The Five Companions (2011)

The Queen Speech, Misery on Eastenders, Turkey. These are just a few things that are traditional in the final month of the year. Perhaps the most relevant is that Big Finish say Thankyou to the subscribers by giving them a free full cast release. In previous years we have had Daleks, Krotons and the Doctor returned to The Web Planet. Even last year we had a multi-doctor story. This year is similarly as spectacular. As the title suggests this story features five companions from the Doctor’s past. However there are also Daleks and Sontarans to add as the threat and something for the companions work together.

The companions are Sara Kingdom, Steven Taylor, Ian Chesterton, Polly and Nyssa. They have all found themselves in this strange place along with Daleks and Sontarans. No one can seem to leave and the whole story seems to be aiming for escape. For me that is not really important because its more about the relationship of the companions with each other as well as with the Doctor. This is for me how I would judge the story. Congratulations to Eddie Robson for managing to balance it out perfectly. Each companion and monster were given enough time and dialogue to justify their prescene in this. In fact only the T-Rex doesn’t get enough time. It’s typical isnt it. You wait years for a Sontaran story and then you get two within a year. Ok so this isnt their own story but it good to see how a battle between the Daleks and Sontarans would have ended up looking like. It was far more satisfying than the Daleks/Cybermen battle in the 2006 adventure ‘Army of Ghosts/Doomsday’.

Peter Davison is the Doctor chosen for this story and he plays a secondary role which he does very well. It probably would have been better to have a later Doctor because whilst it was nice to see the Doctor meet up with Ian, Steven, Sara and Polly but it just felt like a normal release when it came to Nyssa. Speaking of Nyssa, Sarah Sutton gets to do all the brainy stuff and when she joins the story she is already working for the Daleks. It was nice to have Peter Purves and William Russell in the same story because as they pointed out in the extras they only did two episodes together and considering they were the first two male companions in the show and were very much involved in the action it wasn’t surprising that they didn’t play their characters as they were in the TV show (Russell is 87 and Purves is 72). They still hold their own and have some of the best stuff. It’s just a shame they didn’t get more TV time together because on this evidence it would have been great. Anneke Wills and Jean Marsh are also very good and their partnership.

The final scene with them all is similar to the final scene in ‘The Four Doctors’. It is loaded with nostalga and it’s a nice moment. It’s not very often that William Russell, Anneke Wills, Jean Marsh and Peter Purves get to feature in a full cast adventure like this so its an important release. I always say that its difficult to really critise free releases but that isnt a problem here because The Five Companions is a lovely release that doesn’t try and over complicate things or make them seem dramatic but just tells a nice straight forward story and does it well.

The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe (2011)

After using A Christmas Carol as a template for a Christmas special, Steven Moffat has used the same trick for this years Christmas Special. This year he has used ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ as the template for his story. The story is set during the Second World War where a family have moved to a country house to escape the bombing. The mother has a secret that she is trying to hide from her kids until after Christmas. The Doctor is trying to cheer them up but there is a problem with the world that the Doctor is planning on taking the kids too.

The first half of this story is very slow and painfully so. The first 10 minutes or so are ok because of the funny stuff with the Doctor is the space suit and putting the helmet on back to front then it’s a slow and prolonged section before we enter this Narnia-like world. When it moves into Narnia then I think it feels a bit more Christmassy than it did before. There were things that were typically Moffat and by that I mean things which are bonkers. Trees that sprout ball balls which before you know whats what turn into these wooden people. The story seems to be taking a rather sad end as the children learn that their father has died however in keeping with the festive time and realising that all the misery and depressing stuff should be kept until Eastenders, we are told that the light coming from the ‘ship’ helped Reg’s plane land and he is in fact alive. I thought that this was a rather nice thing to do and actually one of the more sensible things that Steven Moffat has done since he took over.

I did like the mention of Androzani Major. That did get a little chuckle of me which got an odd look of my mom and dad who were watching it with me. I really liked the tree people which did seem to be borrowed from the Lord of the Rings films but I thought they looked very good and the scene where the male one is stomping up the stairs was very good indeed. Bill Bailey and Arabella Weir were two other big names that were in this story and they were needed to help bring some comedy to the story. Sadly they weren’t in it for very long and I felt that was a shame but by that point the story had picked up.

