#12 (14.1 - 14.4): The Masque of Mandragora.

An alien intelligence unleashes havoc on Earth!

4 episodes. Approx. 98 minutes. Written by: Louis Marks. Directed by: Rodney Bennett. Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.


THE PLOT

The TARDIS is drawn into the Mandragora Helix, a mass of living energy that the Doctor describes as having "an intelligence" behind it. The Doctor is able to escape- but not before unwittingly picking up a passanger, a fragment of Helix energy that escapes when the time ship materializes in 15th Century Italy.

A succession drama is playing out in the village of San Martino. The old Duke has died very suddenly, leaving his title to his son, the intellectual Giuliano (Gareth Armstrong). The death was foretold by Hieronymous (Norman Jones), the court astrologer, in league with the duke's brother, the evil Federico (Jon Laurimore). Now Federico plots for Hieronymous to cast another horoscope - one that will pave the way for him to eliminate his weak nephew and claim power for himself!

The Doctor has no interest in these petty power struggles. As soon as he sees a victim of the Mandragora energy, he realizes what has happened - a malevolent force has been set loose that could destroy or enslave the world, and he was the one who brought it here. He determines to do whatever is necessary to stop the Helix energy from spreading its influence... but with Federico using the Doctor's appearance as an excuse to accelerate his plans, and with Hieronymous hatching plots all his own, it soon becomes apparent that the Doctor can't solve one problem without becoming involved in the other.


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Though he ends up assisting Giuliano against Federico, there's no sense that the Doctor has chosen a side. His sense of responsibility exists on a larger scale. He does end up assisting Giuliano, but only because the young duke helps him against the Mandragora energy. He feels deep responsibility for having brought that energy to Earth, and he is committed to correcting his mistake, while the human political conflict doesn't interest him in the slightest.

Sarah Jane Smith: Seems to have taken a hefty I. Q. cut for this episode, wandering off and getting into trouble multiple times during the first two episodes. Did writer Louis Marks think he was still scripting for Jo Grant? Elisabeth Sladen puts her usual energy into her performance, and the rapport between co-stars is as strong as ever - but this is definitely not one of Sarah Jane's better stories, which seems all the more a pity given that she only has one more story left in her tenure.


THOUGHTS

The Masque of Mandragora kicks off Tom Baker's third season as the Doctor with a safe slice of what I term bread-and-butter Who. We have a historical setting, spotlighting a scheming uncle's plans to murder his earnest nephew for his title. We have the ancient Cult of Demnos, performing human sacrifices to their pagan god. And we have a malevolent alien presence using both of these evil forces to help it take over the world.

It's all very nicely-shot by director Rodney Bennett, and it does an excellent job of passing off its locations and studio sets as 15th century Italy. Everything looks right, and the script is able to bring its disparate elements together so that they all feel like part of the same narrative. It's all very competent.

It's also very dull.

I think part of the problem is to do with the story's structure. The Doctor is focused on the threat of the Mandragora Helix... but the Mandrogara energy does practically nothing for the first three episodes. It hitches a ride in the TARDIS, zaps a couple of extras, and gives a disemobied speech to Hieronymous. It's not exactly coming across as the Earth-shattering threat the Doctor insists it is. Meanwhile, the rather hackneyed Giuliano/Federico conflict is left to carry the action through the first three episodes, only for this subplot to be promptly disposed of at the start of Episode Four - so as not to distract when the Mandragora energy decides that it's time to actually do something.

The dominance of the Giuliano/Federico plot is unfortunate. It's not just that this is the kind of story we've all seen played out many, many times before. That can be said of a lot of Who serials that I rate substantially higher than this one. But the Doctor behaves as if this whole conflict is nothing but an annoying distraction, which has the effect of discouraging viewer involvement. Meanwhile, Jon Laurimore's Federico is too one-note a villain to create much interest on his own, and Gareth Armstrong's Giuliano just comes across as a bit weak. Only Norman Jones' Hieronymous really works, Jones going over-the-top in just the right way to make his scenes fun to watch.

All told, this is a well-made story, and there's nothing about it that's badly-done. But I find it tremendously uninvolving. It's a story that has nothing really badly wrong with it, save for rather weak guest characters. It just doesn't do much to hook me into the story. Instead of getting caught up in it, I just watch it at a distance, waiting for the credits.

It's not bad, per se. It's just kind of... boring. An unpromising start to a season that would end up offering much better entertainment than this.


Overall Rating: 4/10.

