(550) Logopolis - Part 1

Logopolis is the 41^st and final story to feature Tom Baker as the Doctor. It feels a bit of a shame that Tom Baker chose now to leave the show as I think that with the renewed freshness that the show has had since John Nathan Turner became Producer, he could have done another season but I suppose I might be in the minority there but this is the middle story in the trilogy of adventures featuring the Master although really if I am going to be pedantic (and I can cause this is my review), then out of five episodes he has only really appeared once. Anyway the thing about this episode is how glum everything is. It’s not just the fact that 95% of the action takes place in a lay-by but the fact that everyone’s performance lacks an excitement. Most notable is that of Tom Baker who looks very different from the previous episode.

I think that the relationship between the Doctor and Adric has been quite good and they spend most of the episode together. They seem to have the most interesting time in the story. This is a story which has a lot of real science in it then what we have are few moments which are a bit difficult for me to understand. The sight of the TARDIS prop inside the console room is one that is so good I wonder why it wasn’t used before. The idea of them walking into a new console room everytime they walk into the TARDIS prop is something that looks good but if the science was explained then I might lose track.

This serial introduces Janet Fielding into the show as Australian air hostess Tegan. It’s a bit generous to call her an air hostess because she has never actually done it as a job and infact is about to start when this episode begins but that aside, Janet Fielding has a rather understated debut. Knowing what she will become in future episodes, its fair to say that she starts off quite perky and jolly. She spends her time in the show with her Aunt Vanessa. Spending a moment to talk about Aunt Vanessa, if she were in todays Who then she wouldn’t have been killed off so quickly and she would have become a regular visitor to the show. She was by far the happiest person in the episode.

A strange white figure appears in the middle of the episode which as the story progresses is announced as ‘The Watcher’ but at this point he is just a strange figure but when the Doctor spots him the look is one where its clear he knows what is coming and its not good. The only aspect of the episode which I didn’t think worked was the final few minutes which led to the cliffhanger. The involvement of the DI is something that seems to offer very little and the shot of the policeman seen at the beginning of the episode and Aunt Vanessa who are action man figures dressed in the clothes of the policeman and Aunt Vanessa. I would have expected something with a bit more action.

As an opening episode which needs to be as epic as the man about to leave the show it was a good one because it set the tone right and did a good job of introducing the new companion. I watch these future episodes knowing that the Davison era isn’t too far away and whilst I am looking forward to the arrival of Peter Davison, I know that the Tom Baker era is coming to an end and after four an a half months, I am trying to get use to the idea that the show will have changed and I don’t know at the moment whether its for the better.