Like many stories of this period, the TARDIS takes just too bloody long to get there and get the Doctor involved in the action.
And while he’s calmed down a lot, there’s still the issue of how he treats Peri. Why the hell does she want to keep travelling with him? #DoctorWho
Is the Doctor too violent here? You could argue the laser that kills the guard was set up as a warning, and he didn’t intend to kill him. And the infamous acid bath scene is clearly an accident.
But he then blatantly kills the bad guys at the end with poison vines…🤷🏻♂️ #DoctorWho
So the story is kind of trying to have its cake and eat it with the subject of violence. Criticising the idea of people watching it while simultaneously indulging in it.
The meta-commentary by Arak and Etta is a highlight of the story though. #DoctorWho
So the Master dresses as a scarecrow and stands in a field like a twat, just to wait for the Doctor so he can gawp at him as he goes past?
He’s not quite right in the head, is he? #DoctorWho
I like how the Rani is basically just annoyed at being caught up in the Doctor and the Master’s feud and sees them both as irritating idiots.
And her kneeing the Master in the bollocks will never not be one of the funniest things ever to happen in #DoctorWho
*record scratch*
*freeze frame*
“Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.” #DoctorWho
Plenty of violent deaths in this story, but Shockeye murdering Oscar seems the most misjudged.
And to make things worse, after their initial reaction the extras playing customers in the restaurant go back to acting like nothing has happened. #DoctorWho
Timelash: oh dear. 😬 Okay… maybe not quite as bad as it’s reputation, but still the worst of this season. Lots of clunky dialogue and painfully obvious exposition.
And the Doctor and Peri’s relationship has taken a backward step to Twin Dilemma levels of snappiness. #DoctorWho
Paul Darrow gives one of the most preposterous performances in the entire history of #DoctorWho. Equal parts appalling and hilarious. Really needs a hunchback or a cape or an eyepatch as the finishing touch.
Still, at least he’s having fun. I’m glad someone is!
The makeup for the Borad is one of the few positive elements, which still stands up against anything you’d see today.
And they show great restraint in holding back the full reveal for as long as they do. #DoctorWho
The ending’s bloody awful though. After the total cop-out of “I’ll explain one day” as to how they survived the missile, the Doctor then lambasts the Borad for his “grotesque, ugly excuse for a body”. (Lovely message to send the kids who are watching, Doctor. 😐 )
And then he says that if Peri doesn’t scream when she sees the Borad’s face, he’ll consent to their marriage (!?!)
Jesus Christ, was this written in the 1950s?? Right, we need the Daleks as a palate cleanser after that! #DoctorWho
Bit unfortunate that we had two stories in a row where the villain is killed… only for it to be revealed that it was just a decoy clone and he’s really still around.
I love the black humour of Davros’ fingers scattered on the ground after his hand is shot off! #DoctorWho
The powers-that-be have now forced me to pause this #DoctorWho rewatch for a hiatus of eighteen… hours.
Please do not release an ill-advised charity single to try to make me continue sooner, thanks.
The Time Lords are comically inept at covering up their dirty secret. Why include footage of Glitz saying:
“The Sleepers found a way into the… BLEEP! BLEEP! …the biggest repository of knowledge in the universe!”
If that wasn’t obvious enough, you can lipread him! 😆#DoctorWho
CLIFFHANGER ZOOM INTO DOCTOR’S FACE!
(We’ll be seeing quite a few of those…) #DoctorWho
Even knowing how they’ll backtrack over it in a few weeks, the ending is still incredible and packs a hell of a punch, plus it gives Nicola Bryant some of the best material she’s had to work with.
Kind of glad they did change it though, and it wasn’t Peri’s final end. #DoctorWho
Terror Of The Vervoids: an awkward debut for Mel, just suddenly there with no proper intro, with a character who’s little more than “fitness fanatic”. And Pip & Jane’s ludicrous dialogue doesn’t help.
On the plus side, they did write this season’s best cliffhangers. #DoctorWho
The dirty towels on the spaceship are *pulverised*, in a massive machine, and ejected into space??
Don’t they have washing machines in the 30th century? #DoctorWho
The fake Mogarian not using his translator is childishly obvious. Probably only there in fact to make kids feel clever by spotting it.
At least the Valeyard’s repetition of the words “arbitrary course” is slightly subtler and easy to miss. #DoctorWho
“…and that concludes the evidence for the defence, in which I committed genocide against an entire species.”
“You did WHAT!”
“Oh bugger…”
The Ultimate Foe: for a story half-written by #DoctorWho’s most revered writer (Holmes) and half by its most reviled (the Bakers), with the differing styles being clear, this ends up working incredibly well.
And given all that was happening behind the scenes, miraculously well.
These are the best ever Matrix scenes, with the creepy Victorian setting overdubbed with ghostly music, voices and laughter.
Shame Mel’s still not written very well, and as this was recorded first, Bonnie’s still finding her way and playing it very theatrically. #DoctorWho
(Me watching this in 1986)
“What’s that weird stuff behind him, if he’s in his TARDIS?”
(Me watching this in 2023)
“Oh, he’s got a funky Zoom background.”
Is the trial being broadcast on live TV? Hence the report of Gallifrey “descending into chaos” and the High Council being deposed immediately after their crimes have been exposed.
Maybe Runcible survived The Deadly Assassin after all… #DoctorWho
And that’s it. A sad ending for Colin, who’s run was plagued with problems and setbacks throughout, but struggled on regardless. Never mind Col, Big Finish beckons!
“Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice…” #DoctorWho
There was a real sense at this point of #DoctorWho now being completely out of touch, both with its own fans and the general TV audience. Stuck in a niche of JNT campness.
Thankfully Andrew Cartmel has arrived to start dragging it back down to Earth (literally and figuratively).
Paradise Towers: this is like a strange hybrid of JNT’s camper vision of #DoctorWho and the influences Cartmel was trying to bring in - e.g. contemporary sci-fi novels and comic books.
And its style has echoes in the modern series. A clear ancestor of episodes like Gridlock.
Gavin Winters
Juicy Cake Of Figs
Andy Mackay