Previous Story: The Seeds of Doom
Next Story: The Hand of Fear (not yet reviewed)


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#11 (13.21 - 13.26): The Seeds of Doom

Sarah Jane with the ruthless Scorby (John Challis)

6 episodes. Approx. 145 minutes. Written by: Robert Banks Stewart. Directed by: Douglas Camfield. Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.

THE PLOT

When an alien pod is discovered deep in the ice in Antarctica, the Doctor is called in to consult. As soon as he sees pictures of the pod, he insists on getting to Antarctica as fast as possible - and once there, his worst fears are realized. The alien pod is a Krynoid, which the Doctor describes as a "galactic weed" that feeds on animal matter. "On most planets, the animals eat the vegetation. On planets where the Krynoid gets established, the vegetation eats the animals."

The Doctor isn't the only one interested in the pod, however. Driven by greed and resentment, Richard Dunbar (Kenneth Gilbert), the official who briefed the Doctor on the find, has sold the same information to billionaire plant enthusiast Harrison Chase (Tony Beckley). Chase has an enormous collection of plants, and sees this unique alien plant life as the ultimate prize. He sends his "most efficient man," the ruthless Scorby (John Challis), to recover the pod - and to kill anyone who might act as a witness!

Scorby is all too successful, leaving the Doctor and Sarah Jane to follow him back to London in a desperate race to destroy the pod before it germinates. If it does, as the Doctor observes, "it will be the end of everything!"

CHARACTERS

The Doctor: "Nothing's hopeless - All we have to do is think!" If you were to distill Doctor Who's core ethos into one statement, that might well be it. Tom Baker's Doctor is about as grim as he's ever been, fully focused on the Krynoid. Only during the various points at which he's captured by Scorby and/or Chase does his accustomed flippancy emerge, as a response to being at gunpoint. Even then, it is more subdued than is normally seen from this Doctor. He may indulge in a moment's clowning, introducing Chase to his own employees - but in his next breath, he demands the return of the pod. Once the Krynoid emerges in full, his fury is unmistakable as he practically spits orders at Chase's surviving guards. Tom Baker is outstanding throughout, utterly magnetic as he delivers one of the very best performances of his seven-year run.

Sarah Jane Smith: Continues to show why she's considered the greatest of all companions. Her trust in the Doctor is absolute, and she uses her own natural rapport with others to act as a bridge between them and him. At the Antarctica base, the Doctor pronounces that the only hope for an infected researcher is to amputate his arm, which is the source of the infection. Moberley (Michael McStay), the base zoologist, balks. That's when Sarah Jane steps in to argue the plan far more persuasively than the remote, aloof Doctor does, pointing out that there is no other solution available and that Moberley is the only person present qualified to perform the operation. It takes all of two minutes for her to persuade the base crew, because she appeals to them on a human level - something the Doctor, this incarnation in particular, simply isn't able to do.

THOUGHTS

The Seeds of Doom was the final Doctor Who serial directed by Douglas Camfield, who previously helmed such stories as The Daleks' Master Plan, The Invasion, and (at least the location work for) Inferno. Camfield's signature precision gives this story a considerable boost. He does the opposite of Christopher Barry's tactic in The Brain of Morbius. Where that story embraced its own theatricality, this story does everything possible to make us feel as if the setting is real. The Antarctica scenes see a constant snowfall overlaid, and there's also a constant wind sound that the characters have to shout over in order to be heard. The base camp interiors are also well-done, cramped and confined, with corridors laid out in a way that matches the well-shot models. Given the limitations, it's remarkable how well-done all of this is.

Episode Three transplants the story, with the plant itself, to a new setting. In effect, it becomes a second Episode One, with an extended sequence introducing both Doctor and viewers to the general layout of the Chase estate. This sets the general geography of the main house, the grounds, and the cottage in a way that clarifies the action of the remaining episodes. When people are trying to escape through the grounds in Episodes Five and Six, we comprehend where they are and what they have to get through - meaning that we aren't just watching random snippets of action, but that we know how that action relates to the larger whole.

Speaking of action, I don't think any other "Classic Who" serial comes as close as this one to turning the Doctor into a traditional action hero. He's very physical in this story: punching out henchmen and threatening Scorby and Chase with a gun at one point. There's even a moment that sees him leaping through a skylight to rescue Sarah Jane, descending on the villains through a rain of broken glass. This might pose a danger to the Doctor's uniqueness, but at every turn the situation is sold as being desperate enough that we believe it. It helps that Tom Baker's determination in these action sequences heightens the tension, whereas Jon Pertwee's showiness in similar scenes during his era tended to more often deflate it.

