"It feels different this time..." - The new Doctor Who Thread

[Kirin]

The Horns of Nimon

Through some bit of cosmic misfortune, this is currently one of the few bits of classic Who I’ve seen. Several years ago my wife and I were lying on the couch (possibly sick or something) and noticed classic Who was on some free pre-scheduled streaming channel and caught like the back 2/3 of this arc. Definitely way the hell up there on the cheese scale, as well as the “not a whole lot actually happens other than running around” scale.

I cannot imagine being a Doctor Who fan - classic or nu - outside the UK and having to navigate the endless moving from platform to platform the series goes through seemingly every couple of months.

Yeah, I watched most of nu Who legit in the places it was on when I got to it (and wherever it was debuting for the more last couple doctors), but it’s gotten pretty ridiculous. After losing my job last year I set up a somewhat fiddle but effective universal torrent/stream service and thankfully most everything is findable on there (though the plethora of specials do occasionally make tracking things down in order a chore since it sometimes flummoxes the service’s automatic categorization algorithms).

 

[Kazin]

though the plethora of specials do occasionally make tracking things down in order a chore since it sometimes flummoxes the service’s automatic categorization algorithms

For whatever reason, when I was first watching the show, Netflix did not have any of the Tennant specials besides End of Time, so after I caught up (season 7 of Matt Smith), I discovered there was a few secret Tennant episodes I'd not seen before lol. Water of Mars, at least, was fun!

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Meglos
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order."
In this serial, the planet Tigella is in a crisis about their power source and, to many, God, the Dodecahedron. The Doctor is set to arrive to help deal with it but his journey is interrupted by the space villain Meglos, who traps the Doctor in a time loop. He arrives with a band of space brigands to trick the people (who are caught in a sort of uneasy and dissolving alliance between the religious and secular factions) by impersonating the Doctor (as well as possessing a random kidnapped human) and absconding with the Dodecahedron. The Doctor frees himself, which complicates Meglos plans and as the real Doctor tries to figure out what is happening, Meglos works to steal the Dodecahedron.

Eventually, Meglos is successful and leaves the planet for his home world. His plan is to unleash a weapon powered by the Dodecahedron in his barren home planet. The Doctor manages to convince the Tigellans that they've been had and arrive on Meglos homeworld, using their identical looks and behaviour to trick the pirates into destroying themselves. The human is freed, Meglos and the pirates are destroyed (well, perhaps Meglos is destroyed) and all seems well. But soon Romana informs the Doctor they are needed on Gallifrey.

Meglos is a weird story. There are times it seems to approach a better story, then suddenly backs off. I feel like maybe it was written with some bigger and more nuanced ideas and then was asked to be less good. It reminds me of hearing about how many times the outline of City of Death was re-written and this feels like if this got multiple drafts to work out the kinks, it actually could have been a fun story. This feels like maybe the THIRD time the Doctor gets to play the villain (does every Doctor get to play a villain in this series?) and Baker is actually bringing the heat as best he can. But it's really all sound and fury. Meglos is a weird visual but a completely nothing villain.

What does he want? I though maybe it was going to resurrect his dead people or revenge on Tigella? Nope. He's just some villain. He wants a super weapon. And it comes close to implying more interesting stuff. But then it suddenly backs off. Why does he hesitate when asked to praise a god? Is HE a god? Did his people die in the name of that god? Nope. I guess he's just vain. What about when, in an eerie little moment, Meglos in his sort-of real form quietly brings a woman to another room. I know that the show intentionally had Meglos be kind of a hands-off villain because the show doesn't want to scare kids by showing the Doctor doing violence. This actually is a little spookier than violence, somehow. But when he tries to convince this Tigellan to help him I thought, "oh he's going to reveal something about himself to make him more complex" but no. He's doing this impossible thing and I don't recall them ever explaining how.