It was nice not having Amy and Rory to clog up the story. The one thing that was refreshing was that the Doctor was on his own and just had to deal with the Arwell family. I thought that Claire Skinner was very good as Madge Arwell. Surprisingly she got her name on the credits alongside Matt Smith which was the right thing to do. Madge has a lot to deal with in this story and Skinner’s performance makes us believe that she is a strong yet at times frightened person. She is trying to do the best thing by not telling her kids that their dad is dead but deep down knows it’s the wrong thing. I know her best from her appearance in the BBC show ‘Outnumbered’ and at first I did think of her in that but after a while that changed. Alexander Armstrong was a nice piece of casting as the dad. He is best known in Doctor Who circles as the voice of Mr Smith in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’ as he plays Reg Arwell who as we are led to believe has died but despite his relatively brief involvement it’s a very good one. The kids are slightly annoying and are the only things that I would replace.

We couldn’t have an episode of Doctor Who without Amy and Rory and thankfully it was kept to a minimum. I did think it was a bit of a cop out that they already knew that the Doctor was alive as I think it robbed us of a very enjoyable dramatic moment. The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe is an odd story. There are things that are quite good about it but then there are things that don’t quite work. Safe to say that compared to some of the more complicated stories that we have had over the last twelve months its certainly straight forward. It perhaps doesn’t have the same punch that ‘A Christmas Carol’ had twelve months ago but I think that its perfectly fine.

Beyond The Ultimate Adventure (2011)

Way back in 2008, Big Finish did a series of plays that were about the stageplays of certain Doctor Who stories. The first one was ‘The Ultimate Adventure’ and starred Colin Baker alongside Noel Sullivan and Claire Huckle. I had always viewed this story as something outside of the established chronology and the idea of their being a second story is something not expected. Terrance Dicks has returned to Big Finish to write this adventure which might not sight right in the timeline of Doctor Who (for me anyway) but should be listened on its own merits. This story is different from other companion chronicles in that the only characters that we actually hear from are the Doctor and the companions.

The story is set shortly after the events of ‘The Ultimate Adventure’ and is a nice simple tale of the Doctor and co trying to find something. There was a refreshing feel to this as most stories like make things more complicated than they need to be. There was a nice moment where several characters crop up and they are all from Terrance Dicks stories. Firstly I noticed the Rutans who appeared in Dicks’ 1977 adventure ‘Horror of Fang Rock’ and then there was the Raston Robot from ‘The Five Doctors’. The story moved at quite a fast pace that I had to check how long had passed to and that hasnt happened very often. The second half of the story didn’t have that feeling but it was still quite interesting.

Despite not being proper companions, I do find Noel Sullivan and Claire Huckle to be quite good. I do wish that they would come up with a reason why Sullivan wouldn’t have to do his French accent because it is terrible. It did get to me when he was talking because it was that distracting. But aside from his acting the character is quite a good one and works well with Huckle’s character. Huckle’s performance on the other hand was less distracting and was arguably the stronger of the two. Colin Baker is on good form but it for some reason it seems slightly odd when the Doctor appears in a companion chronicle.

The Ultimate Adventure is not the greatest Companion Chronicle but it’s a nice end to the year for the Companion Chronicles and its always nice to have a Terrance Dicks story and I think despite this not being a traditional story it’s surprising how it somehow works. The thing about this story that makes it better than the first story is that this one doesn’t have songs getting in the way of the plot. I do question why this story was placed in this series as opposed to the main range because its pretty much the same cast as ‘The Ultimate Adventure’ and as there aren’t any songs would fit in to any Sixth Doctor story. I think to be wholey critical of this story would be slighty ha-humbug as it’s a sequel to a stageplay and should really be listened to as a bit of fun.

The Happiness Patrol (1988)

The Happiness Patrol does seem like a leftover script from the previous year as it has some silly things in it. This story was cited a year or so ago at the production teams attempts to try and overthrow the Thatcher government. I’m not quite sure as to how true this is or how successful it was but I personally don’t care about all that as I just watch it as a Doctor Who fan and as a fan there are good things about this story and not so good things about this Graeme Curry script. This story shares things with the previous years story ‘Paradise Towers’. The Doctor and Ace arrive on Terra A where people are prevented from feeling unhappy. They are branded killjoys and anyone found guilty are sent to the Kandyman.