This is the second script of the season by Robert Banks Stewart, whose Terror of the Zygons launched the season. I wasn't overly impressed by that story, finding it entertaining but a bit thin.  The Seeds of Doom is a much better script.  Its structure is very precise, effectively changing its tone and general situation every two episodes. The two episodes in Antarctica act as a prologue; the next two establish Chase's estate and concentrate on Chase as the villain, with the Doctor attempting to stop him before his actions allow the Krynoid to be fully unleashed; the final two episodes shift focus to the Krynoid, with Chase a lesser concern. This structure works admirably, resulting in a six-parter whose pace never lags.

Characterizations are strong, with very good acting and memorable moments for all the principles. Tony Beckley is particularly good as Chase, who seems every bit as alien as the Doctor despite being fully human. With his elaborate and isolated estate, his armed henchmen, and his penchant for giving guided tours to people he plans to kill (elaborately, of course, by turning them into maulch), he could easily double as James Bond villain. John Challis' Scorby, meanwhile, may be the greatest of all Who henchmen. He is venal and violent without being stupid. His theft of the pod from Antarctica is planned with precision, ruthless but meticulous. As he observes, he's a survivor... one who ultimately falls victim to his own fierce sense of self-preservation.

Though excellent overall, a few minor points keep The Seeds of Doom just shy of the "10" mark for me. I confess to absolutely hating the character of Amelia Ducat (Sylvia Coleridge). Her eccentricities are so forced and over-the-top that I found myself gritting my teeth through her every appearance.  There's also the bizarre scene in which the Krynoid speaks. Having the monster plant talk shatters the sense of "otherness" that has kept it creepy even when unveiled in its mediocre CSO glory. Far better if it had never uttered a word.

These are minor nit-picks.  They add up just enough to keep this story from achieving full marks, but not enough to keep it from being an outstanding story.  As a close to Tom Baker's second season as the Doctor, I don't think much better could have been asked.

Overall Rating: 9/10.

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#10 (13.17 - 13.20): The Brain of Morbius.

Solon (Philip Madoc) attempts to revive the evil Morbius!

4 episodes. Approx. 99 minutes. Written by: Robin Bland (pseudonym), Terrance Dicks (uncredited), Robert Holmes (uncredited). Directed by: Christopher Barry. Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.


THE PLOT

The TARDIS is diverted to Karn, a planet that has been reduced to little more than a wasteland, a graveyard for starships pulled to their deaths by the Sisterhood of Karn. An ancient order, long allied with the Time Lords, the Sisterhood guards its "sacred flame" within the mountains of Karn.  The flame provides the elixir of life, granting immortality to those who drink it. They guard this resource jealously and, when they recognize the Doctor as a Time Lord, they fear he has come to steal it.

Karn is also home to Solon (Philip Madoc), a skilled surgeon who has made this wasteland his home for the sake of experiments on living tissue. His experiments serve dark ends. Solon is a follower of the Time Lord tyrant Morbius (Michael Spice). After the Time Lords and the Sisterhood united against him, Morbius' body was executed. However, Solon saved the brain, plotting to transplant it into a new body so that Morbius can live again. The only piece he needs to complete his work is the head - and he believes the Doctor's will be a perfect fit! 


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Has become fed up with the Time Lords using him as their errand boy. When he realizes that he's been diverted to Karn through their intervention, his immediate inclination is to do nothing. Once he senses Morbius' mind, however, all hesitation vanishes. He becomes focused on stopping Solon from reviving the evil Time Lord, and is not above physical intimidation. As in Genesis of the Daleks and Pyramids of Mars, the Doctor's grim tone suits Tom Baker's strengths, bringing an extra dimension out in his performance - which still leaves plenty of room for clowning, particularly when taken captive by the Sisterhood, whose rituals he is pitiless in mocking.

Sarah Jane Smith: Notices that something's "off" about Solon instantly. While the Doctor drinks Solon's wine, she surreptitiously pours it out, feigning unconsciousness when the Doctor succumbs to the drug. She rescues the Doctor from the Sisterhood in Part Two when they prepare to sacrifice him to the flame. Even after she is blinded, when she hears a voice calling out in panic in Solon's lab, she follows it to try to help... Not realizing that the voice she hears is Morbius', just knowing that someone is in distress and wanting to help if she can.


THOUGHTS

As is quite well-known within Who fandom, The Brain of Morbius began life as a Terrance Dicks script, one which was given a Page One rewrite by Robert Holmes. An annoyed Dicks demanded his name be removed from the final product, and the "Robin Bland" pseudonym was born.

