from Litefoot. He takes Leela back to the boat and the trio head back to Litefoot's house where he supplies her with a fresh outfit. The Doctor then proposes to go to the theater to ferret out the mysterious figure. Aware of the danger, the Doctor orders Litefoot to be ready and has a police officer stationed outside.

Chang learns from overhearing Jago that the Doctor has returned and warns his master. The figure still waives off Chang from his service, though he begins to pack his lair. In the theater, Chang enlists the Doctor in his act. The Doctor enters, but avoids Chang's first attempt to trap him. Instead, he uses his own assistant in the trick. But when it ends, rather than the assistant emerging, the dead body of a stagehand emerges, killed by the mysterious figure.

Chang runs to the lair, where he is pursued by the Doctor, Leela and Jago. The figure and his equipment are gone and the Doctor realizes that he intends to set up shop elsewhere. Chang admits to discovering the figure, whom he believes to be the god Weng-Chiang, when he appeared in the time cabinet in rural China. However, as Chang nursed the man back to health, the authorities took the time cabinet and the two have been tracking it ever since. Chang then runs into the sewers where he is attacked by the giant rats.

Back at Litefoot's house, a band of Chinese men kill the police officer standing guard. Inside the house, Mr. Sin emerges from a fresh basket of laundry and knocks out Litefoot again. He opens the door and the group carry away the time cabinet with the mysterious figure in the same cab. They bring the cabinet to a hidden lair but in doing so, the figure is told that one bag with vital equipment was left at the theater. The figure in enraged and kills the man who forgot. He then orders his men to recover it.

The Doctor and Leela return to Litefoot's house and discover the break-in. They treat Litefoot and the Doctor discovers the attacker's method of entrance. The Doctor also figures that Mr. Sin is a well known robot with the cerebral cortex of a pig developed as a toy in the year 5000 but that turned against humanity and disappeared. The Doctor and Leela then head to the laundry to hunt for the attackers.

The bag with the missing components is discovered in the theater by Jago who then takes it to Professor Litefoot's house. Litefoot, upon learning of this, has Jago leave the bag with a note for the Doctor and the pair head out to the theater, figuring that the gang will return and can be followed back to their lair. They do indeed follow the gang but are discovered and captured. Under threat of Jago's life, Litefoot confesses that the bag is back at his house. They are then locked up, to be executed later.

The Doctor and Leela arrive at the laundry and break in. It is deserted and they sneak into an opium den in the back and find Chang. He survived the rat attack but lost his leg and is dying, easing his pain with opium. He reveals that the man posing as Weng-Chiang had a second lair where he would return to the future. However, he dies before he can tell the Doctor where it is.

The Doctor and Leela return to Litefoot's house to find the bag and the note. In the bag is the key to the time cabinet. The Doctor takes it and deduces that Jago and Litefoot went out after the gang. Suspecting that they will be captured and reveal the location of the key, he and Leela prepare defenses for the house. However, as they prepare, the masked figure attacks Leela from inside the house. She spins away, ripping off his mask to reveal a disfigured man. But his attack worked and she loses consciousness.

The Doctor returns to the room where he reveals that he has the time cabinet key. He strikes a bargain with the figure that in exchange for the key, they will head back to the hideout where Jago and Litefoot will be freed. The Doctor also insists that Leela be left behind. The figure reluctantly agrees. As they leave, Leela comes to and follows behind them.

Once at the lair, the figure is revealed as Magnus Greel, a war criminal from the 51st century. Jago and Litefoot are brought out but they inform the Doctor that two women are being held prisoner as well and the Doctor insists on them being freed too. Angry at this push, Greel orders Mr. Sin to fire a laser cannon hidden in the eyes of a dragon statue to which he has snuck behind. The Doctor is knocked out by the blast and Greel orders the three relocked up as he intends to squeeze the Doctor for knowledge of the future.

The Doctor wakes in the room being used as a cell with Jago, Litefoot and the two women. He wakes them and proceeds to set up a makeshift gas bomb using the pipes and a linen bag.

Back in the main room Leela, having killed one guard, sneaks in and attacks Greel. She nearly kills him but is pulled off by his Chinese followers. He has Leela tied to his life extractor machine and then orders the guards to get the other two women. As the guards enter the room, the Doctor sets off the gas bomb. The guards are knocked out and the five prisoners escape, the two women running out of the building entirely. Entering the room, the Doctor throws an axe, disabling the machine before it can kill Leela.

