The Monster of Peladon - Episode 3

The third episode of this story starts with the rather disappointing cliffhanger. I was worried that this was going to be another episode where I was counting down the minutes and seconds until the cliffhanger but I am happy to report that this most definelty wasn’t the case. Firstly there is the nice way that the Doctor is reunited with an old friend in Agador. I thought after the cliffhanger of the previous episode that it was a weird way to end the episode because the Doctor knows how to clam down Agador and the viewer knows that so where exactly was the threat?

There’s a nice bit where Sarah Jane’s feminist side comes out as she has a chat with the Queen. It seems like they haven’t totally forgotten about what they were trying to do with the character of Sarah Jane. The Queen is more interesting in this episode because simply put she’s given the chance to show she’s there for a reason instead of just making up the numbers. Ortron becomes more interesting in this episode, it’s clear that he seems to be thriving with making the Doctor look like a guilty man. I think that the Queen was more active in this episode than the previous one. The way that she tries to stand up to Ortron is one of the highlights for the character in this episode. Eckersley has been one of the characters that seems to be on the Doctor’s side however there are moments in this episode which seem to suggest that there is something else. Having seen this episode before I know what the truth is about the character but writer Brian Hayles has done a good job of hiding this and waiting until episode three before they started to develop this. Gebek continues to be a good character in this story and well played by Rex Robinson.

If I had to pick a fault with the episode then it would be that it’s weird that Alpha Centauri didn’t mention the fact that the Doctor pretended to be the earth delegate in the previous story. I would have thought this would provide even more ammunition for Ortron. Everything about this episode is better than the episode two. The cliffhanger pretty much sums this up when we get the Ice Warrior appear. It’s amazing what difference an episode makes because my confidence is back to where it was at the end of episode one. I don’t know whether it will stay where it is by the end of the story but one thing is for sure this was a much better episode.