The twentieth season of Doctor Who was meant to celebrate by having something from the Doctor’s past in every story in the season. In Arc of Infinity we had Omega who had previously appeared in ‘The Three Doctors’ (1972/73) and this theme continued with the Mara. Snakedance is the sequel to the 1982 adventure ‘Kinda’ which having recently rewatched it as part of my ongoing Doctor Who Marathon, I was looking forward to this story. Yet again written by Christopher Bailey, it’s noticeable for the appearance of Martin Clunes who would later appear in such shows as ‘Men Behaving Badly’ (1992-98) and ‘Doc Martin’ (2004 – Present). Bailey wrote this story knowing the limiations of a BBC budget and more importantly, the Doctor for whom he was writing for. There were certainly flaws in ‘Kinda’ but the question would remain as to whether the production team had learnt and would be able to handle what Bailey had written for them this time.
This story is set 500 years after the events of ‘Kinda’ which would explain why there is an almost Roman feel to the way that some of the sets and people are dressed. The story was made first in the production order and as a result it benefits from having a high number of extras for the market scenes and some very good set designs. The story also sees Nyssa get her first new costume since ‘Castrovalva’ (1982) however it’s not a particularly nice costume as it just screams 80’s which for a show that isnt suppose to be set in a particular time is a problem. Another thing that troubles this production just as it did in ‘Kinda’ were the snakes. The main problem in ‘Kinda’ was the giant Mara but in ‘Snakedance’ it was pretty much every snake in the who show. Only the Punch and Judy style snake and the one the puppeteer appears with in the market were convincing.
Sarah Sutton is starting to get some good stories for which she can show her talents. After being lumbered in the TARDIS for several stories in season 19, she finally gets to become involved in the story and there was one scene in particular where Nyssa is talking to the Doctor in the TARDIS that I realised why I thought that Nyssa is one of the best companions and the Nyssa/Fifth Doctor combination is one of the best in the classic era. I actually quite like Peter Davison’s performance in this story as it is far more stronger than in ‘Kinda’. He has to work to try and get people on his side and even then he isnt entirely successful.
The stand out performances from the guest cast come from Colette O’Neil and Martin Clunes. Ok so some of the costumes that Clunes has to wear are a bit silly and will forever haunt his career, but as the lazy and power hungry prince he plays the part very well. It seems inevitable that he would end up where he does. O’Neil does a similary impressive job as his mother Tanha. She commands attention everytime she is on screen I find that the scene picks up. She plays the role as someone who is concerned with power and dresses so. Some of her costumes look very impressive and help to create the auroa of some who is quite respectable but has to deal with a troublesome son.
Snakedance benefits from having just the two companions. After Adric demise in ‘Earthshock’ (1982), just having two companions meant that Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding could shine and have far more of the action. This story allows Janet Fielding to yet again play Tegan differently to how she would normally be allowed to play the role. It’s quite similar to her performance in ‘Kinda’ but she is better in this one.
‘Snakedance’ isnt as good as ‘Kinda’ but there are things to like in this story. I think that that this story doesn’t quite have the same impact as ‘Kinda’ and I have only just realised that I prefer the primiative setting of Derva-Loka as opposed to the crowded setting of Manussa. That said, ‘Snakedance’ is one to watch as it has some interesting things going for it.
This story is set 500 years after the events of ‘Kinda’ which would explain why there is an almost Roman feel to the way that some of the sets and people are dressed. The story was made first in the production order and as a result it benefits from having a high number of extras for the market scenes and some very good set designs. The story also sees Nyssa get her first new costume since ‘Castrovalva’ (1982) however it’s not a particularly nice costume as it just screams 80’s which for a show that isnt suppose to be set in a particular time is a problem. Another thing that troubles this production just as it did in ‘Kinda’ were the snakes. The main problem in ‘Kinda’ was the giant Mara but in ‘Snakedance’ it was pretty much every snake in the who show. Only the Punch and Judy style snake and the one the puppeteer appears with in the market were convincing.
Sarah Sutton is starting to get some good stories for which she can show her talents. After being lumbered in the TARDIS for several stories in season 19, she finally gets to become involved in the story and there was one scene in particular where Nyssa is talking to the Doctor in the TARDIS that I realised why I thought that Nyssa is one of the best companions and the Nyssa/Fifth Doctor combination is one of the best in the classic era. I actually quite like Peter Davison’s performance in this story as it is far more stronger than in ‘Kinda’. He has to work to try and get people on his side and even then he isnt entirely successful.
The stand out performances from the guest cast come from Colette O’Neil and Martin Clunes. Ok so some of the costumes that Clunes has to wear are a bit silly and will forever haunt his career, but as the lazy and power hungry prince he plays the part very well. It seems inevitable that he would end up where he does. O’Neil does a similary impressive job as his mother Tanha. She commands attention everytime she is on screen I find that the scene picks up. She plays the role as someone who is concerned with power and dresses so. Some of her costumes look very impressive and help to create the auroa of some who is quite respectable but has to deal with a troublesome son.
Snakedance benefits from having just the two companions. After Adric demise in ‘Earthshock’ (1982), just having two companions meant that Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding could shine and have far more of the action. This story allows Janet Fielding to yet again play Tegan differently to how she would normally be allowed to play the role. It’s quite similar to her performance in ‘Kinda’ but she is better in this one.
‘Snakedance’ isnt as good as ‘Kinda’ but there are things to like in this story. I think that that this story doesn’t quite have the same impact as ‘Kinda’ and I have only just realised that I prefer the primiative setting of Derva-Loka as opposed to the crowded setting of Manussa. That said, ‘Snakedance’ is one to watch as it has some interesting things going for it.
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