The show also failed to have fun with two identical Doctors. They set themselves up for a narrative game that can be played a number of ways. Maybe keep the audience in the dark of which Doctor is which. Have the Doctor and audience arrive confused. Have the Doctor really on the backfoot. Put the VILLAIN on the backfoot. I love stories where we are looking at the villain's POV and the tension because we don't want them to win but in putting us in his place, we dread the moment they are caught. More shell game. More cat and mouse. There's the tiniest taste at the end but it feels like so much nothing. I don't hate Meglos. I think the time loop goes a little too long and weirdly does nothing with it's element of the weird fundamentalists (the priest almost kills the Doctor but die to save an innocent but this doesn't feel like it's "this character is complex" but more "this character will do whatever the writer needs in the moment") But I think Baker is doing what he can. And I like the pirate who wants the Doctor's coats. But... in an episode of Seinfeld, Elaine questions whether there's more to Newman than they think. To which Jerry exclaims "No. There's less." Meglos is very, very less.

Best cliffhanger: The first cliffhanger is pretty solid.

Next time:

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Full Circle
"Why can't people be nice to one another, just for a change? I mean, I'm an alien and you don't want to drag me into a swamp, do you... You do?!"

In this serial, The Doctor and Romana are called to Gallifrey, which they suspect is for taking Romana back. As they make their way they find themselves in some strange cosmic event sending them to an unknown space which they cannot fathom. Meanwhile, on the world they land on, a lush forest planet, a group of youths, the Outlers, are rebelling against what they see as the superstitions of the old guard. This includes the ability to launch a long-crashed spaceship, the Starliner, and the belief the planet will be enveloped in a poisonous mist in an event called mistfall. Mistfall does come, however, and the Outlers are trapped in it while everyone else hides in the ship. The Doctor and Romana discover the mists are not poisonous but they are accompanied by the strange Marshmen, humanoid creatures that emerge from the marsh.

The Doctor and Romana meet Adric, a math genius and a would-be Outler. Adric has Romana provide help but the desperate Outlers soon attempt to take her hostage. Meanwhile the Doctor sneaks onto the Starliner, followed by a Marshchild. The Marshchild is captured for experimentation, to the Doctor's protest. Despite this, the Doctor and his wisdom are accepted by the Doctor, who suspects something strange going on. Meanwhile Romana is attacked by strange alien spiders and seems to become mentally connected to the Marshmen. The Doctor manages to drive off the Marshmen and learns the truth hidden by the ruling body of the Starliner: the ship has been long fixed but no one knows how to fly it. In fact, the original inhabitants of the Starliner are long dead. The current ones are genetically identical to the Marshmen and are them in their more evolved form. The Doctor drives off the Marshmen and the leaders of the Starliner decide to think hard if they want to stay or go after the Doctor teaches them how to fly the ship.

Full Circle is an episode that was well-regarded and compared to the first two serials of the season, I see why. It has a more intriguing set up than most, and hints at some strangeness like Adric suddenly healing and his genius regarding information well above what he should. I think I liked it more than I didn't for it's ambitions and performances and fascinating but flawed script. It makes sense when you realize it was written by an 17 year old. The social commentary within seems a little too muddled in it's attempt to not simply have the olds be bad and the youngs be good. The idea that the older class would want to spin their wheels rather than change or face what their past is vs. their idealized one is all interesting and certainly still relevant but it also doesn't quite work in the whole for me. I think the specifics of the evils and virtues of the character and its weird to have the youths be completely wrongheaded with weirdly few virtues, at least until one makes a noble self-sacrifice.

The big sci-fi ideas of a race coming to believe they are another race over thousands of years is a cool idea, the kind I would expect from the new Who era. That mystery is really where the strongest part of the story is, more than what the story "means". But it does underserve it's character and really needs a little more orientation to make the "no bad guys (except Dexeter, kind of)" story work. It also kind of forgets to make the Marshmen sympathetic in the end after so much time the Doctor was desperate to save it. I also think that Adric doesn't quite work. I kind of remembered him as an angry teen character as a child when I watched this (the spider scene freaked me out as a kid) but watching this, I think he needed to be angrier. Someone frustrated with his station and the elders and with good cause. But weirdly that and being a math genius does not come into play (it's weird that there are going to be three science geniuses in the cast, now). He doesn't do nothing but he does little for an introductory story.

Overall, I think this is a story that overreaches but it's not bad, just a bit muddled. There are very good bones here but I wish we had another draft to make the Outlers and Starliners plights more clear and sympathetic. Still, I think this is a case where some of the new additions, like the synth music, works. There's a leitmotif for Adric and the Starliners that I like, though I feel half the time the gentle, triumphant music seems wrong for the situation. I assume this will be Adric's little theme for his run and it suits him, feeling lighter while still adventurous. As for Adric himself, I think sadly his performance is a bit wooden in this serial. Maybe when he spends more time on the series and his character gets more to do this will improve. I also feel like this story being muddled means the story should be similar to Leela's but also inverse; a genius learning to grow himself in travel. As it is now, he's just kind of a cipher with a Prince Valiant haircut.