Ah, the Kandyman. Possibly the closest that Doctor Who has ever got to being sued for copyright infringement. The Kandyman is exactly the same visually as the Trebor Bassett yet it is claimed that the look is coincidental. Yeah and I am going to be the Pope one day! . The Kandy Man is suppose to be this menacing figure but I don’t think anyone could find this creature scary. Especially as it doesn’t take much to make it immobile. Daleks got mocked for not being able to go upstairs yet at least they could move through lemonade spray on the floor. Just to clarify, the Kandy Man is a rubbish creation.

The Happiness Patrol does has some very good casting. Several of them had previously been in other Doctor Who stories but the biggest name was Sheila Hancock who plays the figure which is compared to Margaret Thatcher. She plays Helen A like a person who is cold and is obsessed with power. She plays the role brilliantly and plays it with the right amount of seriousness and tongue in cheek. Another familiar name was John Nromington who had previously appeared in ‘The Caves of Androzani’ (1984) and whilst his performance in this story as Trevor Sigma isnt on par with his first outing, its still a nice and enjoyable performance. Georgina Hale was another strong performance as Daisy K, Lesley Dunlop (currently in British Soap ‘Emmerdale’) is the likeable goodie that Ace befriends in this as Susan Q. Susan Q is someone who starts off on the bad side and quickly moves onto the good side.

Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred are very good and Aldred has settled down well into the role. With a completely studio bound story its possible that it restricts the actors to McCoy and Aldred don’t let that bother them and in particular McCoy gets a fantastic scene with someone who wants to kill him and he does a fantastic ‘life takes life’ line which McCoy delivers in a way which shows what his Doctor can be like when he is given the right lines and the right stories.

This story aired during a time when the shows number of episodes went from 26 to 13 and as a result some stories were three episodes instead of the usual four and that’s a good thing for this story because it reduces the need for excessive padding which would have made this adventure unbearable. As it is, this adventure has some good things going for it but ultimatley it will be remembered for that stupid Kandy Man and not much else.

The Tomfiles: #14 - Missing Persumed Wiped....Not for Two of Them

Sunday 11 December is an important date for Doctor Who fans as it was confirmed that two episodes of Classic Doctor Who that were presumed wiped had been found. Episode Three of Galaxy 4 and Episode Two of The Underwater Menace have been found which reduces the amount of episodes lost to 106. Being on twitter there seemed to be a tension to find out what the news was, I was initially excited by the news but then thought that it wouldn’t b e anything major. I had hoped it would be the missing episodes of ‘The Daleks Master Plan’ but in reality thought it would be that the Christmas Special of Doctor Who Confidential would air.

However just after 5pm, the news seemed to leak out from some of the people I am following that they had found these two episodes. I must admit that my initial reaction was that of perplexment. I knew it would be missing episodes found but wish it had been for a story that was missing one episodes. It was fun being on twitter after the news had broke because some had felt excited about this news, thinking it was the best news for a long time and an early Christmas present and then some thought it was a little bit of an anti-climax. I think after thinking about it, I am in the middle. Possibly because I had mentally prepared myself and being a pessimist.

The first episode found was episode three of Galaxy 4 which was when they named individual episodes and this one was called ‘Airlock’. It originally aired on the BBC on Saturday 25th September 1965 and was watched by 11.5 million people, it was written by William Emms and directed by Derek Martinus. Before today all four episodes were missing and only the audio recording existed. I think there is a very brief clip that exists which sees the Doctor, Steven and Vicki on the Dravhins ship so its good to see a bit more of this story. The next episode was Episode 2 of The Underwater Menace which was aired on Saturday 21st January 1967. It was watched by 7.5 million people, written by Geoffrey Orme and directed by Julia Smith. Now that this episode has been found only the first and last episode are missing. This is a story that would benefit from being seen in its entirety as opposed to just on audio with 25 minutes.

