Fourth Doctor...
Episodes to Remember
The Genesis of the Daleks (Episode 078) - The Time Lords send the Doctor on a mission to Skaro to interfere in the evolution of the Daleks in order to prevent them conquering the universe. While on Skaro, the Doctor meets Davros, the head of the Kaled Scientific Division, a department designed to create new weapons to help win a thousand year war the Kaled people have been fighting with their enemies. He discovers that Davros has been genetically altering soldiers and placing them in tank-like vehicles to create the ultimate killing machine, the Dalek. Although there is plenty of anti-Dalek sentiment among the other scientists, Davros wields too much power for action to be taken against him. It is up to the Doctor, Harry, and Sarah to raise opposition against the project or perhaps even persuade Davros to stop his experiments. Either way, they must move quickly before the Dalek project starts full production. Billions of people in the future are counting on them...
Terry Nation's last several stories had been unimaginative and repetitive. The Daleks had been decreasing in popularity for several years, and it seemed a matter of time before they died out completely. Genesis of the Daleks changed all that, single handedly making the Daleks scary again. The script is inventive and exciting, and the introduction of Davros, played by Michael Wisher, is a masterstroke. Shouting staccato-like commands and circling about in his Dalek-esque wheelchair, Wisher steals almost every scene he is in. Genesis of the Daleks is widely considered one of the finest Doctor Who stories ever made.
Terry Nation's last several stories had been unimaginative and repetitive. The Daleks had been decreasing in popularity for several years, and it seemed a matter of time before they died out completely. Genesis of the Daleks changed all that, single handedly making the Daleks scary again. The script is inventive and exciting, and the introduction of Davros, played by Michael Wisher, is a masterstroke. Shouting staccato-like commands and circling about in his Dalek-esque wheelchair, Wisher steals almost every scene he is in. Genesis of the Daleks is widely considered one of the finest Doctor Who stories ever made.
The Robots of Death (Episode 90) - Part Agatha Christie, part science fiction, The Robots of Death is a captivating tale. Although the title gives the story away perhaps, this just seems to make the serial more dramatic; the audience feels powerless as the protagonists are systematically misdirected, isolated and destroyed. In this story, the Doctor and Leela land on a sand-miner on a deserted planet, where a crew member has been found strangled to death. They are immediately suspected of committing the crime, but when people start dying one after the other, it becomes clear that something more sinister than stowaways is afoot. The Doctor surmises that the murderer might be one of the robots on board, but the crew is quick to dismiss the possibility. Whoever the murderer is, if he is not caught soon none of them will leave the ship alive.
The Robots of Death is an interesting mix of mystery, thriller, and sci-fi that manages to maintain a high level of suspense throughout the serial. Inspired by works like Ten Little Indians and Murder on the Orient Express, this story is known for its tightly constructed plot, memorable characters, and well-designed antagonists. In various polls conducted by the Doctor Who Magazine, The Robots of Death has consistently been ranked as one of the top ten greatest stories of the series.
The Robots of Death is an interesting mix of mystery, thriller, and sci-fi that manages to maintain a high level of suspense throughout the serial. Inspired by works like Ten Little Indians and Murder on the Orient Express, this story is known for its tightly constructed plot, memorable characters, and well-designed antagonists. In various polls conducted by the Doctor Who Magazine, The Robots of Death has consistently been ranked as one of the top ten greatest stories of the series.
The Talons of Weng-Chiang (Episode 091) - The Doctor takes Leela to Victorian -era London to show her how her ancestors lived only to become involved in the affairs of the Tong of the Black Scorpion, an underground Chinese gang that worships the ancient god, Weng-Chiang. The Doctor follows a trail of murders connected to the cult to the Palace Theater and the mysterious stage magician Li-H'sen Chang. With the help of Henry Jago, the owner of the theater, and Professor Litefoot, a coroner for the police, the Doctor and Leela uncover that underneath the theater Chang is harboring a man he believes to be the god Weng-Chiang, but in fact is a wanted war criminal from the 51st century named Magnus Greel. Greel has been using the Black Scorpion to help locate his lost time cabinet, with which he hopes to return home and start another bloody conflict. Only the Doctor and his friends stand in his way.
