The thing about this being a three parter is one that I didn’t
go into much in the previous review. The show went from 26 x 25 minute episodes
to 13 x 45 minute and this means that there is going to be an odd number of
episodes. They got around this in the previous season by having a two parter so
I think that they could have don’t just a single 45 minute episode. The problem
at the moment is that the fast paced feel that the previous stories have had
has pretty much gone in this serial.
The cliffhanger is solved by Peri saving herself from the
person that grabbed her. That person is Jamie. It’s good that the pieces of the
puzzle start to slot into place so early on and its means that Jamie isn’t doing
nothing. The opening scene with the Sixth Doctor, Jamie and Peri helps add a
bit more to the story. The interaction between Peri and the Doctor is on fine
form again with their usual bickering on display.
I like how the Doctor says he might be wiped out in a few
centuries and Peri doesn’t seem to understand the rush and then he puts his
head in hands. A funny moment in an episode that doesn’t have a great deal of
comedy.
Shockeye’s eating habits are quite interesting. At one point
he eats a rat and Dastari’s reaction mirrored my own. The group of villains is
something that I think works quite well because it doesn’t feel like the old
adage about too many cooks. The trio of
Shockeye, Chessene and Dastari work well together but there isn’t a clear
leader amongst them which is perhaps the only thing that needs improving.
Chessene does edge it a little bit but not by much.
Like the previous episode, this episode takes about 20
minutes before it starts to get going. I could tell where the point happened
and that was when the Second Doctor wakes up and talking to Dastari and the
others. Patrick Troughton has a rather easy time in this episode. He spends
most of it either lying down or sitting in a wheelchair.
Like the previous episode, there is a nice amount of Seville
on display here. Ok so its not the city centre but its still nice to see a bit
of sun on Doctor Who that doesn’t involve a quarry.
Oscar continues to be annoying. He assumes that the Doctor
is working for Interpol even when Anita points out that the police box sign isn’t
written in Spanish. Sadly Oscar is quite involved in this episode. I don’t mind
Anita but Oscar is totally annoying.
There is a nice reminder about the Rutans. For me this is a
nice bit of continuity for the Sontarans. The question of the Sontaran’s
involvement in the story is still something that doesn’t quite. Stike is the
lead Sontaran but I think that Clinton Greyn doesn’t come across as a
convincing Sontaran. I know that Sontarans are referred to as potatoes but I
think that the design of the current costumes does make them look like a baked
potato.
The Doctor was involved in the previous cliffhanger so it
perhaps makes sense that Peri is involved in the ending. She is about to be
menaced by Shockeye which is terrifying in itself because he has spent the
previous 45 minutes acting in a really fun way.
I think that this has again been an episode of two halves
but even the more active part hasn’t been as good as I would have expected.
There were moments where things seemed to be just plodding along. I think that
the final episode is going to make up for this but at the moment this has to be
the weakest story of the season so far. It just doesn’t live up to the hype
that this story has created for itself.
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