Planet Of Evil: bit dull, this one. Following on from Daleks, Cybermen and Zygons the threat here is far too esoteric and weird to generate much interest.
At least the actors get to put their drama school training to good use, pretending to fight invisible monsters. #DoctorWho
There are some (deliberate) lapses of logic in order to give us the âchop-sueyâ monster at the end. Why does Solon not use Condoâs head, or his entire body?
Or if a Time Lord is more suitable, why not use the Doctorâs entire body? #DoctorWho
Poor Sarahâs really put through hell in this one: blinded and terrorised and tied up. One of those stories that makes you wonder why anyone would travel with the Doctor, having to put up with this crap!
And why they donât all have PTSD for the rest of their lives⌠#DoctorWho
A suggestion of pre-Hartnell Doctors! Controversy! đą
(Now imagining if the internet existed in the mid-70s, and collectively lost itâs shit over thisâŚ)
The last lingering vestiges of the Pertwee era as some random UNIT personnel weâve never heard of turn up at the end. The Brigâs in Geneva again, and even good old Sergeant Benton isnât around.
Just as well maybe, as the Sergeant who replaces him gets minced! #DoctorWho
Mandragora will be in a position to try again in 500 years.
âThat takes us to just about the end of the 20th century!â
âYes, but donât worry. The series will be cancelled by then so we wonât have to deal with it!â #DoctorWho
First mention of the âIs Gallifrey in Ireland?â joke (hooray! đ), which Chibnall will pick up on decades later.
And once Eldrad changes sex, he says the Doctor should be familiar with the processes of bodily regeneration, so thereâs the first suggestion of that too. #DoctorWho
âTill we meet again, SarahâŚâ đ˘
The Deadly Assassin: well here we go with literally everything about Gallifrey and Time Lord society that will influence the show for the next 40+ years.
You can kind of see why it rankled some fans at the time, with how it destroys the Time Lords godlike status. #DoctorWho
Funny how when we get to see Gallifrey extensively in Tomâs era, itâs basically a planet of William Hartnells. Heâd fit in well here.
Makes perfect sense that his Doctor was moulded by this society, while the subsequent ones were shaped by his companions, travels, etc. #DoctorWho
It gets increasingly obvious Dask is the one behind it all. Right from the start heâs the innocuous-seeming one with no agenda, no hostility towards the others⌠alarm bells right there! đ
And that discoloured monitor image barely disguises his face. #DoctorWho
If Leela got her Victorian underwear from the TARDIS along with the rest of the outfit⌠doesnât that lead to the logical conclusion that the Doctorâs got a room somewhere with an enormous collection of womenâs underwear from throughout history?
The dirty sod! #DoctorWho
One minor annoying plothole: Greel claims to be the first man to travel through time, but heâs aware of âTime Agentsâ?
Or was the idea that the Time Agency may be some alien organisation monitoring time, nothing to do with Earth (as we all assumed since Captain Jack) #DoctorWho
Paranoia. He believes others will use his technology to travel back in time and pursue him for his crimes.
@longscarfpublications Hmm, I dunno, he talks about them as though theyâre a pre-existing thing.
Quite funny if it was just his imagination, and RTD then had a whole Time Agency in DW and Torchwood based on that!
Horror Of Fang Rock: following on from Talons, this seems to be basically in the same style. You wouldnât initially know there was a new production team in charge.
A return to the classic âbase-under-siegeâ story, and done very well. #DoctorWho
Adelaide is such an annoying drip that you wish Leela had slapped her harder. đ
And it comes as a relief when the Rutan finally bumps her off. #DoctorWho
Gavin Winters
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