Been a fan of Doctor Who its one of the biggest bug bears and fans who haven’t seen anything pre-Eccleston will be wondering what the fuss is about but for completists like me its quite significant news. Over the last twenty years we have been treated to dribs and drabs of episodes. The first big release of missing episodes was ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ which was found in Hong Kong of all places. It’s a story that I was first introduced to via cassette tape (remember those days) and when I finally watched it on VHS some time later I was mesmorised. It’s only in later years that I have put it into context and whilst I think it’s a good story it has lost some of its shine since the early 1990’s. The most recent discover was in 2004 when an episode of the ‘The Daleks Master Plan – Day of Armageddon’ was found. It was great to see another episode from this epic as there were only two episodes to watch and ‘Day of Armageddon’ was from early on in the serial. It was an interesting episode and hopefully one day it will be found in its entirety.

I’m not a massive fan of these two stories but will appreciate that they have been found and hope that it wont be another seven years before we get more episodes. Hopefully we will live in a world where not one episode of Doctor Who is missing.

A guy can dream cant he!

Hexagora (2011)

After being impressed with The Elite, I went straight into Hexagora. This was written by Paul Finch who wrote another Lost Story ‘Leviathan’ in 2009 and he also wrote the less than impressive ‘Sentinels of the New Dawn’ but I have to approach this with an open mind. The idea for the story came from Peter Ling who’s previous Doctor Who contribution was ‘The Mind Robber’ (1968) which is a funny (not funny ha ha) story. Like ‘Kiss of Death’, this story sees one of the companions emotional state examined. This time it is Tegan who shows us her caring side when the TARDIS crew end up on the planet Luparis which has an uncanny resemblance to Tudor London. We learn that there are scuttling creatures that are actually the human minds that have been abducted including that of Mike Bretherton.

The sub-plot seems to be between the Doctor and Queen Zafira where for the second time, the Doctor finds himself engaged. However unlike ‘The Aztecs’ (1964), the Doctor has to but the problem was that I found the Tegan/Mike stuff more interesting than what was going on with Queen Zafira. The whole story is a simple alien invasion plot but the problem is that despite everything I just think that it lacked that killer punch that there was in ‘The Elite’. There was a revelation of sorts in this story when we find out what happened to Mike after he was abducted but even that wasn’t really a massive shock for me. In ‘The Elite’ I kind of knew what was coming but when it was revealed I was still enjoying it but that didn’t happen two stories in a row.

I am very impressed with the casting of this story and felt like it should have been reserved for a main range release. Jacqueline Pearce returns to Big Finish after 11 years as the formentioned Queen Zafira. I thought that character was well played by Pearce and quite frankly made the character far more interesting than anybody could have made it. It should be made a law that Toby Hadoke appears in every story because despite his limited involvement in the story (playing a bug cant be the greatest role ever), Hadoke is very entertaining and manages to do a pretty good Australian accent. Richard Mark and Dan Starkey were both strong in different ways as Lord Jezzavar and Lord Zellenger respectively and Sean Brosnan is quite entertaining as Astrorius.

The regular cast are all very good as usual but Janet Fielding is actually the best of the regulars because she has the emotional stuff and she is the one that drives the story at the beginning. Sarah Sutton does her best but she does do the supporting role in this story but its always good to have Sutton in a story. Peter Davison has some good scenes with Queen Zafira. But ultimately he doesn’t get to be a Doctor-like as he was in ‘The Elite’.

Whilst I didn’t dislike this story, I didn’t find it as good as ‘The Elite’. I also thought that it was odd that the insect Mike was the only one that managed to retain its human emotions is a tad bit convenient and ruins the sadness we are suppose to feel about humans being turned into insects. The final scene also feels a tad bit botched. There is a line where Mike says he will have the barby on in ten minutes that I found totally silly because this was the final scene between Mike and Tegan and considering Mike has feelings for Tegan it seems an odd line to make someone say. I think that apart from solving the mystery of Tegan’s friend there wasn’t a lot going on and that is ultimatley why I was disappointed with Hexagora. The characters and setting worked but the writing was slightly underwhelming. Ok but nothing more.

Comeback (2002)

As I write this, the Big Finish sale is on an I bought the entire two series of Sarah Jane Smith. Before Elisabeth Sladen resided in Bannermen Road in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’, she took to the airwaves over nine adventures. I already had this story out of the series for some reason that escapes me but whilst I wait for the new releases for December, I decided to start at the beginning. I wasn’t aware of this at the time but this story was written by former script editor Terrance Dicks and now I come to think of it, there is a certain Dicks factor to it.