The Doctor frees Leela and Greel orders Mr. Sin to shoot them. Sin begins to fire at them and they take cover behind furniture. The Doctor breaks off and begins to make make-shift repairs to Greel's extractor machine while Greel himself tries to get to his time cabinet. Guards enter the room, but Sin's animal nature take effect and he guns them down, thinking only to kill all humans.

Leela grabs a pistol dropped by one of the guards and empties it into the dragon statue's head, disabling the laser. Greel attempts to activate the time cabinet but the Doctor realizes that if he does so, it will be overpowered and destroy itself and the whole building. He attacks Greel and throws him into the life extractor machine which has been reactivated. His body crumbles to dust once the machine has finished it's cycle.

Mr. Sin emerges from the statue and attacks the Doctor with a knife. Leela, Jago and Litefoot help get him off the Doctor and the Doctor pulls a fuse from his back, deactivating him. The Doctor then destroys the time cabinet key.

With the gang destroyed, Jago and Litefoot prepare to go to the police to close the case. The Doctor and Leela leave in the TARDIS, Leela being very confused by Litefoot's explanation of the protocols of tea drinking.

Analysis

I highly enjoyed this story. If it wasn't for the racism angle, it would probably be regarded as one of the best stories in the canon and quite a few view it that way anyway. But the racism angle cannot be ignored so let's start with that caveat.

There are three forms of racism indulged in in this story: colloquial racism normal for the Victorian era, supplemental racism added by Robert Holmes when none was required and portrayal racism, mostly in the form of John Bennett's portrayal of Li H'sen Chang. The first form is fairly easy to dismiss. In fact, if you had a man like Henry Gordon Jago not calling the Chinese "Celestials" or other slightly derogatory terms, it would have felt out of place. As much as we might not like the history of racism, to endow characters of a particular time with modern sensibilities just strikes a false note. A good example of that is Mel Gibson's southern plantation owner who only uses free black labor in The Patriot. No one did this and such a man would have been ostracized by all his neighbors. It jut feels wrong even though it was made to make him more sympathetic to our sensibilities. So I don't have a problem with the small doses of the first type.

Indeed, Chang actually makes use of established racism to both make a point in suggesting that all Chinese look alike to the Doctor and then later puns on the term yellow as both a descriptor of East Asian people and cowards. Both of these are excellent moment both in terms of undercutting the norms of the day and providing character depth. I especially like Chang's rebuke of the Doctor in Episode One as in one phrase, it undercuts the Doctor's flippancy towards the racism of the day and also establishes that Chang is not on the same level as the henchmen he and Leela encountered earlier. Chang is established quickly as an intellect and a more worthy adversary for the Doctor.

The second type is where things start to get dicey. Nearly all of these are little asides and jokes made by the Doctor. Most of them are height jokes and all are delivered in a corny joke form. He does throw in a couple of harsh barbs, implying that savagery committed by Chinese is somehow more barbaric than that committed by Europeans. To give him a little credit, these harsher barbs are delivered to a character (Litefoot in both cases I believe) who would readily agree with him. But even in a jokey sense and through asides to sympathetic characters, this is a bit discomforting. The Fourth Doctor is flippant and often mildly offensive if you actually listen to what he says, but that does not excuse the degree to which Robert Holmes went in with these. Again, most are dismissive, especially as the Doctor delivers them in that bad joke fashion but even one clanger is enough to give you a bit of pause.

Then there is Li H'sen Chang himself. I'm very torn on this one myself. John Bennett is clearly giving it his all in this performance and he does very well both when he is in conspiring villain mode and playing coy for Jago and the other Victorians. There is poignancy in his performance, especially the scenes of his rejection by Greel and in his death where he comes to grips with being played by a false god. But, you cannot deny that it is an English actor in yellow face and with the Far Eastern stereotypical lisp. It's obviously not as bad as Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffanys, but it is still an obvious indulgence in stereotype. Especially when you have authentically East Asian actors playing all other Chinese roles.

All that being said, Bennett does well enough that you can forget about the yellow face as the performance goes on. This is especially true in later episodes where he loses the cool veneer and allows the emotions of fear and regret to seep through. By the time you see him wasting away, stoned on opium, it is very easy to see only the broken man and not the yellowed stereotype. That you can take moments to forget the makeup and see only the portrayal says a great deal about the quality of the acting.

Steering away from the racism angle, there is an awful lot to enjoy in this story. The Doctor is on point here. He has his typical flippancy but he also gets serious when the situation calls for it. He manages to avoid dipping into the anger that the Fourth Doctor can sometimes get in to as well. His relationship with Leela is also interesting to watch as he clearly displays a level of trust in her so far unseen and unfortunately not indulged in much afterwards.