Best cliffhanger:
The spider attack left an impression on me as a kid. It's also so weird when Romana keeps saying "they're only spiders". It's both effective but also awkwardly edited in parts.

Next time:

 

[Kazin]

I also think that Adric doesn't quite work.

Get ready to copy and paste this one a bunch

(I actually kind of like the little shit tbh)

 

[Johnny Unusual]

(I actually kind of like the little shit tbh)

I mean, I was surprised that I kind of wanted him to be more of a little shit. Curious if I'll feel the opposite when we get the Turlough (a character I remember not liking as a kid).

 

[Kazin]

Completely coincidentally to your rewatch, Johnny Unusual, I just rewatched State of Decay because I've resumed by read-through of the New Adventures, and next up is Goth Opera and Blood Harvest, both of which concern the vampires, introduced here, and I have hazy memories of their position in canon Who.

I haven't watched a Tom Baker story in ages! It was lovely, actually. He and Lalla Ward are in great form here, having some fun back and forths. Matthew Waterhouse, is, uh, awkward as usual. He is playing a little shit, though, and does that well enough, I suppose. It is believable that he'd be tempted to become a vampire, after all.

In any case I didn't really need to rewatch this for the New Adventures books. The vampires are ancient enemies of the Time Lords is all we are really told in State of Decay, which I did happen to remember lol. In any case, it was a nice couple of hours.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Matthew Waterhouse, is, uh, awkward as usua

Halfway through and I think he's could have used coaching on... walking across the TARDIS set like a person.

So far he's almost not enough of a little shit to me. Like, I assumed he would play the Jamie McCrimmon role; smart but more headstrong than the Doctor. And hes really actually not doing much so far. Heck the show seems intent on keeping him away from Baker and considering how Baker wasnt a fan of a lot of the changes on the show, I wonder if this was less the script and more trying to appease on-set dynamics.

 

[Kazin]

Halfway through and I think he's could have used coaching on... walking across the TARDIS set like a person.

That first scene where he walks into the TARDIS control room is among the most awkward scenes the show has ever had and it just involves him walking, yeah. Waterhouse seems like a nice man, and can, in fact, act quite well on audio, but physically he is almost completely out to sea.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

State of Decay
"Then die... that is the purpose of guards."

In this serial, the Doctor, still trapped in E-Space, travels to an Earth-like planet that is mostly barren save for a patch. Investigating, it seems to be Medieval of nature and discovers for the people science is forbidden. The village is ruled by a trio of mad rulers who seem to be vampires. Meanwhile, Adric, who stowed away on the TARDIS, leaves to explore, only to be captured by the lead vampire, Arkon. The vampires are also targeting the Doctor and Romana, believing their power could service their master. The Doctor and Romana meet villagers who are of a secret resistance, who believe in science and dream to one day overthrow their rulers. The rulers are, in fact, former Earth astronauts, controlled and manipulated into becoming monsters before being stranded in E-Space. The Doctor and Romana then go to the vampires' castle to learn more about them.

The Doctor realizes their is a massive vampire under the castle, an entity that once battled the Time Lords. Romana is captured while trying to rescue Adric after learning of his fate, who seems to be willing to throw Romana under the bus for power and eternal life. However, this is a ruse as he tries to defeat the vampires while they are distracted, though this is in vein, er, vain. But the Doctor, on doing some research, learns the vampires can be killed with steel through the heart and reprograms the rocket the Earthmen came in to pierce the giant monster in the heart. The vampires soon dissolve and the planet is free to pursue science without being controlled and used by vampires.

State of Decay is a better, if less ambitious, story than Full Circle. It's a throwback to the Hinchcliffe era of horror there is a general successful creepiness to the villains. Everyone who isn't Matthew Waterhouse is acting up a storm. Arkon is particularly delightful as the head vampire and knows when to go big and when to... well, it's never subtle but he knows that sometimes a soft tone is more insidious sounding than screeching to the heavens. I also like Baker's monologue about vampires because while it isn't exactly emotional, he does bring in a sense of dread (I also feel like the Doctor talked about the hermit before? In the Pertwee era maybe?).