Sarah Jane has been embarrassed. She has resorted to fleeing her job and home and at the beginning she is at her Aunt Levinia’s funeral. We next find her working in a bank that becomes the victim of a robbery and before you know whats going on Sarah Jane and her partner in crime Josh find themselves in a little village where they realise that there aren’t any children, that all the residents are elderly and it may be linked to a Ministry of Defence base nearby. The characters that support Sarah Jane are all very well written and acted. Nat is quite entertaining and has a similar sense of fiestyness quite like Sarah Jane which might not such a surprise considering Nat is played by Elisabeth Sladen’s daughter Sadie Miller. I wasn’t aware of this whilst listening to this and actually found the character to be very likeable and one person that Sarah Jane could trust and as a result someone we could trust.

As much as this is called Sarah Jane Smith its not quite the SJ (sorry Sarah) that we remember. There is a sense that this Sarah has been hurt by what has happened to her career but there was still a flame of her dogged determination and obsession with finding out the facts and that is what stops this from becoming a tribute and instead turns into what the title suggests a ‘comeback’. It’s a great journey that she goes on from being down on her luck to having a return to form was one of the nicest things about this story but the actual plot that Dicks has spent a long time working on is also well written and well developed over the course of the story. The plot really starts to take shake when it moves into the village because before then it seems like its just introducing certain things to the listeners.

If I have an issue with this then it is that the swaring becomes a problem. I just don’t think that is really necersary because it offers nothing to the story apart from making it seem like a feeble attempt to make it more grown up and the SJS version of Torchwood but four years before that show appeared on the air. It’s a fun adventure which doesn’t get bogged down in over complicated storylines but just turns up gets the job done and bows to the audience. Terrance Dicks shows the other authors how it should be done.

Dragonfire (1987)

Dragonfire is the final story of Sylvester McCoy’s first season and whilst it hasn’t been a total success. It’s fair to say that Ian Briggs’ first script for Doctor Who ends the series on a positive note. This story is notable for being the final story for Bonnie Langford’s Mel. Who has been screaming her way since ‘Terror of the Vervoids’ (1986). It’s fair to say that the character hasn’t been the best realised and that’s more to do with John Nathan Turner than Bonnie. This story is also the first to feature Sophie Aldred as Ace. The story is quite basic really and nothing special. The Doctor and Mel arrive on a very cold planet where a guy called Kane is looking for the Dragonfire (hence the title). That’s it. The only thing that was quite interesting was the quite grim scene where Kane is melted by the sunlight. It’s quite a gruesome scene and seems quite unlike the new less violent Doctor Who that was required by the BBC.

There are many things that are a bit mad. Firstly the cliffhanger to episode one is silly because it just doesn’t make sense. Why would he suddenly decide to climb over the ledge? Another is the departure of Mel. It seems like with most companion exits that the actual written scene was done at the last minute and with very little care as to how it fits in with the rest of the story. Mel’s decision to stay with Glitz is rather a bizarre one considering they don’t seem to get on during this story. It’s not on par with Leela’s exit in ‘The Invasion of Time’ (1978) but its still not very good.

Watching these stories in order, I am able to appreciate the character of Ace a lot more. She is a breathe of fresh air in a series that has been lacking some form of fiestyness since Tegan left in 1984. The character of Ace talks and acts like a person of the time. It’s clear why Rose was based on her and we get a nice bit of back story about her character. For the first time we have a companion that has a bit of mystery to her. A lot of unanswered questions which will become answered as the show progresses. McCoy gives us his strongest performance as the Doctor. It’s clear that he’s getting a handle on the character and this shows. Apart from the odd decision to climb over the edge. We get a sense of the rage that would become his trademark and it shows how far the character has come since ‘Time and the Rani’. The story sees the return of Tony Selby as Sabalom Glitz who had been seen the year before. I wonder why they chose to bring the character back but I’m glad they did as the character adds the comedy relief that the story should have.

‘Dragonfire’ is a story that is quite important for the Seventh Doctor. It’s a story that plods along quite well and manages to do the job of writing out and a character and introducing a new one which it does quite well. Thankfully the 24th season of Doctor Who is over and one of the weakest seasons in the shows history is over, not with a wimper but more of a sigh.

