The Mind of Evil - Episode 6

Right, I’m going to start off with the problem of the cliffhanger. Now the angle of the gun seems to indicate that Mailer is holding the gun and fires it but in fact it’s the Brigadier that has shot Mailer. It does lead to a nice thank you from the Doctor when say “Do you think for once in your life you could arrive before the nick of time?”. That’s as close as anyone would get to a thank you from him. With the riot pretty much over, it means that the final episode will focus on stopping the Master from launching the rocket and destroying the machine.

The effect of the machine moving is quite basic does look quite good. I think the scene where it manages to break free and out of the processing room is very good and its quite impressive on how much mess he made in the room. The way that the machine can be controlled does seem to come out of nowhere but when you stop and think about it then it becomes quite obvious. Barnham has been in the background for the whole story and now is when he becomes integral to the story. Once they figure this out the machine ceases to be a threat which I suppose is the point as the main threat is the Master. The shot of the creature in the machine is quite gruesome and it’s all down to the eye which even though it’s clearly fake but does look quite real.

It’s quite strange that the Doctor is willing to hand over the dematerialisation circuit to the Master’s TARDIS so that he can leave Earth. However it does lead to the very good big scene at the aircraft hangar which ends with the Master fleeing with the dematerialisation circuit. The big scene of the episode sees chaos run rampant and it’s needed so that the Master can get away without any problems. It’s a shame that Barnham got killed as I thought that it was the wrong thing to do with such a likeable character. There have been other good supporting characters who have helped make this story what it is. Michael Sheard is a Doctor Who regular who appeared in this as Dr Summers and despite being a bit dim when he tried to get Barnham back to the sick bay, he has been a good solid character.

The final scene with the Master and the Doctor is a good one because it gives the impression that the Master will be gone for quite some time. Of course the reality of it that he will appear in the next episode but at the time viewers in 1971 would have assumed that it would be the last they would see for some time. As a story it’s a good one, not a classic but still an enjoyable adventure. I think that on this occasion six episode was too long for this story and it would have better as a four parter.