(688) Ghostlight - Part 3

This episode is the final episode of Doctor Who to be made in the classic era. I have got use to the three episode format because there are plenty of positives to take from them such as they are shorter and don’t have to accommodate as much padding. The problem that there has been with the narrative of this serial is that it seems that the plot has been crammed into this single episode. Only now do things start to happen but I am still at a loss to describe what the actual theme of the story was. I get that the Doctor was trying to do his Dr Phil thing on Ace and there was a thing about Josiah Smith but apart from that it’s still a bit of a mystery.  

Light appears at the very beginning of the episode and I am somewhat disappointed with him because he offers very little to the story despite this sort of god-like vibe. I get that he is the most superior being in this story but that’s only because he’s the one with some colour in his costume. I don’t see the point of Control. Control wants to become ‘lady-like’ for reasons that are total confusing and I found this aspect of the script to be totally dull.

There’s a great bit where Ace is tormented by her regret with what would happen in 100 years. It is perhaps my favourite part of the episode. Sophie Aldred really has been superb in this story because it’s explored more of her character and her mental state. I thought that this was a strong episode for Sylvester McCoy as well because he showed us why his Doctor is often underrated by using words to defeat situations as opposed to convoluted devices.

I knew it had to come sooner or later. Mrs Pritchard shows some emotion for the first time in this serial. She smiles for the first time when she shares a scene with Gwendoline when its revealed that they are actually mother and daughter. They end up being turned into stone which seemed like a nice end for the pair. It’s typical that we wait until the end before something good happens with Gwendoline. She actually shows some menace and I thought that she was plausible as a baddie (just).

Smith plans to assassinate Queen Victoria which is the first interesting thing about Smith for quite sometime. I don’t know why its taken so long for this to surface but at least it showed a reason why there was something dodgy about Smith. It has been a good performance from Ian Hogg because the character of Smith could have been sent up in a rather pantomime fashion but Hogg does a good job in towing the line.

This story hasn’t been as much of a grind as I thought it was going to be although I suspect watching it in one go isn’t the best way to watch this adventure. Halfway through this season and I think that the show was well on its way to getting its mojo back. It’s just a shame the plug was pulled two stories later. I have just over a week left of the classic era and as the episodes are progressing I am getting more annoyed that the decision was taken to rest the programme but then on the other hand excited about what is coming my way.