It struck me as I started to watch this episode that there
are three seasons of Tom Baker’s Doctor remaining. He’s about to reach the 100
episode soon and it feels like the end is approaching at a faster and faster
rate. This is the first episode of the Key to Time season which is the first
season/series of Doctor Who to have a story arc that ties all the adventures
together. This wouldn’t happen again until the show was bought back in 2005 so
this is quite a bold experiment that producer Graham Williams has embarked on.
This episode also introduces the late great Mary Tamm as the first incarnation
of Romanadvoratrelundar or Fred. I like how there is instantly a frosty
reception between the two (forgive the pun given the setting for the story). It
does remind me of the current Doctor and Clara’s relationship but this was is
more frosty.
The opening scene has to do a lot considering the scale of
what its about. The opening is unlike anything that the show has seen in the
show in 480 episodes. The story introduces the White Guardian who look like he
should be on the Costa del Sol. The explanation is rather good and shows that
the journey to find the six segments isn’t going to be easy. At the very end of
the scene we are told about the Black Guardian who is suppose to be this big
force but we wont meet him until the end.
The camera seems to fall in love with Romanadvoratrelundar
when Mary Tamm first appears on the screen. There is a snobbery about
Romandvoratrelundar. She brags about how she’s smarter than the Doctor and
inspects the cleanliness of the console. The friction between the two seems
worse than the Doctor and Leela. It’s quite good that they have decided to go
with someone who can challenge the Doctor intellectually because this hasn’t really
happened since Liz Shaw was in the show. Compared to her predesecor, Romana isn’t
going to get stuck in but is instead going to judge those that do and let her
mind do all the action.
The planet of Ribos is recognised completely in studio and
normally this would be an issue for me but I think on this occasion it adds
something to the story. The only that disappoints in this episode for me is the
creature. Unstoffe and Garron are the first two people we meet who seem to be a
rather odd double act. Double acts are a recurring pattern in Robert Holmes
stories. Another interesting character is the Graff Vynda-K (played by Paul
Seed). Graff is someone who is looking to buy a planet from Garron and is
hoping to seek revenge on the planet that forced him into exile. Unstoffe and
Garron are conmen so it was clear that there were going to bring problems but
if memory serves me correctly then they will be fun problems.
The cliffhanger sees Romana suffer her first peril when she
becomes a potential meal. I don’t know whether it was a good way to use the
character so new in the show. Apart from that and the dodgy monster that is
munching on Romana, this is a good if perhaps ordinary opening episode. I think
that this season of Doctor Who is going to be very different to any that Tom
Baker has had.
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