The Invasion of Time - Episode 3

I was just browsing the Den of Geek site and there is an article about Rainbow (which is a show that I love) and I discovered that John Leeson was the voice of Bungle for its first series which aired on ITV from October to December 1972. That has nothing to do with this story but I just thought that it was an interesting fact to start things off. The cliffhanger is made great simply by the Doctor’s laugh when the Varden’s first appear. This might also be because the CGI effects makes it look really good. The effects that were used in the original transmission are somewhat disappointing.

I like how Leela accepts her exile because she still thinks that the Doctor must have something planned and she is still willing to trust the Doctor even after all that has happened in this story so far. Leela becomes a lot more active in this episode as she goes outside and interacts with other people who seem to be unlike the timelords in the citadel. When I say unlike I mean that there is less pomp and circumstance.

When Rodan is told that she will have to build her own shelter and hunt for her own food she is basically reduced to tears and this shows how pompous the Timelords are really. Leela seems to be in her element when she meets the exiles. To be honest, the exiles aren’t particularly pleasant and its easy to see why no one really ventures outside. Also it looks baron and horrible so that’s another reason. The Doctor finally reveals his plans to Borusa and this is the first time that there has been any sense of plot explanation. This is also the first time that the Doctor has really been himself. The scene between Tom Baker and John Arnatt are nice and humorous. I have thought that in recent years that Louise Jameson’s departure was rushed and made no sense but judging on this episode it seems to be far less rushed than I had previously thought. She seems to be at home once she’s outside and it’s the first time that she’s been truly happy since she boarded the TARDIS.

The cliffhanger doesn’t quite have the punch that the previous two had but its still a good ending. I get the feeling that the story is moving on and at the half way point I am still enjoying this adventure but feel that its largely down to the CGI effects. The performances are all good and the writing and direction are all perfectly fine. I think that out of the two stories set on Gallifrey, this one is the weaker of the two but it still has some good moments.