The Seeds of Doom - Episode 6

I think that its fair to say that this six part story has felt longer than six parts. True there have been some good moments but there have also been moments that have very hard to sit through. I think that the main problem with this story is that there hasn’t been six episodes worth of plot. They could easily have condensed all the stuff on the Antarctic down to one episode and the rest could easily have fitted into three episodes. Then this would have been a much better story. As I watch it I just cant find myself getting that excited with whats happening.

The fact that UNIT are in the story but the Brigadier or Benton aren’t in it is something that doesn’t work for me. The person who is leading them (the brigadier is in Geneva) doesn’t quite carry it off and I just think that its UNIT without any of the joy that comes with it. They are just as ineffective as ever but it just doesn’t carry the same weight as if Nicholas Courtney was shouting his way through things.

The models of the Krynoid over the house is quite a good one. It shows why models are better than CSO and even shows that compared to the CGI that 2014 Doctor Who could achieve, model work still works and when its done right can actually  be better than what we have today. The explosions were also quite good but on the downside it does ruin what was a good model of the house.

Something that was a bit differnet in this episode was Tom Baker’s performance. The last couple of episodes he has been shouting and very angry whereas in this episode he was bit grumpy but on the whole he was a bit more his usual self. This is good because as much as its fun to see a less pantomime version of the Doctor (which we will get in future stories), I would rather the Doctor not be as grim as the deaths are in this story. Baker’s second season shows that he is on his way to becoming the best Doctor of the classic era if not the best ever. Elisabeth Sladen was due to leave in this story but would stay on. I think that this story was a sign that the character had pretty much reached its course. The average time that a companion has spent on the show is currently 48 episodes (I will use this average stat if future as I like it so much).

Scorby’s death is quite a grim one (not the first or the last). I think that the reason for him being out was a bit silly but that doesn’t detract from the death itself as he drowns. Sgt Henderson’s death is also quite a grim death as he ended up as compost. Considering that this show was suppose to be a family show, its not particularly bothered with how far they push thing and that’s a good thing as far as I am concerned. I mentioned in the previous episode that I wanted more Chase and Doctor scenes and it’s the same in this episode although we do get a great fight scene between the two which ends with Chase becoming compost in what could be argued is the most violent death in Doctor Who (at this point). Despite the fact we don’t see blood of the rollers or hear any bone crunching, the scream of Chase and the knowing what is happening is perhaps more grim that if they had blood and bones.

This was the last Doctor Who story to be directed by Douglas Camfield. Camfield has directed 50 episodes of the show (including this one) and he is 11 episodes ahead of Christopher Barry. Camfield’s first contribution was ‘Planet of Giants’ and over the course of 11 years, he has directed all the story he has been involved in with a regimented familiarity and when you look at his stories its clear to see why he is one of the best directors in Doctor Who. Despite not being totally over the moon with this story, I think that Robert Banks Stewart has been a good addition to the show and if this had been a four part adventure then the story would have been better than what it ultimately ended up.

The Seeds of Doom is an average story to what has been largely an average season.