The only major thing that doesn't work, sadly, is Waterhouse. He suddenly jolts to life when he seems to betray Romana. Yes, he's whiny but he also becomes more interesting. Why would we assume someone who seeks a life of adventure has the right moral fortitude? Heck, he's a kid, so it makes sense he might not be willing to risk his life for strangers and seeing eternal life and powers isn't an amazing sounding adventure. But I think pulling back on that at the end retroactively makes what could be an interesting wildcard into just... Adric. He really doesn't fit with the team dynamic yet and I am wondering if the writers aren't sure what to do with him, yet. Which is weird when you have a full new character to explore.

Overall, this serial is a fun romp and a good return-to-form that this era is seeking. There are aspects I wish we explored more, like the idea of a people who can't even conceive of people they don't know. But it's nice to see a villain that is threatening and, by Doctor Who standards, isn't overly complicated in explaining them or how to defeat them. If anything, a rocket through the heart is a lot more lo-fi and less jargony than most solutions. E-Space ends next serial, along with a goodbye to Romana. Interesting to see the end of that era.

Best Cliffhanger: The pulsating basement floor at the end of episode 2 is pretty creepy.

Next Time:

 

[Kazin]

I also feel like the Doctor talked about the hermit before? In the Pertwee era maybe?

Yes, specifically in Planet of the Spiders, he is K'anpo. The hermit shows up all over the place in the expanded material, but is limited to just Planet of the Spiders and the odd mention here and there, like in State of Decay on TV.

The Virgin New Adventure Blood Harvest, which I finished last night, is a direct sequel to State of Decay. Terrance Dicks expands a bit on his TV story by putting more towns and castles on the "Vampire Planet" as it's titled in the book (lol), making the society there larger than the like, twenty villagers and three vampires. Vampirism infected many of the members of the upper class there, so when the Great Vampire got killed by Tom Baker, the peasants all over the planet were suddenly, for the most part, free. That's about half the book, where the other half takes place in 1930s Chicago and features the Doctor temporarily allying with Al Capone.

I love this stupid show so much lmao

 

[Johnny Unusual]

BTW, this thread might be relevant to people here. Not sure how. Just a shot in the dark.

Thread 'Top 50 Time Travelers Submission thread - Clock In!'

Apr 18, 2026

Alright! It’s… TIME! Time to vote on your favourite time travelers in fiction and… reality? Well, we’ll get to that. But this character archetype isn’t just a character with a gift and/or a curse, it’s how we can use speculative fiction to explore some big-ass ideas. After all, the past is a foreign place and an inaccessible one. It’s easy to feel trapped in the now and while there are good things about this era, it’s not hard to see the scary stuff. If anything, that feeling of fear and of loss is what is the...

• Johnny Unusual
• popularity contest
• Replies: 45
• Forum: Popularity Contest Megalodome

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Warriors' Gate
"You were the noblest Romana of them all!"

In this serial, the Doctor, Romana and Adric arrive in an intersection between dimensions but crossing it proves most difficult. Stuck in a strange white void with only a castle, they run across a "freighter" ship run by the cruel Captain Rorvik. Upon investigation, the Doctor learns the castle belongs to the Tharils, a race of lion like creatures who are time-sensitive. It seems they were able to use their abilities and understanding of space time to take what they needed, including slaves. Now the Tharils' abilities are coveted by other creatures and have been enslaved. In fact, Rorvik is a slaver and is desperately trying to use his Tharils to figure out a way to escape the intersection.

Through the adventure, the Doctor meets Biroc, an escaped Tharil whose ability to sense time makes him cryptic, even to the Doctor. Romana wants to help everyone escape but more than that, she insists the Tharil be freed. The only way out seems to be a mirror in the castle that only time sensitives can move through. The situation is dire as reality itself is shrinking, ready to kill everyone who remains. Pushed to the limit, the obstinate and bullying Rorvik attempts to blast through the mirror with the engines, which will inadvertently destroy the ship and the Tharils. The Doctor goes on a rescue mission with Romana and manages to buy time for the Tharils to escape. Rorvik destroys his own his and all his men while the Tharils leave through the mirror. Knowing they need someone to guide them through space and time, Romana opts to stay in E-Space (along with K9) to help the Tharils free their own kind across the universe.