That this is, to all practical purposes, a Robert Holmes script shows, most vividly in the dialogue. With all due respect to Terrance Dicks, his words just don't have the richness, the poetry that Holmes can bring. Holmes has the ability to use language as a paintbrush, investing life into stock characters and resonance into standard scenes, as when Morbius bemoans his state to Solon:  

[I]"I can see nothing, feel nothing.  You have locked me into hell for eternity.  If this is all there is, I would rather die now... Even a sponge has more life than i.  Can you understand a thousandth of my agony?  I, Morbius, who once led the High Council of the Time  Lords, reduced to this - to the condition where I envy a vegetable!"[/I]

Holmes also gives every character or character group their own agenda. These aren't just servants of the plot.  Everyone in this story wants something and acts to get it.  Solon is a fervent devotee of Morbius, and of course he wants his lord restored to glory... but he also wants glory for himself. As Morbius observes, he is not content to be a servant; he wants to be acknowledged as Morbius' creator. The Sisterhood fears the Time Lords, believing that they have sent the Doctor to steal their "elixir of life," and everything they do within the story is to protect their elixir and their "sacred flame." Even Condo has his own personal goal, to recover his arm, something which makes him simultaneously a servant to Solon and a threat to him.

Alliances are formed and switched throughout the story. Solon attempts to save the Doctor from the Sisterhood in Episode Two, then later sends him into a trap.  In both cases, he's serving his ends: If the Sisters sacrifice the Doctor, his head will not be usable; but both Solon and Sisters want the Doctor nullified as a threat.  The Doctor helps the Sisters in Episode Three, hoping to gain them as an ally.  He even teams up with Solon team in Episode Four, to track down the Morbius-creature. Again, both men's aims are served: The Doctor wants to stop a rampaging monster, Solon wants to subdue Morbius long enough to finish his work.  This makes both Sisterhood and Solon temporary allies and enemies at multiple points in the story, keeping the pace alive and allowing the narrative to turn in some interesting directions.


PLOT HOLES: OR, WHY DID THEY DO THAT?

Not that Dicks isn't right that the redraft introduced some plot-holes. Even on my very first viewing of the story, I wondered why Solon was so keen to stick the Doctor's head on his mish-mash of mobile body parts. Surely it would be more efficient and have a more desirable end result to simply transplant Morbius' brain into the Doctor's head, on the Doctor's own body?  A throwaway line to explain why the head has to go on the mongrel body, or a reference to the body being an experiment like the fishbowl that Solon doesn't really intend to use, would adequately cover this.

Episode Four then sees the Doctor becoming deeply stupid. Having intimidated Solon into agreeing to dismantle Morbius, he then... leaves Solon alone with Morbius, only to act surprised when his enemy double-crosses him.  "I should never have left him alone," the Doctor grits when he realizes.  No, he shouldn't have - and he's frankly far too smart to have done so, save that the plot demanded it.

Neither of these bumps stop this from being a very good serial. Minor plot issues and convenient character stupidity to advance the plot have been part and parcel of Doctor Who since 1963, and will likely continue to be a part of the series for as long as it survives. It's enough to keep me from giving this the "9" I had been leaning toward - but this is still wonderfully entertaining viewing.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Story: The Android Invasion
Next Story: The Seeds of Doom 



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#9 (13.13 - 13.16): The Android Invasion.

The Doctor is captured by the evil Kraals!

4 episodes. Approx. 96 minutes. Written by: Terry Nation. Directed by: Barry Letts. Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.


THE PLOT

The Doctor and Sarah Jane materialize near Devesham, a rural English village located not far from a Space Defence Station. They have only just arrived when they spot a UNIT soldier, who runs erratically over a cliff to his death. When the Doctor searches the man's body, he discovers that his money is all newly minted - which is very improbable.

Mysterious events continue to build up. Strange men in spacesuits fire on them without even a word exchanged. When they reach the village, they find it completely deserted - with the money in the local pub all newly minted, just as the soldier's was. When the people finally arrive, they are dropped off in trucks and shuffle into the pub where they sit or stand like zombies - until the clock strikes twelve, at which point they suddenly behave normally.

The Doctor goes to the Space Defence Station, in hopes of finding UNIT allies to fill him in on the situation. He finds familiar faces: Harry Sullivan, Warrant Officer Benton. But these friends turn on him violently. These are not the real Harry and Benton, but android duplicates - and by the time the Doctor reconnects with Sarah Jane, she has been replaced as well...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Though The Android Invasion isn't one of his better stories, Tom Baker is on excellent form. The scene at the end of Part Two, in which he confronts the android Sarah Jane, is a particular highlight. He has a calm, even casual tone as he reveals what he's figured out so far (which is a lot), but there's a dangerous undercurrent as he asks what has happened to the real Sarah. He switches between casual irreverence and deadly seriousness regularly throughout the story, sometimes within the same line delivery, and makes a fairly weak script very watchable in large part through sheer charisma.

