The sight of seeing a very old Tom Baker is something that
might not seem such a shocking sight today but in the context of this episode,
its quite a good way to end the previous episode and start todays episode. I think
the fact that Mena wants the Doctor to rest shows that she is still someone
that is going to be on the Doctor’s side but if Mena is the Doctor’s angel then
Pangol is the devil on the Doctor’s shoulder as he reminds her that they are
still on a murder charge and so are locked up. The neck braces that the Doctor
and Romana are forced to wear look quite good and look very much of the time.
With the Doctor looking old it means that he isn’t dashing around quite as much
as he usually does but his inactivity doesn’t last long as he is gingerly
dashing around.
There comes a moment when the Doctor mentions that Pangol
looks quite young compared to the other argolans. This is something that has
been on screen since the start of the story but its only know that it has
become part of the story and towards the end of the episode its revealed that
he is a child of the generator. That’s a wonderful line that sums up the new
mentality of Doctor Who in the 80’s because it just sounds new and modern (even
by 2014 standards) and I like it very much.
The Fomasi design is a curious one because on the one hand
it sort of lets down all the visually good work that has taken place so far and
on the other hand there is something retro about the design. It’s the sort of thing
that would have looked quite good during the seventies Doctor Who stories but
its unfair to judge a monster on the looks alone. I know I was a bit critical
in ‘Nightmare of Eden’ but this is my review so I can be if I want. The
cliffhanger for the episode involves the newly included Fomasi when it goes to
Brock and pulls off his mask. I think it’s a great revelation and what makes it
work is that the mask comes off quite smoothly which is more than could be said
for when the Count took off his mask in ‘City of Death’.
It’s another solid episode to serial and the longer this
continues the more likely I am to change my opinion of not just this series but
of the John Nathan Turner regime. Now I know that I am only three episodes into
his tenure but I think that watching the episodes in the manner that I am means
that things might change and after witnessing how good the story flowed through
this episode I am think this might happen.
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