After three episodes, I am still liking the 45 minute
format. It means that the cliffhangers have much more of an impact and instead
of three cliffhangers (where maybe just one works), we can appreciate the
efforts of just one. The previous cliffhanger was impressive and still
maintains that at the start of the episode. If the previous episode was lite on
humour then this episode is a black hole of humour.
There are a few moments that happen in this episode that
help add to the argument that the show had become too violent. The Acid bath
scene is perhaps one of the strongest points. A myth that always existed about
this is that the Doctor puts the workers in the bath whereas in fact he
surprises one to fall in and he then pulls the other guy in. This could be put
down as unfortunate but the quip that the Doctor delivers about being forgiven
for not joining them is perhaps the thing that is perhaps misjudged. This
episode features a scene where the Doctor is about be hung. Never before had
something so n horrific been featured in a Doctor Who. There is a story that
there had been an accident on this set and if the ropes had been around Colin
Baker and Jason Connery’s heads then they most likely would have died.
Thankfully this didn’t happen but the Doctor and Jondar do fall to the ground
and for a moment it must seem like the unthinkable had happened. Luckily this
was a trick by the Governor. There are two people that appear to be wrestling at
the beginning and seem perfectly natural to the surroundings but later on they are
revealed to be cannibals which is again something that I didn’t think would
feature in a Doctor Who. There are some vines that are quite poisonous which
the Doctor uses to kill Quillam, the Chief Officer along with other soldiers.
It’s a moment which isn’t the way that the Doctor should behave.
There is a nice conflict that the Governor seems to be going
through in this episode. Martin Jarvis performs well throughout and its good
when he gets the chance to spoil Sil’s party and as a viewer it’s clear that he
is enjoying this moment. Martin Jarvis has been very good in his performances
for the show over the 20 years since his debut and he ends his time on the show
in style.
The interaction between Arak and Etta continues to be the
closes that the story comes to humour. Stephen Yardley (Arak). I still like how
Arak is the one that clearly wants something different and Etta would be
willing to turn her husband into the authorities.
Peri’s bad luck in this show continues where she undergoes a
transformation. I am surprised at how long it takes for her to become like a
bird and how quick she went back to normal. But I suppose with time constraints
of TV dramas that this had to happen this way.
There have been some interesting supporting performances in
these two episodes which I think deserve a quick mention. Geraldine Alexander
(Areta) has done well with what has been a rather thankless task. Her ‘highlight’
comes when she joins Peri in the transformation and looks worse than Peri (the
downside of not being a companion). Nicolas Chagrin (Quillam) has his mask
removed and its quite grotesque. Doctor Who has a trend in this period for
shocking disfigurements. The Chief Officer (Forbes Collins) has been in the
background for most of the previous episode but in this episode he becomes much
more relevant and his ability to backstab the governor really allows him to
become quite horrible. Speaking of horrible, I still think that Nabil Shaban
steals the story. It’s clear why he returned in the following series. Once he
seems to have gained power, its clear that he wasn’t going to have it for long.
Finally, Owen Teal plays Maldak. Here is rather ordinary but would go on to
give a very memorable performance in Torchwood in the episode Countrycide (2006).
The episode ends with the Governor talking to his citizens
and telling them that things are changing and the final shot is of Arak and
Etta wondering what they are going to do. Without the torturing they are lost
and I think that is a great way to end the episode.
Philip Martin has written a very strong story. Ok so that
there were some moments which were not suitable as far as the morals of the
Doctor are concerned but I can’t say that I was ever bored during the entire
two episode run. Martin returns to the show the following year but it won’t be
as good. Ron Jones hasn’t been a
director that I have rated highly. His previous offerings included Black Orchid (1982), Time-Flight (1982), Arc of Infinity (1983) and Frontios (1984). This is by a clear
mile the best directed story that he has done. He has managed to translate the
grimness of the story well and used low lighting to create a nice atmosphere.
So far it is two good stories out of two. I think that Attack
is a better story but the standard hasn’t dropped too much during the course of
this two parter. The next story is another story that has always been a popular
one in my books and I am impressed that after the less than stellar start to
the Colin Baker era, that we have now potentially got three solid stories in a
row.
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