Sarah Jane Smith: You know you're in a Terry Nation script when capable Sarah Jane Smith can't help herself from falling over nothing in each of the first two episodes - the second time, even spraining her ankle! To Nation, all companions are Susan Forman. That said, I love the easy screen rapport that had developed by this point between Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. The opening bit, as they leave the TARDIS and walk into the woods, is wonderful as the Doctor's aside about "watch the bramble" is carried on to a full, natural-sounding conversation as they walk away. There are a lot of little bits like that between these two, who just "fit" beautifully together on camera.

Harry Sullivan/Warrant Officer Benton: This serial is the final series appearance of both characters. Not that there's much for either of them to do - We don't even see the real Harry and Benton until the final episode, and the effectiveness of having android doubles of them is undercut by Terror of the Zygons having done something similar just a few stories earlier. They remain welcome presences, though, even if one could have wished for stronger roles for them.


THOUGHTS

With its rural village and UNIT involvement, The Android Invasion feels very much like a leftover from the Pertwee era. One expects the Brigadier to pop up and start shooting at things and for the Doctor to hop into Bessie at any moment. It also is another Season 13 story whose plot involves doppelgangers of familiar faces, which can create a sense of deja vu so soon after Terror of the Zygons.

These factors probably have a lot to do with just how poorly-regarded this serial is. To be sure, this isn't one of the series' better stories. The Kraals are weak villains with a plan so convoluted as to practically be nonsensical.  An ending twist involving the weak-willed Crayford (Milton Johns)'s eyepatch is so ludicrous in its stupidity it about crosses the Event Horizon of idiocy. That's not even mentioning the presence of Colonel Faraday (Patrick Newell), a third-rate Brigadier knockoff who might as well be clad in a sandwich board reading, "Nicholas Courtney wasn't available, so you got me."

For all its faults, though, I find this a passably entertaining runaround. It moves along at a decent pace, and Barry Letts' direction is sturdy. The opening episode is by far the best of the story's four installments. The Village of the Damned trappings are genuinely spooky, and the script artfully piles one mystery on top of another: the strange spacesuited figures, the radiation, the mint condition money, the odd behavior of the locals. It's all effectively presented, and builds quite nicely... albeit, to a very weak cliffhanger.

The Android Invasion is an enjoyable time-filler, and it's given a tremendous boost by the performances of Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. But its plot feels half-formed, and its most effective ingredient - evil doubles of our regulars - was already done earlier in the same season. All of which leaves this a passable runaround, but ill-placed and outclassed by most of the stories surrounding it.

Overall Rating: 5/10.

Previous Story: Pyramids of Mars
Next Story: The Brain of Morbius


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#8 (13.9 - 13.12): Pyramids of Mars.

Possessed by Sutekh.

4 episodes. Approx. 98 minutes. Written by: "Stephen Harris," Lewis Griefer (uncredited), Robert Holmes (uncredited). Directed by: Paddy Russell. Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.


THE PLOT

The TARDIS is thrown off course again. It materializes in the right place, but the wrong time, arriving in the priory that once stood on the site of UNIT headquarters. The year is 1911, and the priory is home to Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard), a professor of Egyptology. Marcus discovered an ancient tomb linked to the prison of Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf), the last of the Osirans. When the archaeologist opens the site, Sutekh is able to reach out with his mind to possess him, giving him a chance to free himself from his prison and resume his reign of destruction.

After he witnesses the possessed Marcus, the Doctor quickly realizes the nature of this enemy. Sutekh's power is greater than any adversary he's ever faced. He has help from Marcus's brother, Laurence (Michael Sheard) - but Laurence's concern for his brother makes him unreliable. As the Doctor's every plan fails, he is forced into a direct confrontation with Sutekh. It's a battle he cannot hope to survive...


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: This is a rare story in which we see him genuinely scared. He knows that he is no match for Sutekh, and his fear manifests in extreme crankiness. He snaps left and right at Sarah Jane, and even more at Laurence. When Laurence's hopeless desire to save his brother disrupts one improvised plan, the Doctor reacts with cold fury. Sarah complains about his coldness, stating that he barely seems... "Human?" he says, finishing her sentence pointedly. The desperation lends urgency to Tom Baker's performance, which vies with Genesis for his best work up to this point.