Set in a dark, foggy-laden city with murder and oriental mystery, The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a very atmospheric affair. Mr. Sin and the sewer rats supply plenty of crude horror while Li-H'sen Chang provides the audience with a more sophisticated villain; the Moriarty to the Doctor's Holmes and Litefoot's Watson. Although criticized for its somewhat racist tones, The Talons of Weng-Chiang is brilliantly written by Robert Holmes and is the perfect conclusion to an already star-studded fourteenth season.
Set in a dark, foggy-laden city with murder and oriental mystery, The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a very atmospheric affair. Mr. Sin and the sewer rats supply plenty of crude horror while Li-H'sen Chang provides the audience with a more sophisticated villain; the Moriarty to the Doctor's Holmes and Litefoot's Watson. Although criticized for its somewhat racist tones, The Talons of Weng-Chiang is brilliantly written by Robert Holmes and is the perfect conclusion to an already star-studded fourteenth season.
City of Death (Episode 105) - The Doctor and Romana go to Paris on holiday but instead uncover a plot to steal the Mona Lisa and change the course of history. The cheerful ambiance of the romantic French capital soon gives way to time distortions, alien bracelets, and the mysterious Count Scarlioni. The Count is not all that he seems; he is in fact Scaroth, the last of the war-like Jagaroths, who is intent on building a time machine to save his ravaged race from extinction. However, temporal engineering experiments do not come cheap, so to finance his operations he decides to steal the most priceless work of art in human history.
From the very beginning, with its excellent model-work and its elegant design of the spider-like Jagaroth space-ship, City of Death seems bound to be something pretty special. The on-site film work in Paris is beautifully done, and cannot be considered anything but a success, seeing as how it is the first serial to be filmed outside the United Kingdom. Although the character of Duggan is annoying at times, the rest of the guest stars are excellent; Julian Glover is a very domineering yet subtle Count Scarlioni, while Catherine Schell fills the role of the charming yet intelligent Countess nicely. Even John Cleese joins the fun in a brief cameo. On average, fourteen-and-a-half million viewers tuned in to watch City of Death.
Honorable Mention: The Ark in Space (Episode 076), Pyramids of Mars (Episode 082), The Brain of Morbius (Episode 084), The Seeds of Doom (Episode 085) Horror of Fang Rock (Episode 092)
From the very beginning, with its excellent model-work and its elegant design of the spider-like Jagaroth space-ship, City of Death seems bound to be something pretty special. The on-site film work in Paris is beautifully done, and cannot be considered anything but a success, seeing as how it is the first serial to be filmed outside the United Kingdom. Although the character of Duggan is annoying at times, the rest of the guest stars are excellent; Julian Glover is a very domineering yet subtle Count Scarlioni, while Catherine Schell fills the role of the charming yet intelligent Countess nicely. Even John Cleese joins the fun in a brief cameo. On average, fourteen-and-a-half million viewers tuned in to watch City of Death.
Honorable Mention: The Ark in Space (Episode 076), Pyramids of Mars (Episode 082), The Brain of Morbius (Episode 084), The Seeds of Doom (Episode 085) Horror of Fang Rock (Episode 092)
Episodes to Forget
The Invisible Enemy (Episode 093) - The writers of The Invisible Enemy seem so focused on crafting a delightfully fantastic story, that they forget they don't actually have enough money to properly realize it on screen. The result is that the budget is spread so thinly across the different elements of the story that nothing is done well. First of all, there is not one single interesting supporting character. Professor Marius makes a brave stab at it, but ultimately he is cliched and adds little to the story. Without any good characters, the narrative is forced to rely on action. Unfortunately, classic Doctor Who has never been very good at producing shoot-em-up action stories, and The Invisible Enemy is no exception. As one writer puts it, "If we want lasers blasting, we can watch Star Wars, not Doctor Who...".
In addition to these narrative problems, the audience is forced to endure a poor man's version of The Fantastic Voyage. As expected, the special effects for these scenes look idiotic, and Lowe's demise by phagocytes is cringingly bad. Lastly, there is the Nucleus. This giant talking prawn is about the most poorly imagined villain possible; he can't move without help from two assistants, and he looks like he should belong in a fourth grade science fair. Even the introduction of K-9 cannot save The Invisible Enemy from being one of the most poorly produced stories of its era.