Thus ends the E-Space adventure. I think these serials are reaching for a weirder and sometimes more heady Doctor Who but I don't think it always lands. This especially. It starts with some striking visuals, an attempt to be cinematic with a coin flip. But after that, the story visually is mostly black box theatre. It toys with some chromakey effects for some of it's more ambitious ideas but for the most part it is just the show suddenly looking kind of dull after an interesting looking opening. I think there are some good things going for this one; I like the idea of the narrative slipping between past and future and the tragedy of a conqueror race laid down karmically and having to rebuild.

But the villains are a bit dull, particularly Rorvik. They try to give him this thing where he's telling all his men how to think and feel but it doesn't just feel pathetic (as it should) it makes him seem really ineffectual considering how bored everyone is in going on with him. I think there's some social commentary to read into that but Clifford Rose's performance didn't do it for me. I also wish we got more of the Thirals since so much is about restoring their freedom and dignity. I think a lot of the stuff I liked was in smaller portions and the first couple episodes is stumbling around the dying void. I also wish the show did more with the coin flip. I though probability was going to enter into this more and each coin flip was going to throw the story into chaos.

It sounds like the shooting on set was... awkward, with Baker and Ward no longer being on the best terms and during this one that Baker announced he would leave the show at the end of the series (which I imagine also meant everyone was going to be scrambling to make a farewell story for the Doctor). But the problem is I think we have a script that has smart, interesting ideas and aims for cosmic tragedy but spends a bit too much time puttering around in the first couple episodes. Romana's farewell better than Leela's at least and though it's SOMEWHAT out of left field (in that I admit I'm not quite sure what she provides that the Tharils don't do themselves), the motivations beyond helping the Tharils makes sense as she would rather have her freedom. And basically, she gets to be the Doctor of E-Space, which is much better than "she's leaving so I guess we'll find her a husband."

Best cliffhangers: I didn't care for any of them but the Doctor popping out of the past is good before the ACTUAL cliffhanger.

Next Time:

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Keeper of Traken

"Adric, if I knew everything that was going to happen, where would the fun be?"

In this serial, the Doctor is summoned by the Keeper of Traken, a powerful leader with access to vast cosmic power called The Source. The Keeper protects Traken, a world where no evil takes root... but the Keeper is nearing the end of his life and suspects an evil force planning to corrupt the planet. It is believed it is connected to an evil creature called The Melkor, a statue like entity that has remained motionless for many years and is tended to by a compassionate consul of the planet named Kassia. As the Doctor and Adric investigate while the Melkor makes his move; convincing Kassia that if she does not prevent her husband Tremas, one of the five consuls of Traken, from becoming the next leader, she will lose him forever. Melkor and Kassia make short work of pinning a murder on the Doctor, though Tremas puts his life on the line to protect him and Adric.

Soon, Melkor, through Kassia, begins to take control of the world and is eventually made the new keeper, the pawn of Melkor. Kassia is transformed into Melkor (or something) and takes control of the planet. However, it becomes clear that the Melkor is not completely all powerful yet. The Doctor tries to sabotage his throne room but is captured by the Melkor, who reveals the creature was merely a vessel... inside the true foe stands revealed, the Master. On death's door, he is planning to steal the Doctor's body and use his mind along with the Source to control the universe. Luckily, Adric and the Doctor had an incomplete back up plan that Adric and Nyssa's daughter bring to fruition that risked destroying the Source. The Master is repulsed, the Doctor escapes and one of the consuls quickly takes the spot as Keeper to fill the power vacuum. With things seemingly in hand, the Doctor and Adric leave, unaware Tremas has been captured by the Master and has stolen his body.

I mostly knew The Keeper of Traken as sort of a table-setter for Tom Baker's final adventure as the Doctor so I was expecting a lot of wheel spinning and such. However, this was... pretty OK. I think it has a lot of untapped potential but I think it mostly handles its big twists towards the end fairly well. Unfortunately, I was aware of the end of the story in broad strokes. I would have liked to have been surprised. Frustratingly, I think that Geoffrey Beevers performance as the Master... is kind of forgettable. I'm not certain who is voicing the Melkur (Graham Cole played the Melkor but Wikipedia isn't clear if he did voice and body or just the body) but if Beevers is doing that too, I actually really like that eerily cool performance more than when we meet the Master in the necrotic flesh.

