The third episode of this story is one that is a bit
difficult to really but not because its boring or uninteresting but just
because I found a lot of it on a level that I don’t understand. The episode
starts off with us finding out the contents of what was in the box and some
might be disappointed with it just being a puppet but I thought that in the
context of the episoe that it was quite a fun resolvement. The thing about this
episode is that it features very little of Tegan. In fact apart from a couple
of quick shots of her on the floor asleep, she plays no involvement in the
development of the plot which I thought was a rather bizarre thing to do for a
character that has been so integral to the plot.
Adric spends his time trying to get out of playing games
with Sanders and Hindle. Speaking of Hindle, he continues to be fantastic in
this episode and what makes his performance so strong is that he gets to act
against Todd who is just as barmy and I just think that this is the sort of
double act that Big Finish could make a series out of these two. Adric is great
in this episode and I thought that despite not actually doing anything he
somehow manages to keep himself busy. The Doctor spends his time with Todd and they
seem to steer the narrative of the episode and by the end they find themselves
in sort of weird psycadelic world where they are watching over events. It’s
another barmy moment but visually its an impressive sight and there isn’t a
moment which I found myself bored with what was going on.
A big improvement came in the form of Aris who in the
previous episode wasn’t convincing as the Mara but in this episode I thought
that he was much better in this episode and was believeable as a baddie. This
episode saw the introduction of the Trickster who I (and maybe you) have seen
as the Landlord in the BBC sitcom ‘Bottom’ and as a teacher in ‘Grange Hill’
from 1990 to 2002. The Trickster is a character that fits in very well with
this story.
I really liked the episode and though that it was building
up to a thrilling conclusion. The performances were strong and the whole thing
was directed very well and the thing about this story is that despite it being
filmed entirely in a studio and there being things talked about that I either don’t
understand or don’t care about, I still think that this is one of the strongest
stories of the season so far after the wobble that was ‘Four to Doomsday’ its
clear that the new series is going to survive not just a new Doctor but a new
style in transmitting.
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