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
The Doctor spends the whole of episode 3 locked up, with no sonic screwdriver to free him (even mentioned in the dialogue)
RTD must have had moments like this in mind when he decided to bring the sonic back, to stop the Doctor’s role in proceedings slowing to a halt. #DoctorWho
Mawdryn Undead: the Brig! Two Brigs even! They did a good job making the younger Brig look just how he did when we last saw him.
This is where the Brigadier starts to be seen as a legendary, iconic character, rather than just ‘one of the cast’ when he was a regular. #DoctorWho
The Brig’s comment about Ibbotson’s fitness and “disgusting” body is something that has… not aged well… 😬
Quite apart from the fact the actor is clearly not the Billy Bunter type the character is written as, it’s a terrible attitude to give the Brig anyway. #DoctorWho
A big welcome to Turlough, who’s brilliant at being sneaky and devious in these early stories. And Strickson is 1000 times the actor Waterhouse was. (Admittedly not difficult!)
You’d be forgiven for missing the brief hints at the character’s alien origins though. #DoctorWho
Another of this era’s lengthy flashback sequences, which actually works well in context to remind the viewers of the Brigadier’s previous appearances.
Although having Davison later say “reverse the polarity of the neutron flow” is particularly gratuitous and silly. #DoctorWho
“Who is that person?” asks Nyssa, as the Brig enters the TARDIS.
“Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of course!” replies Tegan.
Yeah Nyssa! I mean, come on, aren’t you a paid-up, card-carrying member of the DWAS, like the audience is expected to be? Honestly! #DoctorWho
Terminus: hard to muster up much enthusiasm for this one, it’s all a bit grey and dull. Only the regulars manage to keep things somewhat interesting.
The first appearance of the Lazars hints at the exciting prospect of a zombie apocalypse story, but no such luck. #DoctorWho
Why does Turlough think Adric’s old room “looks like a kid’s room”, when it’s full of leatherbound books and scientific equipment? Must be pretty advanced kids where he comes from.
And given the size of the TARDIS, why re-use an old bedroom for him anyway? #DoctorWho
I’m greatly enjoying Turlough’s arrival on this rewatch, especially how much his presence is winding up Tegan. 😄
Pity then that they both spend half the story sidelined and crawling around underneath the ship’s flooring. #DoctorWho
“Could you ever kill someone?” he asks Tegan, while stroking an iron bar and gazing into the middle distance.
Yeah, that’s not creepy and terrifying at all, Turlough! Run Tegan, run for your life! #DoctorWho
Even the hyperbolic cliffhanger of part three, with the melodrama of “the universe will be destroyed!” doesn’t really spark much excitement.
Funny that such a hugely significant moment in #DoctorWho lore (the actual creation of the universe!) is in such a forgettable story.
Bye then Nyssa, you were…nice. And pleasant, I suppose. Shame they never really developed much of a character for her beyond her scientific skills.
Davison always felt she was the one who worked best with his Doctor, but I think his relationship with the others makes far better telly.
There’s something to be said after all for JNT’s idea of having “interesting” companions, who don’t always get on perfectly well with the Doctor. #DoctorWho
Enlightenment: love this one. Great premise, great atmosphere, and the Eternals are a brilliant concept (another for the “bring ‘em back!” list). Part One’s cliffhanger reveal is an all-time favourite.
The only one, for me, to rival Androzani for top Davison story. #DoctorWho
The Master’s in another one of his ridiculous disguises. Since he wasn’t expecting the Doctor to turn up, you again wonder why bother with the disguise and silly French accent in the first place? #DoctorWho
“Yoo eensult ze King!”
The entire court witness Sir Gilles revealed as the Master, but then bizarrely act as though he’s a brand new person they’ve just met.
Characters motivations and allegiances seem to change from scene to scene, especially Lord Fitzwilliam. The Master using hypnotism? #DoctorWho
The whole Magna Carta plot is more like the type of petty interference you’d expect from the Monk, rather than the Master.
Maybe he was just bored and twatting about with history, secretly hoping the Doctor would turn up to stop him, just for a bit of amusement. #DoctorWho
Well now Kamelion’s arrived I expect him to be a proper companion and fully active member of the crew over the coming stories/seasons… 👀
I wonder if the prop really could do all the amazing things it was supposed to be able to do, like actually walking? #DoctorWho
The Five Doctors: Pat! Jon! Footage of Tom! Someone who looks like Billy if you were ten years old and didn’t know better! Sarah-Jane! The Brig! K9! Susan!
The plot’s wafer-thin of course but who cares? This is a big dumb grin of a nostalgia fest. What’s not to love? #DoctorWho
In his most recent appearance in Mawdryn Undead the Brigadier had been going on about how UNIT was a super top secret organisation that the public couldn’t possibly know about…
The Time Lords have spent a bit of money giving Gallifrey a makeover for the anniversary. Swanky new sets and better robes. They even have random fountains in corridors now, rather than sofas!
Plus it’s a rare occasion where they hardly wear their big stiff collars. #DoctorWho
There are some fan-pleasing and box-ticking moments such as Pertwee finally getting to be on screen with the Cybermen, or him meeting the Ainley Master.
And of course how could you bring back Susan without her pointlessly falling and twisting her ankle? 😄 #DoctorWho
Is the Guard Commander who shoots the Castellan meant to be a regenerated Maxil, perhaps? He seems as much of a dick.
Anyway, here we go…
“NO, NOT THE MIND PROBE!!” #DoctorWho
The Silurians are just plainly introduced in the first few minutes. No attempt to have any kind of mystery or slow build up to a cliffhanger reveal or anything.
And what the hell did they do with those weirdly modulated voices? At least the Sea Devils sound the same. #DoctorWho
“Face it Tegan! He’s drowned!” says Turlough after the Doctor’s been in the water for seconds. Yeah… don’t ever get a job as a lifeguard Turlough!
At least elsewhere he gets a bit of character development and becomes much braver than we’ve ever seen him be before. #DoctorWho
As often happens in this era, random people just wander into the TARDIS for a nose around.
There’s something that just fundamentally feels a bit ‘off’ about the TARDIS not being a separate, safe haven for the regular characters, isolated from the rest of the story. #DoctorWho
There’s a particularly “English” quality that comes through strongly in this era, with its medieval castles and cricket pitches. Its sleepy villages and old churches. All in other eras too of course, but it fits Davison well.
This even ends on a line about liking tea! #DoctorWho
Gavin Winters