This may be Leela's best story. Holmes clearly weaves a number of lines and elements from the character of Eliza Doolittle (My Fair Lady) into Leela's dialogue. Yet Leela does not lose her savage edge. She still fights back at every alternative and displays courage often not seen in male companions.

The first of my two personal favorite scenes of hers are when she picks up the side of meat and begins to eat it. Litefoot is taken aback but he is still so charmed by this naiveté that he does the same thing to another side of meat. In fact, the only time he corrects her manners is to use a napkin rather than wiping on the tablecloth (more of an evidence of how much he fears the wrath of his housekeeper). It is just endearing for both characters.

The second of my favorite Leela scenes is when she changes clothes following the giant rat attack. Litefoot gives her a dress and ushers her to another room to change. Up until now, Leela had been wearing an outfit fitting to her more athletic temperament. However, when she emerges in the dress, there is a softness introduced to her. That it impresses Litefoot is not surprising. However, it is the reaction of the Doctor that what make the scene. For the very first time, he is caught by the fact that his companion is attractive. It is subtle and the Doctor never moves or acts on it, but the fact that for the very first time in the series he is moved by the appearance of a companion is very enjoyable to watch. That it would devolve into the mess with Rose in the new series is regrettable but I thought it excellently played here.

The only downside with Leela was near the end when she is sneaking up on Greel. In all reality, Leela would have been able to bury that knife in his back from across the room and probably should have. She only snuck up on him and failed in her attack because the story couldn't end ten minutes sooner and the show needs at least one instance of the Doctor rescuing Leela rather than the other way around as is often the case. Even still, she probably should have been successful in slitting his throat, but again, the story needed ten more minutes and this is tea time drama, no matter how I might imagine it.

Another of the enjoyable aspects of this story are the characters of Jago and Litefoot. These characters became so popular that they even got their own Big Finish spinoff series as a detective duo. In this story, they each serve as Watson to the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes. What is more interesting is that each plays a different form of Watson.

Jago is the more stereotypical Watson as became well known through the Basil Rathbone movies. His Watson is more of the bumbling assistant, desperately trying to keep up with Holmes and generally viewed as comic relief. Litefoot on the other hand, is more of the original Doyle Watson that wasn't portrayed as such much until the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes came about. In fact, the Edward Hardwicke version of Watson is strikingly similar to Litefoot in many ways. There is a calm reserve, much more quiet courage than seen in the standard Watson portrayal and a sharper mind than is often initially seen.

I've never listened to the Big Finish audios so I don't know how those typically go but two work well together in the last two episodes of this story. Litefoot takes the more Holmesian lead role with Jago falling in to the comedic sidekick role. That being said, it is Jago and not Litefoot who displays the courage to attract Sin's attention long enough for Leela to get the gun. So, unlike when they are paired with the Doctor, there is not a distinct Holmes-Watson comparison but more of two balancing forces both entertaining and intellectual.

I would be remiss if I didn't also discuss the atmosphere of this story. The costuming, set design and overall atmosphere of this story are about as perfect as you can get. There is night shooting on film, wonderful costuming, elaborate sets. It is as period as you can get with the BBC and that is saying something given the BBC's expertise in Victoriana. Of course, Philip Hinchcliffe broke the bank on this one and put his successor Graham Williams in a real hole. That explains some of the corner cutting seen in Season 15, to it's unfortunate detriment.

Overall, I'd say the good of this story way outweighs the bad. Despite the racism, I'd happily watch this one a second time around. It is paced well and quite exciting. It is only because of the racism that a moment's pause is even required. Still, I mark stories based on how I enjoy them and while the racism does give pause, I enjoyed the story, acting and style too much to be overly bothered by it.

Overall personal score: 5 out of 5

Image of the Fendahl

...and some fruitcake. I love fruitcake.

Image of the Fendahl has been referred to as one of the darkest of all the classic Doctor Who stories and I can't disagree with that sentiment. The modern series has fully embraced the dark nature so that some of the darkness of this story is mitigated by that, but in context, this story is pretty grim.

Plot Summary

In the priory of a small village, a group of scientists are investigating a skull dug out of a fossilized lava bed. The chief scientist, Dr. Fendalman, and his assistant, Max Stael, power up a computer which energizes the skull in the next room. As it does, a third scientist, Thea Ransome, is hypnotized by the skull. At the same time outside the priory, a local hiker collapses in pain and dies.

The next morning the fourth scientist, Adam Colby, discovers the body, which is already beginning to deteriorate. Colby suggests they call the police but Fendalman demures not wanting to attract attention. He tells Stael to call the London office and have them send a security team to take care of things.