Paradise Towers (1987)

Paradise Towers is McCoy’s second story and its not a great one. Unfortunatley after the very rocky start in ‘Time and the Rani’, the McCoy era continues to stumble with another studio based drama that has potential to be a good story but is sadly let down. This is the twilight of the Classic era where the BBC had pretty much given up on the show and it was placed opposite Corotnation Street. This series suffers from lack of planning and it is in stories like this that it shows. The story is set in a tower block that is suppose to be tranquil and lovely but in reality is squalid and very grim. Wyatt had written a story that sems to be of its time when council flats and tower blocks weren’t particularly nice places to live.

The story is a good one. There is a place pretending to be one thing and the reality sees the citizens trying to get by and not fall into the hands of the caretakers led by the chief caretaker. There is a nice restricted setting which I am a big fan but sadly its not realised as well in this adventure. We also have the Kangs who are two different coloured groups that don’t seem to be able to do anything and then we have the Rezzies. The Rezzies are perhaps the best thing about this story. Tilda and Tabby come across as perhaps a little over the top and certainly compared to other people in the story but when you realise what their eating habits are like they become slightly more sinister. Despite this, Tabby’s death in episode three is rather funny whereas Tilda’s is slightly more effective and that is down to Brenda Bruce.

Pex is a character was designed to look like Rambo but looks more like Rodney from Only Fools and Horses. I think that he must have been thought of as a Rambo type character but due to Howard Cooke’s (Pex) physique it just looks like someone running around trying to sound macho. When he gets to play the hero in episode four he still doesn’t quite manage to make it work which is a shame.

I don’t know why they persist on using giants robots because if they had seen ‘Colony in Space’ they would know that having large robots are usually ridiculous. When it sticks that claw out from it’s centre it just looks rude and a bit silly. Then there is a strange creature we see in episode two which has two neon tube twisted to look like eyes. I know that the budget must have been non existent but surely they could have done better than this.

My opinion of Mel hasn’t changed compared to others. I still think that the way she talks to other characters is particularly annoying. I cant believe that she doesn’t sense anything’s wrong with Tilda and Tabby, almost makes me wish that they had eaten her. Her constant screaming was one of the reasons why I disliked the character on TV. Yet when you hear her Big Finish stories, you can see what the character could have been like without the screaming. Sylevester McCoy is unfortunately very inactive in this story. He is pretty much left to wander around for these four episodes and it’s due to the script. It wouldn’t be until the next series where McCoy’s Doctor would start to find its feet.

Richard Briers has the Hitler moustache and dresses like someone who shouldn’t be crossed however the performance totally contradicts this and it has more to do with the voice used by Briers. Even when he is taken over by the Kroagnon he still manages to ham it up to a point that it becomes silly. Briers deserved better and unfortunately there was nothing that was going to make this character better.

The threat that reigns over this story is rather silly and its hard to imagine that the Kangs would have managed to ever overthrow the Caretaker without the Doctor and its always an issue when I don’t want the good guys to win. I found none of them to be likeable which is never good in this type of story.

Paradise Towers is part of the worst season of Doctor Who. It’s due to the fact that the end result lets down some good elements that I feel slightly disappointed with this story.

The Two Doctors (1985)

The Two Doctors is a story that sees Patrick Troughton return to the show for the third time following his appearance in ‘The Three Doctors’ (1983) and ‘The Five Doctors’ (1983). Normal stories in the 22nd season consist of two 45 minute episodes but this story but this is a three part adventure which amounts to a 6 parter in 25 minute chunks. This story was written by Robert Holmes, his first story since ‘The Caves of Androzani’ (1984). It’s quite fitting that he was the one given the task of bringing back the Sontarans who he created in ‘The Time Warrior’ (1973). This was Peter Moffat’s last story as a director, he had been directing a story a year since ‘State of Decay’ in 1980 and its fair to say that he’s a nuts and bolts type director.

The story is another adventure which takes place abroad. I do question the logic of filming abroad but usual dispel it with the theory that it is nice to be somewhere other than Britain. Providing the location filming is nice and shows of the sights in a way that doesn’t make you think you are watching a holiday programme. ‘City of Death’ for example is good because it shows off Paris in a lovely way and it’s incorporated into the story. ‘Arc of Infinity’ and ‘Planet of Fire’ does benefit from some very good location filming but P.O.F is better because its done because the location filming is more to create the idea of an alien world that show of Lanzarote. The problem with filming in Seville is that it doesn’t do anything for the story.

