(637) Timelash - Part 2

The second episode of this story is a lot better than the first although that’s not a great compliment. The Doctor ends up going into the Timelash after all and what we see is rather disappointing. It doesn’t look very impressive at all. Even the sight of the Doctor being hoisted down on a rope doesn’t do very much to interest me. It was at this point that I wondered whether things were ever going to improve but then Tekker enters and I am reminder about some of the good things that happened in the previous episode. Paul Darrow continues to be superb in this episode. He acts like the ruler that he thinks he is but sadly he meets a sticky ending.

The character of Herbert is the exact opposite of Tekker. Even the Doctor is finding him irritating. It’s unclear whether Colin Baker is acting or not because if it were me then I would have pushed him into the Timelash. He spends time walking around acting its all some big adventure and I really can’t believe how disappointing this aspect of the story. It’s a good idea that the Doctor would meet the great literary figure and that encountering the Doctor would have inspired some of his novels. Sadly the casting of David Chandler has reduced this to a less interesting encounter.

There is another tease at what the Borad really looks like at the beginning of the episode. It’s around the half way mark that we finally get to see what the real Borad looks like Robert Ashby’s debut on screen is rather underwhelming. The design of the make-up is rather good however and I think that Ashby has a wonderfully booming voice which lends itself to the role. Together it is one of the highlights of the entire serial.

There is a rather interesting painting of the third Doctor. I think that after the references in the previous episode, it seemed inevitable that there should be a visual one. Don’t quite know whether its relevant to the story but it seemed to be just a passing thing.

The Doctor uses the Borad’s weapon against him so for the second time in a row, the Doctor actually causes someone’s death. Ok so you could argue that he has done this before, he has never done it so blatantly. After a moment it was strange to realise that there was about fifteen more minutes before the episode would end which is unusual in a Doctor Who story at this time. I had forgotten about there been more than one Borad and the explanation given to this is rather good and there is a nice beauty and the beast thing going on with the Borad and Peri. I like the increasing number of people that have a crush on Peri.  

This has been the weakest story of the season just like I predicted in yesterdays review. It’s certainly not as bad as The Twin Dilemma but it certainly lacks from convincing characters and that’s a shame because there is a very good idea in this middle of the serial that is trying to get out but it doesn't.

(636) Timelash - Part 1

Timelash isn’t my favourite Colin Baker story. However I do have the strong belief that things will change over the course of the next two episodes. This story was written by Glen McCoy who becomes the 60^th credited writer in Doctor Who. That’s about the most interesting part of the entire review which is going to be a bit shorter than usual. The relationship between the Doctor and Peri isn’t as fierce as it was at the beginning of the season. There is still some tension there but it has definelty been reigned back since the beginning of the season. The story takes place in Karfel which is under a rather interesting dictatorship. The word Timelash is used within the first few minutes. This is what people are thrown into for being disobedient but to be honest it’s probably a good thing.

The first time that the Borad appears in this episode its in a chair that turns around and the camera cuts to Aram before we can see what he looks like. The voice of Borad (Robert Ashby) is very good and helps to create a ‘nice’ atmosphere. Denis Carey returns to play the human face of the Borad.  Carey had previously appeared in Shada but this is a more interesting performance.

The Doctor has previously visited Karfel before but in his third incarnation. I think that this is quite a good idea that we hear a bout the Doctor visiting somewhere that we have never seen before. Paul Darrow is easily the best thing in this story. He treats the story in the way that it should be treated and does well as Tekker. There is a wonderful sense when he walks into a room he pretty much owns that room and owns the scene that he is in. Sadly that is all the good stuff that I could find to say about this episode.

Jeanne Crowley unfortunately doesn’t impress as Vena. I just find her unconvincing and thought that it was stupid how she ended up going into the Timelash. She just doesn’t carry any emotional weight when she is on screen. The Android is rather odd but not really for the right reasons. It’s blue face and yellow hair really doesn’t look right. At least they learnt from the mistakes that were evident from Kamelion. The Bandril is another unfortunate design. The idea of the Bandril is good enough it is just that the visual lets it down completely. Like the design of the Timelash, one does suspect that a bit more money could have made a difference. Considering how important it is in the story, its weird that it wasn’t higher up on the list of priorities. The Morlox is also a disappointment. I really don’t know what it looks like but it seems like very little thought was given to the look of it. The introduction of H.G.Wells is something that should have been a great moment in the show. A big name in literaly history that is in my favourite TV show and yet the casting David Chandler means that it is another disappointment. He’s portrayed as a bit of an idiot and boards the TARDIS without the Doctor’s approval.

Sadly the Timelash doesn’t look impressive. In fact I would go so far as to say it looked a bit crap. It’s clear that the jollies to Seville took its toll on the budget. I do wonder what could have been achieved if The Two Doctors had been filmed in the UK.

As you can probably guess I don’t think very much of this episode because there are more things wrong with it than right. Despite the best efforts of Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, this story doesn’t start off in a particular good way and I am just wanting Revelation of the Daleks to arrive so I can get past this one. I don’t think my opinion will change of this story and this is going to be the weakest story of the season. The only question that remains is whether it is worst that The Twin Dilemma.