The Doctor and Leela are making repairs to K-9 in the TARDIS when it is rocked. The Doctor detects a hole in the time continuum and lands to investigate it. The two land outside the village and get information from a local caretaker named Ted Moss about the scientists. They go up to the priory to investigate.

Leela approaches a cottage from the rear and is nearly shot by Moss who has broken in to the house of the priory washer woman, Mrs. Tyler. Leela disarms him but is in turn threatened by Mrs. Tyler's son Jack. Jack shoves off Moss who had been looking for something Mrs. Tyler had promised him. Leela then tells Jack why she and the Doctor arrived.

At the same time the Doctor is set upon by an unknown creature who partially paralyzes him. The Doctor is able to reinvigorate himself before the creature attacks and he runs into the mist. The creature then goes back to the priory and kills the security guard Mitchell. He is almost immediately discovered by Colby and Ransome. Ransome passes out and as Colby goes to check on her, the Doctor walks in and orders him not to touch her. Her skin begins to glow and two embryonic Fendaleen appear briefly on her body before disappearing.

Fendalman appears in the kitchen and accuses the Doctor of killing Mitchell. He has the Doctor locked in a closet and sets Stahl off on an errand. Ransome goes to lie down and Fendalman begins to explain to Colby about the skull and it's properties. He believes that the skull is from a human ancestor who arrived on Earth millions of years in the past. He shows Colby an X-ray of the skull with a pentagram crack in it. He believes that the crack is a neural relay that has stored energy in the skull and he has been working to release it.

Back at the cottage as Leela finishes her tale, Mrs. Tyler returns in a state of fear and shock. She says that she encountered something hungering for her soul. Jack gets her to a chair to rest while Leela heads for the priory to find the Doctor.

Someone releases the Doctor from the closet and in wandering around the priory, he discovers Stahl talking with Moss about an occultist ceremony they are preparing for. Shortly after, Ransome comes around looking for the Doctor but finds the X-ray. She starts to go into a trance staring at it but is roused by Stahl. Stahl however chloroforms her and drags her out.

The Doctor enters the room with the skull and finds himself drawn towards it. When it begins to glow with energy, he is compelled to touch it. Locked in to a hold of the skull, Leela enters and helps free him. She takes him back to see Mrs. Tyler and he helps bring her out of her trance. In thanks, Mrs. Tyler gives each of them a rock salt charm she had prepared originally for Moss.

The Doctor and Leela use the TARDIS to go back twelve million years to find out what happened to the fifth planet and where the Fendaleen came from. The Doctor discovers that the planet had been destroyed by the Time Lords and then placed in a time loop to hide the fact. Indignant at his own people's criminality, the Doctor flies the TARDIS back to the priory.

While Dr. Fendalman demonstrates to Colby how his experiments had been proceeding, Stahl walks in and pull a gun on them. He takes them downstairs and ties them to two pillars. Ransome is also there, tied to the floor in the middle of a pentagram. Fendalman implores Stahl to stop, going so far as to note that he is of the bloodline called to search out the Fendahl. Stahl becomes annoyed at his rantings and shoots Fendalman in the head, warning Colby to be quiet or he will shoot him as well.

The ceremony begins as the Doctor and Leela return to the priory, meeting Mrs. Tyler and Jack. Mrs. Tyler, still fearful of the powers they face, ordered Jack to load the shotgun shells with rock salt instead of the regular lead shot. As they emerge from the scanner room, the group is frozen and see a Fendaleen approaching them. Only the Doctor is able to free himself and he takes the gun and shoots the Fendaleen. The rock salt kills it and the group is freed and able to retreat.

The Doctor instructs Jack and Mrs. Tyler to reload the gun with more rock salt shells while he and Leela head to the ceremony below. Ransome has been transformed into a goddess-like woman, the Fendahl core, and upon looking at the people around the circle transforms them into Fendahleen. Leela frees Colby and takes him upstairs. The Doctor tries to help Stahl but he is already infected, his plans for power having gone completely awry. He asks the Doctor for his gun and he shoots himself as the Doctor heads back upstairs.

With two of the planned thirteen manifestations gone, the Doctor realizes they have bought some time. He orders Mrs. Tyler to run back to her cottage and bring as much salt as she has. Leela and Jack head back into the corridor to fend off any attacks and buy the Doctor time. The Doctor and Colby then set up an implosion device to destroy the priory, the Doctor expounding as they work that the skull must have landed when the fifth planet exploded. It leached information into the human race as it developed but gained the power to manifest itself through altering Ransome via Fendalman's experiments.

