I still think that the TARDIS being out of action isn’t the
best cliffhanger that there could have been. Anyway this is a minor blip really
as the episode starts off in a good way because we get a Doctor and Marshall
scene. I have just noticed that Merak is with the Doctor and Romana. Merak is
in love with Princess Astra so as a result becomes someone that the Doctor and
Romana can trust and the viewer knows is a good person. My impression is that
he’s a bit wet and not on par with the Doctor or Romana. The Marshall continues
to be very good in this episode but whilst we noticed that he’s a bit odd in
the previous episode we learn a bit more in this episode and that is he has a
little thing on his neck which seems to be controlling him and on the other
side of the mirror he talks into he is actually talking to a skull.
Tom Baker and Mary Tamm have been really good in this
episode. I haven’t really commented on the performances of the regulars for
quite sometime in any real detail but I have to say that Tom Baker was
fantastic and seemed to be back on fine form. I cant quite put my finger on
exactly what it was about Baker’s performance that I liked but its been one of
his best performances this season. Mary Tamm is also very good in this episode
but for different reasons. The role of the companion is pretty much a thankless
task but Mary Tamm has always managed to drag something out of the character
and I think she has been one of the best things about this season. There is a
point where K9 looks like he is about to meet his end and I am so happy about
this because as regular visitors to this blog know, I am not a huge fan of K9. Sadly
he is saved by the Doctor. There are few things that I can’t forgive the Doctor
for but this is one of those instances.
The Marshall is after the ‘ultimate deterrent’ and the
Doctor does a deal with the Marshall that if he helps the Doctor find the
Princess (who he sort of let slips that is the segment) and he will help the
Marshall to create this ultimate deterrent. Normally if the Doctor were to help
the bad guys then that would mean a comprise of the Doctor’s principles but on this
occasion I think that the Doctor is helping partly to get the key/Princess
Astra and partly because he sees it as a challenge.
It’s funny that during the ‘battle’ scene of this episode we
don’t see any models to indicate this but a radar on the CSO screen. This is
another indication that the money has pretty much run out. Another indication
of this is the outfit that some of the crew wearing the sort of costume that
the Sensorites were wearing. The difference being that it suited the Sensorites
and it was 1964 not 1979. During this episode it enters my head about why they
don’t just try and seek peace and its an argument that could be used in some
conflicts in the world today. There is a line about how many ships they have
going from hundreds or thousands to three.
As this is a six parter this story is still moving along at
a good pace and whilst there doesn’t seem to be much of a story, Bob Baker and
Dave Martin have done a good job of fleshing things out to make it seem like
its not padding. I haven’t felt bored during these two episodes and even with
budgetary limitations on screen, I don’t think that production values have
really taken a dip. The cliffhanger for this episode was much better than the
previous one although like the previous cliffhanger Mary Tamm gets the last
line in the episode. The Doctor has walked into a trap but finds out just
before he is taken. This has been another good episode and the ending matches
the rest of the episode and I am looking forward to the remaining two third of this
serial. 
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