The Invasion of Time is the final story of the 15th season and it’s my second favourite story of the season (after Horror of Fang Rock. It also marks the departure of Louise Jameson as Leela. Leela had been with the show since The Face of Evil in January 1977. This story is the first since The Deadly Assassin in November 1976 to be set on Gallifrey. Six parters have always been a very difficult thing to get right but in recent years they have managed it well. What you do is you have a four part adventure and then there is a twist in plot and the final two episodes are used to help keep the viewers interest. This story is perhaps the most impressive use of this format.
The Sontarans return to Doctor Who after their last appearance in The Sontaran Experiment in February/March 1975. They are invading Gallifrey but they don’t appear until the cliffhanger of episode four and when they do appear they spend the next two episodes chasing the Doctor. This includes one of the most bizarre segments that I can recall in Doctor Who history. The chase takes place in the TARDIS which as we see in the story includes a swimming pool along with an empty one, a workshop (which in normal stories would be attached to the console room), an art gallery and a hospital ward. If ever a new Doctor Who fan wanted to see what was inside the TARDIS then they should watch episodes five and six. It’s all filmed in a proper hospital (abandoned) and as such it has that film quality which is distinguishable from studio recording. The idea of these rooms being in the TARDIS is quite clever and it helps add to the illusion that the Doctor could pretty much live in the TARDIS and never come out (should he choose) but it’s the fact that this whole segment feels slightly out of place and like massive padding because they figured that they had the Sontarans but no real idea what to do with them apart from trying to get the ‘Great Key’.
I don’t really understand quite why the Sontaran’s were bought in except for the fact that someone must have really liked them and figured it had been about four years since they last appeared in Doctor Who. When they are all masked they are ok but then Stor starts talking and it goes downhill. It’s quite interesting to know that there is a Cockney branch on Sontar. It does however slightly ruin the effect that the Sontarans are a big threat when they start talking like their extras from Eastenders then it doesn’t have the same effect. Also Stor does look like Bernard Cribbins if he went on a Chocolate binge and put on several stone just on the face.
Louise Jameson’s exit is disappointing. For the last 13 months, the character of Leela had been a savage who had never shown any affection for anyone apart from the Doctor. Even in this story, she doesn’t seem to be interested in anyone. Yet at the end of episode six she decides she is going to stay on Gallifrey with Andred. Now unless there is subtle indication that this is going to happen which I completely missed, I find this departure explanation to be somewhat inadequate. If she had fallen for one of the rebels that were outside the citadel then maybe that would have been a more believable idea but as it stands Louise Jameson’s thirteen month stint on Doctor Who ended with a whimper rather than a bang. I think that during her stint, Louise Jameson has been a better companion than I had previous thought. Having watched her stories in order means that it’s easier to see her development and it has been well done and Louise Jameson has had more good stories than bad. Tom Baker is in his element in the early stages of this story. The Doctor is been secretive not just with Leela but with the viewers and this is something we haven’t seen from this Doctor. He seems to be having the time of his life but then once everyone knows his plans and the Sontarans enter the story then his performance becomes slightly comical and that undermines his early performance.
I said at the beginning of this review that this story is may second favourite story of the season but that’s primarily because the other stories hadn’t quite hit the mark for me and this whilst flawed does contain some good stuff and whilst Louise Jameson’s exit was a wasted opportunity, The Invasion of Time is an enjoyable six part adventure.
The Sontarans return to Doctor Who after their last appearance in The Sontaran Experiment in February/March 1975. They are invading Gallifrey but they don’t appear until the cliffhanger of episode four and when they do appear they spend the next two episodes chasing the Doctor. This includes one of the most bizarre segments that I can recall in Doctor Who history. The chase takes place in the TARDIS which as we see in the story includes a swimming pool along with an empty one, a workshop (which in normal stories would be attached to the console room), an art gallery and a hospital ward. If ever a new Doctor Who fan wanted to see what was inside the TARDIS then they should watch episodes five and six. It’s all filmed in a proper hospital (abandoned) and as such it has that film quality which is distinguishable from studio recording. The idea of these rooms being in the TARDIS is quite clever and it helps add to the illusion that the Doctor could pretty much live in the TARDIS and never come out (should he choose) but it’s the fact that this whole segment feels slightly out of place and like massive padding because they figured that they had the Sontarans but no real idea what to do with them apart from trying to get the ‘Great Key’.
I don’t really understand quite why the Sontaran’s were bought in except for the fact that someone must have really liked them and figured it had been about four years since they last appeared in Doctor Who. When they are all masked they are ok but then Stor starts talking and it goes downhill. It’s quite interesting to know that there is a Cockney branch on Sontar. It does however slightly ruin the effect that the Sontarans are a big threat when they start talking like their extras from Eastenders then it doesn’t have the same effect. Also Stor does look like Bernard Cribbins if he went on a Chocolate binge and put on several stone just on the face.
Louise Jameson’s exit is disappointing. For the last 13 months, the character of Leela had been a savage who had never shown any affection for anyone apart from the Doctor. Even in this story, she doesn’t seem to be interested in anyone. Yet at the end of episode six she decides she is going to stay on Gallifrey with Andred. Now unless there is subtle indication that this is going to happen which I completely missed, I find this departure explanation to be somewhat inadequate. If she had fallen for one of the rebels that were outside the citadel then maybe that would have been a more believable idea but as it stands Louise Jameson’s thirteen month stint on Doctor Who ended with a whimper rather than a bang. I think that during her stint, Louise Jameson has been a better companion than I had previous thought. Having watched her stories in order means that it’s easier to see her development and it has been well done and Louise Jameson has had more good stories than bad. Tom Baker is in his element in the early stages of this story. The Doctor is been secretive not just with Leela but with the viewers and this is something we haven’t seen from this Doctor. He seems to be having the time of his life but then once everyone knows his plans and the Sontarans enter the story then his performance becomes slightly comical and that undermines his early performance.
I said at the beginning of this review that this story is may second favourite story of the season but that’s primarily because the other stories hadn’t quite hit the mark for me and this whilst flawed does contain some good stuff and whilst Louise Jameson’s exit was a wasted opportunity, The Invasion of Time is an enjoyable six part adventure.
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