It’s an abrupt departure for Romana and K9, as more and more of the Fourth Doctor era gets chipped away by the new production team, leaving Tom as the last man standing.
With just Adric left as the sole companion at the end, it’s all starting to look a bit… Davison… #DoctorWho
The coda where the Master possesses him is great though. Its unusual enough for the action to take us back to a planet after the Doctor and co have left, and then this kicker.
If this were a modern movie, it would be a mid-credits scene to tease the next sequel. #DoctorWho
On a brighter note: Tegan! 😃
The first episode and a half is devoted to her intro, while the Doctor and Adric faff about measuring a police box.
Of the three recent companion additions, this is the only one that makes you think “Oh, a proper companion. At last!” #DoctorWho
“The Watcher!”
“He was the Doctor all the time…”
Er… okay… take us through your thought processes and logical deductions there Nyssa? Because we’d all really like to know… #DoctorWho
Overall season 18 remains a curious beast, an odd transitional year as JNT remoulds the show to suit himself. There’s lots of good material, but I just wish they hadn’t felt the need to cut so much of what made the show fun and accessible over the previous six years.
However the themes of death, decay and entropy, leading eventually to renewal and rebirth are worked through the season brilliantly. This probably has the most unique identity of any season of #DoctorWho, Classic or New.
Castrovalva: once more Bidmead gives us a story with great concepts but hampered by technobabble, with no attempt to give the companions natural sounding dialogue.
And just like Logopolis, we’re TARDIS-bound for almost two episodes before we get to the titular planet. #DoctorWho
Tom’s boots magically regenerate into shoes for Peter. Hmm, clothes that regenerate with the Doctor… what a crazy idea, eh?
And Tom’s scarf gets unravelled - heresy! Oh, but it’s just the burgundy version, so who cares? 😄 #DoctorWho
Davison is of course immediately great, but then he would be since they filmed this fourth in order.
Could’ve done with a little less of the fan-pleasing impersonations of old Doctors. This was a particular JNT obsession - the idea of a regeneration ’failing’ somehow. #DoctorWho
Winner of the All-Time Silliest Hat In #DoctorWho award.
(He had to go one better than Samantha Briggs…)
There’s a TARDIS scene with the companions early on that’s pure padding, and just allows Adric to spout some outrageous sexist bollocks to Tegan and Nyssa.
Come, Cybermen, come…
The problem with this one is that it’s mostly about just wallowing in sci-fi ideas, while forgetting to tell anything resembling an entertaining story that the audience can latch on to.
Particularly with the episode endings - The aliens can change form! Bigon’s a robot! Er, yes… and? 🤷🏻♂️
Only part three ends with a traditional ’Doctor-in-peril’ cliffhanger. #DoctorWho
Adric falls into his usual plot groove of siding (either deliberately or as a ruse) with this week’s nutcase.
Meanwhile Davison’s scenes with Todd show how his Doctor would really work better with a single, relatively normal and down-to-earth companion. #DoctorWho
If for no other reason, this story holds a special place in the annals of #DoctorWho history for providing fans with the term ‘Not-We’. 😁
If you know, you’re a ‘We’.
If you don’t, you’re a ‘Not-We’.
The Doctor’s taking Tegan back to Heathrow just after she left, so there “won’t be any awkward questions about where she’s been.”
Er, apart from the small matter of your Aunt being murdered and miniaturised Tegan. The police might have a few questions about that! #DoctorWho
Black Orchid: as an attempt to revive the ‘pure’ historical, this is only partially successful. Could do with a bigger threat or villain.
Someone once said that 80s fans liked this one because it’s ‘#DoctorWho you can show your mum’ and I think there’s a grain of truth in that.
A lengthy conversation about the fate of the dinosaurs. I wonder if that will be relevant later on…🤔
And you can see why Davison struggled to keep a straight face with the overly macho acting of Lieutenant Scott. #DoctorWho
Ah, here we go with JNT’s bizarre stunt casting in the form of Beryl Reid…
It’s all very well wanting to cast big names in #DoctorWho, the new series does it all the time, but surely it can’t be that difficult to put them in suitable roles? Rather than “Oh, this is available!”
Fair play - I’ve taken the piss out of the little twerp but his death scene is still remarkably well done, and remains a hugely significant moment in the history of #DoctorWho
(Can’t help but still snigger a bit at the imposed solemnity of the silent credits though! 🤭)
Oh god… the Master’s “Arabian” disguise… 🫣
It’s bad enough that he pointlessly does this anyway (just for an “Aha! It was me all along!” reveal) but why does he remain in character even when there’s no one else about?? #DoctorWho
The tiny, cramped set, with its fake sky that looks about two feet away and it’s forced perspective view of the model citadel recalls The Keys of Marinus, nearly two decades earlier.
Add the tiny Concordes and this really stretches credulity beyond breaking point. #DoctorWho
At times it seems like every second word of Professor Hayter’s dialogue is ‘hallucination!’
Elsewhere we get a lot of rushed, garbled technobabble (and some genuine instances of “I’ll explain later!”, made famous in The Curse Of Fatal Death!)
Oh boy. Next please! #DoctorWho
Arc Of Infinity: season 20 begins with JNT’s penchant for fan-pleasing continuity now in full flow, with a Time Lord story full of mentions of Romana, E-space, Leela, Bio-data extracts, the Matrix, etc.
Unfortunately Gallifrey’s never looked so dull and beige… 🫤#DoctorWho
Colin Baker inadvertently livens the whole thing up, not just due to the amusement of seeing the future Sixth Doctor here, but also because of the general pompous nature of his character.
And his stupid hat. #DoctorWho
Tegan is very trusting of Robin, when you look at it objectively:
“Hello, I’m someone you’ve never met, telling you your cousin has mysteriously disappeared in this foreign country. Now if you’d just like to follow me into this creepy crypt where he was last seen…”
Overall not the greatest Time Lord story, and too reliant on expecting the viewers to know the lore about Omega and so on, but it has its moments.
Plus the final shot is hilarious - the look on the Doctor’s face as he realises he’s stuck with Tegan again… 😄#DoctorWho
Snakedance: This is an excellent sequel to Kinda, just as good as the original but told in a much more accessible way.
I always get the impression this is a bit underrated in fan-opinion. A shame, as for me it’s one of Davison’s best. #DoctorWho
Gavin Winters
Neil Corry
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