Sarah Jane Smith: The "alternate 1980" scene in Episode Two is a justly famous one. Safely in the TARDIS, the ever-pragmatic Sarah Jane wonders why they can't just leave. After all, they've seen the future, and they know Sutekh doesn't destroy the world. The Doctor refutes her argument in the most direct way possible - by taking her home. But since they didn't stay to stop Sutekh, this alternate 1980 is a wasteland. Sarah Jane looks out onto it, and you can read the emotion on her face. She retreats into denial, accusing the Doctor of trickery, before resigning herself to reality: "We have to go back." It's a terrific scene - not least because Elisabeth Sladen sells it superbly, making what might have been merely an interesting detour into something that feels emotionally real.


A SHORT DIGRESSION...

There's no such thing as an "unbiased review." Reviews are, by nature, opinion pieces. Still, my bias for Pyramids of Mars is greater than any other single piece, because this was the serial that sucked me back into Doctor Who, 15 years after I had viewed it religiously as a child.

I had watched Who avidly during its weekly PBS showings during the 1980's. I saw every story from Robot through to Trial of a Timelord, and I enjoyed most of them. But after Trial, my local PBS station looped back to the First Doctor. The Hartnell era is now my favorite, but my young self had no interest in watching a creaky old black & white show. So I drifted away and more or less forgot about the series.

In the late 1990's, I discovered a few old Who stories in the collection of my local video store: Pyramids of Mars, The Brain of Morbius, and The Robots of Death. Pyramids was the most interesting-looking of the three, so I brought it home to indulge some nostalgia, figuring that I'd laugh at the cheapness of the program and at myself for ever having enjoyed it.

I did exactly that... for about the first five minutes (it should be noted that the opening Egyptian tomb scene is appallingly tatty). But once that opening scene was done, I found myself drawn in by excellent performances and a well-scripted story. After that, I quickly rented the other two tapes, and then I began actively seeking out more. Pyramids got me hooked. Though I've taken a few breaks from Doctor Who since, and I will again in the future, it's a show that I know I'll always come back to.


THOUGHTS

This is one of those rare cases in which all the elements of a production come together just right. This is almost a surprise, given its chaotic origins. Writer Lewis Griefer was commissioned delivered a 4-parter involving the Brigadier and UNIT, which was not to the liking of producer Philip Hinchcliffe or script editor Robert Holmes. Holmes proceeded to rewrite it from scratch, with the final product credited to the pseudonymous Stephen Harris.

The result is a superior piece of craftsmanship, one of Robert Holmes' best scripts even if it doesn't bear his name. At the start, it seems as if it's going to be standard fare. The Doctor is pretty much his usual self through Episode One, casually clowning about as when he does an exaggerated "crouch walk" under the priory windows. Then he sees the possessed Marcus and hears the name "Sutekh," at which point all facetiousness vanishes. From that point to the end, he is focused, snappish, and grim.

The story's effectiveness heavily depends on us believing that Sutekh truly is such a threat, even though he doesn't directly do much. The biggest factor in making him so formidable is the Doctor's own reaction. He doesn't simply proclaim Sutekh to be powerful - He reacts viscerally, growing ever more agitated as his plans fail. The serial also shows the fraction of Sutekh's power that is wielded by the possessed Marcus Scarman (Bernard Archard), who isolates the area in an invisible dome and dispatches people with a single touch.

Critically, the story sees the Doctor failing repeatedly. One gambit is scuttled by a misguided Laurence. Another is stopped because of Sutekh's mental control. Finally, the Doctor is brought face-to-face with the Osiran... and he is rendered powerless, with the dark god sneering that he is now "the plaything of Sutekh" before explaining the nature of good and evil from his warped perspective:

"Your evil is my good. I am Sutekh the destroyer. Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness I find that good!"


OVERALL

Pyramids of Mars is one of the series' best stories. Veteran director Paddy Russell helms it with an eye toward the visual, from the Doctor's introductory shot which sets a tone from the off, to the grounds of the priory, to the bleakness of the alternate future in which the villain isn't stopped. It's flat-out excellent, and I think it's a nearly ideal pick for viewers new to the Classic Series.


Rating: 10/10.

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#7 (13.5 - 13.8): Planet of Evil

The Doctor and Sarah Jane are being watched.

4 episodes.  Approx. 98 minutes. Written by: Louis Marks. Directed by: David Maloney. Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.


THE PLOT

Zeta Minor is a planet at the edge of the known universe. It is also the site of a Morestran science expedition led by Professor Sorenson (Frederick Jaeger), which has been picked off one by one by a bizarre energy creature. The Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive in response to a distress call, but they are far too late to save any of the scientists. Only Sorenson remains, a half-mad shell of a man who clings to his samples like a lifeline, insisting that they represent a discovery that will save his civilization.