The Fendahl Core attacks with one of the Fendahleen. Jack is paralyzed again but Leela, squinting to avoid looking at the core, shoots the Fendahleen and drives the attack back. Mrs. Tyler returns with the salt and the Doctor instructs her and Jack to go take cover in the cottage. He orders Colby to turn on the scanner to distract the Fendahleen for two minutes and then run to the cottage as the imploder will go off three minutes after that.

Using the salt to drive off Fendahleen in their way, the Doctor and Leela head back to the basement and the Doctor collects the skull into a radiation box. Colby turns off the scanner and runs. The Doctor and Leela do the same, fighting off the Core with salt as they flee the building. In the woods, they faceplant as the priory is consumed in flames and pulled back to nothing. They return to the TARDIS where the Doctor plans to throw the skull into a supernova to destroy it. He also sets about finishing the repairs to K-9, Leela amused that he referred to K-9 as a he for the first time.

Analysis

This story was a bit disappointing as it had good potential both in a baseline story and some truly excellent cinematography. This is one of the few stories that had actual night shooting and it works very well, adding a solid element of creepiness. Many of the horror elements were played well in this, both in set up and shot execution so I would say that whatever faults this story has, direction is not one of them.

I would also not fault the acting. All the guest cast do fairly well, although there are one or two moments where someone (usually Stahl) goes a bit over the top. But it is usually reigned in quickly. Leela is quite good in this and she has a strong measure of wit and humor in her dialogue, especially in her interaction with the Doctor. Whatever faults Chris Boucher may have as a writer, he does know how to make Leela a worth companion of the Doctor.

Where the story does fall flat is predominantly in it's structure. I have often criticized Seventh Doctor stories for the impression that story elements were left on the cutting room floor, giving the story a very disjointed feel. This story is much the same. There are abrupt cuts and a distinct lack of flow throughout the story. The nature of the Fendahleen is never really explained and the back story we do get in crammed tightly into two expositional scenes, one in Episode Two between Fendalman and Colby and the second in Episode Four between the Doctor and Colby. What few other expositional scenes are given feel rushed or underdeveloped. There is no reason for the Doctor and Leela to take the whole day to go back and see the fifth planet. If you did want to keep them out, structure the scene better so it has a better flow and explains the plot more. A quick scene on the legend of the Fendahleen from the Gallifreian point of view would have inserted very nicely here.

I also have to say that I'm not feeling the Fourth Doctor as well here. I can't help but contrast this story with The Pyramids of Mars where the Doctor is very serious about the threat to Earth immediately. He comes across as callous about those that have died because he is concerned for Earth as a whole. In this story, he is almost flippant. Some flippancy is to be expected, but once he has seen the Fendahleen on Ransome's body, his demeanor should have taken a more serious tone. Little jokes would have still worked, such as requesting fruitcake with Jack's tea or offering the skull a jellybaby, but it would have helped the story if there was a more serious tone underlying those jokes in-between.

Speaking of Ransome, she is actually what I feel makes this one of the darkest stories. Most people point to the Doctor helping Stahl kill himself, but the Doctor pointed out that he was dead already and killing himself actually aided the cause of stopping the Fendahleen. Perhaps I've seen too many Tenth Doctor stories where a similar style was used. However, there is a scene in Episode Two where Ransome opens the closet where the Doctor had been held and looks for him. She whispers, pleading for help from him. That is truly the darkest moment. There are many stories where the Doctor cannot save someone but he nearly always is able to infuse some measure of hope in them or at least make an attempt to aid them. Here, she is alone. She is afraid and alone and the Doctor doesn't come to help her. She instead stumbles out, gets entranced again and then finally subdued by Stahl. It is an incredibly bleak moment in the story.

I generally give this a pass but I feel I should point out that the Fendahleen look pretty bad too. If you are going to do a snake-like slug, there should be some undulation in it. They tried to keep them in the shadows to hide the flaws, but they were forced to show enough of the monster that you couldn't help but immediately notice that it was a man standing in a constricted suit. I know there are technological limitations but if the seaweed could be made to look like it was thrashing about and menacing in Fury From the Deep, I don't see why something could be done to make the Fendahleen look somewhat more menacing. I also don't know why the Fendahl Core looked like a Greek goddess but at least that was done well.

Overall, I can't say that I would pull this one out for a rewatch. There were good moments and the acting and atmosphere were nice, but overall it was just too disjointed. I don't mind being somewhat confused by the story if it is engaging and pulls together at the end, but this didn't do either. Worth a single watch to say that you've seen it but not much beyond that.

Overall personal score: 2 out of 5