As for the story, its one that manages to fill the three episodes. This is effectively a six part story which is incredibly rare for this time in Doctor Who’s Classic run. Only Robert Holmes could have got away with it and done it in a good way. The story starts off really well with a black and white shot of the Doctor and Jamie in the TARDIS. Ok it’s not the original set that they used but that couldn’t be expected really. The chemistry that made their time on the show so much fun is on show here. The fact that it’s sometime before we see the current Doctor is made possible as a result of the 45 minute format.

The Sontarans are better than they were in ‘The Invasion of Time’. I was quite amused when even the Sontarans questioned the logic of setting up the base in Seville. The problem that I have with the Sontarans is the same as one of the problems with their previous story and that is the mask. Their first two stories were good because there was some consistency and the mask fitted the actors face. Not so in this story as there is a clear gap between the actors face and the round base where the helmet sits. Quite why the one Sontaran has a goatee is a mystery to me but at least their purpose in this story is better thought out and they are represented better than in their previous adventure. The death of the Sontaran in episode three is quite graphic and I do wonder whether it would have been better and perhaps more effective if the death had been significantly shortened.

The central performances were all very good. Colin Baker raises his game as this is such a special story. He gets to spend the story out of that horrible coat as it was going to be unsuitable for the Spanish sun. The only time where he doesn’t quite make it work is when he is pretending to be an androgum however thankfully it’s not for very long. I wasn’t happy about the Doctor killing Shockeye and especially in the manner that he did. The Doctor shouldn’t take a life no matter in what circumstance. Overall he does very well in this story and his version of the Doctor has calmed down from the OTT version that we got in ‘The Twin Dilemma’. Considering that he has to share the story with an arguably more popular Doctor, Baker moves the story very well. Nicola Bryant for once gets to wear appropriate clothing. Considering what she’s been forced to wear it amazing that Bryant stayed with the show as long as she did. She puts in her usual performance but the highlight was where she almost gets cooked by Shockeye in episode three.

As the guest stars Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines slip back into their roles like they had only been away for a few months. For Hines, he had a brief appearance in the 20th Anniversary special but hadn’t played the role properly since ‘The War Games’ in 1969 whereas Troughton had played the Doctor in that mentioned 20th Anniversary special. It’s great to have Troughton back as he does seem to be enjoying himself. Especially when he is turned into an Androgum and spends a good amount of time walking arm in arm with Shockeye and eating at a restaurant. I would like to have seen a bit more of him in the first episode but he was respectful enough not to try and steal the limelight away from Colin Baker.

The supporting cast is very strong. Jacqueline Pearce is superb as Chessmen. She is an androgum who wonders around the story with the sort of grace that you would expect from her. Having appeared in Blake’s 7 she shows that she is very good at playing baddies. John Stratton is very odd as Shockeye, he gets to eat a lot throughout this story and finds the right balance between sinister and all out bonkers. I was impressed with Laurence Payne as Dastard. He starts off as someone that we are meant to like feel positive towards and then he turns on the Doctor. As with all these things Dastard changes sides again but too late as he meets an unfortunate end. Payne played the role brilliantly but was slightly let down with his 1980’s glasses and outfit.

The only let down in the supporting characters are the roles of Oscar and Anita (played by James Saxon and Carmen Gomez). I think that Oscar is rubbish and poorly played, offering very little to the story. Quite why Anita would fall for anyone as wet and feeble as Oscar is beyond me and when he is killed, I didn’t really care and the character and performance was well below par.

Being the standout story of the 22nd season (being three episodes as opposed to two), this story is quite a good story but could have been filmed more locally. The Sontarans were used better than they had been since ‘The Sontaran Experiment’ and they were more in charge than any writer would have put them in. The main cast were on good form and Robert Holmes delivered a story that was brilliant and had elements which make his style of storytelling one of the best in the shows history. Sadly I think this would be his last great piece of work before his untimely death in 1986 whilst ‘The Trial of a Timelord’ was being made.