When a Morestran military ship reaches the planet to check up on the expedition, the young captain (Prentis Hancock) instantly blames the deaths on the Doctor and Sarah Jane. But the Doctor realizes that they are at a point of collision between two universes: the universe of matter and that of anti-matter. Sorenson's samples are pure anti-matter. If they leave the planet, then it could spell the end of everything!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: Tom Baker's performance is easily this serial's strongest asset. I love his disgust at the Morestrans, with him regarding them basically as a nuisance. He admits to Sarah that it's tempting to simply leave them to their fates, and there's a sense that he might actually do so if the consequences wouldn't be so dire. He's downright ruthless when confronting Sorenson in the final part, telling him that "we purchase the right to experiment at the cost of total responsibility," with a stern expression and unforgiving body language. It's great character stuff overall, with a darker tilt than the early Doctors traditionally have been allowed to show.

Sarah Jane Smith: Her sensitivity to the anti-matter creature provides a few creepy moments early on. But it never gets any sort of payoff, seeming mainly like a residue of an earlier draft. Sarah is refreshingly assertive in the story's second half, particularly when she pushes Vishinsky to take charge. By and large, though, this is not a strong story for her. "Generic companion" stuff, though Sladen does it well.


THOUGHTS

Planet of Evil is a story of two halves and, unfortunately, of two settings. The first two episodes are quite promising. David Maloney's tightly controlled direction makes the most of designer Roger Murray-Leach's studio jungle, creating an effectively eerie atmosphere.

Too bad, then, that the last two episodes switch settings, with most of the back half of the tale confined to a bland spaceship set. A shift in focus accompanies the change of setting, and the tension of the first two parts gradually fades away.

I've read that this script went through several rewrites. Unfortunately, it shows. Watching this story, I often feel as if the first two episodes of one serial somehow got attached to the last two of an entirely different (weaker) serial. Save for the characters and people repeating "anti-matter" every few minutes, the two halves play out like completely separate pieces.

Sorenson's Jekyll/Hyde transformations were apparently the reason for commissioning this in the first place. But the whole Jekyll/Hyde bit doesn't even start until Episode Three, with no clues in the first half that the scientist is affected by anything other than his own ambition (and possibly a bit of PTSD). The character of the Morestran Captain (a wooden Prentis Hancock) switches midway through from being ruthless to merely being an imbecile. Vishinsky goes from being stern to sympathetic at about the same point.

Oh, and the Doctor's statement that the whole universe is in danger? It's somewhat contradicted by the Morestrans' dilemma. The planet will not allow them to leave with antimatter aboard, something that we are shown repeatedly throughout. That means there really is no danger to anyone other than the Morestrans. If the Doctor truly is inclined to leave his unpleasant hosts to their fates, then there's really nothing stopping him.


OVERALL:

Tom Baker is extremely good in this story, enough so that it just about skates by on his performance. The jungle planet is one of the Classic series' better attempts at an alien world, and David Maloney's direction is as strong as I've come to expect.

Planet of Evil is entirely watchable. But after the gripping first two parts, the second half sinks under the weight of fairly leaden performances of two-dimensional characters, alongside a shift in focus that jettisons the story's strongest elements in favor of bland sci-fi/horror trappings.


Rating: 5/10.

Previous Story: Terror of the Zygons
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#6 (13.1 - 13.4): Terror of the Zygons

Harry is taken prisoner by the Zygons!

4 episodes. Written by: Robert Banks Stewart. Directed by: Douglas Camfield.  Produced by: Philip Hinchcliffe.


THE PLOT

The Brigadier's call for help brings the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry to Scotland, where several oil rigs have been destroyed by an unknown force. An investigation of the wreckage reveals that the metal bears the unmistakable impression of teeth - with a single tooth being roughly half the size of a man!

The attacks are the work of the Zygons, aliens who crash landed on Earth centuries ago. They have kept a low profile, content to await rescue. The situation has changed, however. Their planet has been destroyed, leaving them with no home to return to. Broton, the Zygon leader, has decided to use their superior technology to make Earth into their new home world... with crushing the human race the first step in their plan of conquest!


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: After my previous viewing, I wrote that Tom Baker's Doctor seemed unengaged in this story. I can only conclude that I was in the wrong mood when I watched it - This time around, I thought he was terrific. He carps at the Brigadier for calling him back over oil rigs, but he gives the investigation his full attention once the Brig points out that lives have been lost. He is singularly unimpressed with the Zygons, treating their ability to change their form as if it was a mere carnival trick. Baker continues to play against the lines, clowning during serious moments - which makes it all the more effective when he actually does take a situation seriously, as when he and Sarah are locked in a pressure chamber.