In terms of what I didn't like, nothing was "bad" but I feel like all the stuff I found most interesting wasn't fleshed out enough. Like a lot of Doctor stories, it's a bit insular. I would like to see society break down or become corrupted as the Master's plans start to flower to really sell the stakes. We are told this planet is so great so it seems important but we never actually see that demonstrated so it's basically just a vaguely Renaissance planet. I also think Nyssa... I couldn't tell you the first thing about her. I know that it won't be until the next chapter where she earnestly plays the role of companion but it really feels like there's not a lot of there there. We can say Adric is good at math, even if it rarely comes up, but I really have no idea what she brings to the table, particularly in this story. Kassia is a halfway interesting character but I would have liked to see her be someone who didn't seem like a rube and more like someone whose fear allows them to be lead astray by evil.

But I think despite the fact that the story was not written originally with the Master in mind, I think the story does a "decent" job incorportating him (though it really brushes off that the Master was clearly working on this plan for many years.) The Melkor looks cool and memorable and... the fact that it is a TARDIS makes me wonder "wait, you could just make it a robot?!" (well, maybe not the old type-40...) And I'm finally going to give it up to Adric, a little. I didn't feel great about pointing out Waterhouse's weaknesses as an actor but while he isn't exactly super-charismatic, it really does feel like he's got his sense of place. The writers are letting him do stuff and while I felt like Baker was reluctant to even act with him in the previous three serials, there actually is a small bit of chemistry. I feel like Adric was added to give the show a vibe similar to the Second Doctor/Jamie dynamic and sadly it doesn't quite work (I think Waterhouse has a charming smile but he doesn't provide a good enough counterpoint to Baker and despite the character razzing the Doctor on occasion, he's a little too frictionless with everything). Overall, I think this serial ended better than I expected but the problem is the script also hints at being a better story with more digging into the tragedy of the characters and the end of a paradise.

Best cliffhanger: I guess the last one. Shocked that none of them were a Master reveal.

Next time:

 

[Kazin]

Yeah, pizzaface Master is kind of crap (not so much the Beever's performance as what he's given imo, but ah well).

Nyssa, however, wasn't originally supposed to be a companion - she was only supposed to be in this single story, but the production team liked Sarah Sutton so much they opted to bring her back in Logopolis (I always wonder what images you're going to pick for some of these stories, nice choice for this one lol).

Adric works far better with the Fifth Doctor, if only because Davison tries to elevate his fellow actor's performances, rather than step all over them like Tom Baker tends to by this point in his tenure. Like I said before, though, I do have a soft spot for the little git lol

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Adric works far better with the Fifth Doctor, if only because Davison tries to elevate his fellow actor's performances, rather than step all over them like Tom Baker tends to by this point in his tenure. Like I said before, though, I do have a soft spot for the little git lol

Yeah, I love Baker but he's also definitely a steamroller. This approach work best when it's him winding people up or taking the air out of bloviating villains but you really need someone completely game, seasoned and ready to work opposite Baker and Waterhouse wasn't there.

 

[Phantoon]

Having just finished the Silmarilion I'm wondering if Melkur is a reference to Satan-alike and thorough bad egg Melkor.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Logopolis

"It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for."

In this serial, The Doctor decides he wants to fix the chameleon circuits, which will involve a quick jaunt to Earth to study a police box and then a trip to Logopolis, a world home to a hivemind of mathematicians. However, a sense of dread hangs over what would seem to be a small stakes mission. Unbeknownst to them, the Master is lying in wait, initially trapping them in a recursive loop within the TARDIS. He also kills some passerbys, including the aunt of Tegan, a young woman on her way to a flight attendant job. Tegan makes her way to the TARDIS as the Doctor realizes that the Master is up to something. He travels to Logopolis, who plan to help the Doctor with his TARDIS. The Doctor also notes a full replica of the Pharos Project, a large satellite dish on Earth designed to contact intelligent life. The Master murders a few mathematicians (as the whole of society is acting as parts in a giant computer) to sabotage the Doctor's TARDIS.