In addition to these narrative problems, the audience is forced to endure a poor man's version of The Fantastic Voyage. As expected, the special effects for these scenes look idiotic, and Lowe's demise by phagocytes is cringingly bad. Lastly, there is the Nucleus. This giant talking prawn is about the most poorly imagined villain possible; he can't move without help from two assistants, and he looks like he should belong in a fourth grade science fair. Even the introduction of K-9 cannot save The Invisible Enemy from being one of the most poorly produced stories of its era.
Underworld (Episode 096) - "The quest is the quest!" Aided by Bob Baker and Dave Martin's poor writing, Underworld is a far cry from the wonderfully atmospheric stories of seasons thirteen and fourteen. In fact, there is almost nothing good to say about this story. The direction is slow, the characters lack substance, and the writing is dull and confusing at the same time. Many of the plot points are hidden underneath mounds of undynamic dialogue and are often only clearly revealed far too late in the narrative. To make matters worse, the actors are noticeably uninspired and do little to elevate the sagging story; they seem almost resigned to their fate, content to carry out the very minimum of what is required and not an iota more. Who stands out the most in this story? Jackson? Herrick? Even the regulars seem passive and out of touch with what is going on around them.
What this serial is really known for though, is its poor use of CSO. While most Doctor Who stories used CSO somewhat limitedly, Underworld makes the mistake of using CSO liberally, to very poor effect. Not for one instant should the viewer be fooled into thinking that the characters are actually romping about in subterranean caverns, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the CSO single handedly destroys the story's credibility. Underworld makes no attempt to be exceptional, and with its poor production values and dispassionate story-telling, it achieves just that.
What this serial is really known for though, is its poor use of CSO. While most Doctor Who stories used CSO somewhat limitedly, Underworld makes the mistake of using CSO liberally, to very poor effect. Not for one instant should the viewer be fooled into thinking that the characters are actually romping about in subterranean caverns, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the CSO single handedly destroys the story's credibility. Underworld makes no attempt to be exceptional, and with its poor production values and dispassionate story-telling, it achieves just that.
The Creature from the Pit (Episode 106) - In all fairness, The Creature from the Pit has a decent enough big picture storyline, and Myra Frances does an honorable job portraying the Lady Adrasta. This serial fails because it is littered with inexcusable production and narrative problems. It doesn't help that the story gets off to a bad start; there is some atrocious humor (don't be a Philistine!), a whinier sounding K-9 voiced by David Brierley, and Lala Ward is still desperately trying to find her feet with dialogue clearly written for Mary Tamm. The Doctor is then captured by the rather silly-looking wolfweeds, while Romana is kidnapped by a band of thieves that seem to be the British equivalent to the dirty dozen. From there, things go downhill...
This whole story just lacks vision and creativity. The whole planet consists of about fifteen individuals, and the Doctor's saving of Chloris by weaving an aluminum shell around the neutron star in order to minimize its gravitational pull is less than scientific. At least the creature is well-designed ... oh wait, it isn't. Its likeness to a human phallus is unmistakable, and BBC management was rumored to have burst out laughing at the sight of it. The Discontinuity Guide sums up this serial nicely by saying, "It has been claimed by Creature from the Pit apologists that the story is a conscious spoof of bad science fiction. On the other hand, it could just be bad science fiction."
Dishonorable Mention: The Invasion of Time (Episode 097), The Horns of Nimon (Episode 108)
This whole story just lacks vision and creativity. The whole planet consists of about fifteen individuals, and the Doctor's saving of Chloris by weaving an aluminum shell around the neutron star in order to minimize its gravitational pull is less than scientific. At least the creature is well-designed ... oh wait, it isn't. Its likeness to a human phallus is unmistakable, and BBC management was rumored to have burst out laughing at the sight of it. The Discontinuity Guide sums up this serial nicely by saying, "It has been claimed by Creature from the Pit apologists that the story is a conscious spoof of bad science fiction. On the other hand, it could just be bad science fiction."
Dishonorable Mention: The Invasion of Time (Episode 097), The Horns of Nimon (Episode 108)