Sarah Jane Smith: This is a particularly good story for her. When the Brigadier briefs the group on the situation, she seizes on her experience as a journalist and begins interviewing the locals, finding out what they know about strange occurrences. Later, a Zygon attempts to impersonate Harry to steal a device that the Doctor discovered. Sarah has no idea about their shape-changing abilities - but she can sense that he's behaving oddly, and she trusts her instincts enough to stop him from getting away with the device. Elisabeth Sladen's rapport with both Tom Baker and Ian Marter elevates several scenes in the first and final episodes, as well, with both actors' performances improving in their scenes with her.

Harry Sullivan: He gets the smallest slice of the action he has had since Robot. He's put out of action early, injured and then made a prisoner of the Zygons for the bulk of the story. This may well have been a conscious decision. Harry got a lot of focus in Season 12. Minimizing his involvement allows this story to emphasize the bond between the Doctor and Sarah before Harry's departure. He still gets a few good moments, particularly in Part Three when he saves the Doctor by mashing random switches in the Zygon control room.  Ian Marter also is very good as the Zygon Harry in Episode Two, playing him as cold and brusque in his interactions with Sarah, then becoming downright vicious when he attacks her.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: This would be his last appearance until Season 20. It was probably time for him and UNIT to be given a rest, truthfully, as they had fallen far from the crisp, military competence exhibited in Season Seven. Here, he's perplexed at such a basic and obvious investigative technique as filling a cavity with a plaster of Paris to gain an impression, something the Season Seven Brig would have ordered without needing the Doctor to do it for him.

Nicholas Courtney retains a stiff dignity, and the character gets some decent scenes in the back half of the serial. He executes a well-planned mortar attack on Loch Ness, where the Zygons are hiding, an attack which results in the alien ship surfacing. I also think it's appropriate that, in his final regular story, he gets to meet and deal with an alien menace that is not resistant to bullets.


THOUGHTS

When I reviewed Terror of the Zygons more than a decade ago, I stated that it's a fan favorite but not a favorite of mine. I'd agree with my past self that it's not a "great" story. It is a good one, however, one that gives strong roles to the regulars and to the returning UNIT characters while offering some fine set pieces.

Sarah's encounter with the duplicate Harry is a genuinely memorable moment, made all the better because Ian Marter succeeds in making this Harry different. Gone is the easy affability, with him being cold and even vicious. The Part Two cliffhanger sees the Doctor pursued by the Scarasen (the Loch Ness Monster, under Zygon control), an encounter he only survives because of Harry's fast action on the Zygon ship. The Zygons themselves are particularly well realized. They may be men in rubber suits, but the suits look reasonably convincing and even organic. It helps that we mosty see them on their ship, where the tinted lighting disguises any limitations.

There are some notes from the previous version of my review that I'll stand behind. I stated then that Terror of the Zygons feels a bit like a leftover Pertwee story: The Brigadier and UNIT investigate strange occurrences in a rural area; there's an energy conference that we're assured is important but whose specifics are vague; the Doctor climbs (briefly) on a soapbox to talk about fossil fuels; and locals are portrayed as simple and highly superstitious. Replace Elisabeth Sladen with Katy Manning, and this would fit snugly in the middle of Seasons Nine or Ten.

But I don't think that's a bad thing in any way. Sometimes it's fun to see a new TARDIS team in a familiar story setup. This serial offers the same pleasure as Robot: A chance to see how differently a Third Doctor-type story plays when it stars the Fourth Doctor. As an added benefit, this is a much better story than Robot. 

The 4th Doctor/Sarah/Harry team remains one of my favorites. The first shot of the trio, walking merrily together through the Scottish countryside, is charming: The Doctor decked out in a Tam o'Shanter, his scarf a Tartan palette that loops lazily from him to Harry, while Sarah walks comfortably and happily between them. There's a genuine sense of chemistry and affection, the sort of thing that can't necessarily be planned or made to happen. This, more than anything, makes me regret that Harry was written out so soon. If I were to cite one Philip Hinchcliffe decision that I strongly disagree with, it would be that one - I could have happily watched this trio stay together for another full season, at least.


OVERALL:

My opinion of Terror of the Zygons has risen considerably with this viewing. I still wouldn't class it as a favorite story, but I would rate it as comfortably above the series' average. It benefits from location work, from the sure hand of director Douglas Camfield, and from the Zygons themselves - one of the best-realized humanoid aliens of the Classic series. It's easy to see why the Zygon design was not much changed when the aliens reappeared in the New Series decades later. 


Rating: 8/10.

Previous Story: Revenge of the Cybermen
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