The Master has bigger plans, wanting to control Logopolis as their math can actually effect reality. However, to do so, the Master temporarily ends a larger tabulation, unaware doing so is the end of Logopolis. It is revealed entropic forces in the universe are actually held at bay by their math, a plan until they could find a more permanent solution. Now halting the calculations allowed entropy to sneak in and kill most of the planet and will spread to the universe. Soon, the Doctor and the Master are forced into an alliance to save the universe. Their only chance is to send the mathematic message into the universe (I think, I really got confused here) through the Pharos Project. However, seeing an opportunity, after the message is sent, the Master realizes he can hold the universe hostage. The only way to stop him is for the Doctor to disable the satellite dish. He does so at the cost of his own life, though manages to regenerate.

Logopolis is... a very mixed bag. The stuff that works does so very well. And that thing is tone. There's a sense of foreboding running through the whole story. Elements like the Cloister Bell and the Watcher are actually not super clear at all (the claim that the Watcher was the Doctor the whole time is confusing. Is it a psychic projection? A form from the future? Why does it blorp into the Doctor to make him change?) but what they do is give a tone akin to a ghost story, a sense of doom approaching that cannot be avoided. The idea of Logopolis is good too, a world holding everything together through constant action. Each person is like a part of a computer and destroying one has a cascading effect. Watching the universe fall apart, even in a show cheaply as this. does sell the apocalyptic nature of the threat.

I'll also say the acting of Baker and new Master Anthony Ainley is really strong. Ainley brings an evil glee to the Master that's been missing for a while. I always felt Robert Delgado kind of liked his evil in a low key way and while he wasn't humourless, he was more a catty snob. But Ainley is a villain who is just having the best time fucking things up for people and his smile tells you that. Baker is good, as he often is, and brings with him not his usual joy but a sense of weight when he knows things could be bad. In fact, I think while Baker is doing a good job and did all through the season, it does feel like the joy is gone for him for the most part. Behind the scenes stuff, probably. But I also think that beyond what happened with Lalla Ward, it probably isn't the show he wanted to be making.

Which brings me to the problem; the new cast. Keep in mind, I don't dislike them. Waterhouse is getting less awkward for sure. But all the characters feel like the wrong fit. I don't even know what the Nyssa and Tegan characters bring to the table and though I, in theory, know what Adric does (natural genius, rebellious teen, apprentice to the hero), the show never makes enough use of it. It all feels a bit thrown together. And I remember hearing (and this could be wrong) that the Deadly Assassin, in part, was because Baker didn't want a sidekick. Which I get. At that point, he IS the show. Yes, the show could go on without him and will but he's made such a big impact that the cast could probably change week to week besides him and you still have a strong show. I feel like Baker was probably feeling crowded and it doesn't help that I think the script doesn't give them enough to do. The Doctor, the character, keeps telling people to stay away because he can handle it on his own. Most stories, he's got to learn that he needs help. But... that never really happens. Tegan sticks around to help but she doesn't do much.

In the end, it's a story I think it mostly successful. It's a bit of a slow burn for this show (particularly the first part, where little actually happens but the atmosphere makes it work). But there's a lot that gets garbled by the end and it really does have an overstuffed cast problem. Keep in mind, it's the same amount of companions as when the show started. But I feel like I can't really describe these characters as well as Barbara, Ian and Susan beyond where they came from. I wish I felt more when Nyssa's entire world collapsed into nothingness. It has it's weak moments and I feel frustrated by it's unsatisfying plot twist with the Watcher but for the most part, it is a decent farewell with some big, bold ideas.

Best Cliffhanger: The Doctor and the Master team up

Next time:

 

[Kazin]

the claim that the Watcher was the Doctor the whole time is confusing. Is it a psychic projection? A form from the future? Why does it blorp into the Doctor to make him change?

It makes zero sense especially in context with the rest of the show re: regenerations, but I think the idea was it's supposed to be the Fifth Doctor from the future, warning his prior form that he's about to regenerate. Notably in that scene where Baker is off in the distance, talking to the Watcher, that we don't get to hear any dialogue. It's a clumsily done way of having the future of the show intrude on the past, I think.

It does, however, explain the Fourth Doctor's mood throughout Logopolis. The atmosphere is funereal, Baker playing the Doctor as angrily depressed (or, perhaps, not playing it). He knows he's going to die/regenerate very soon, because presumably the Watcher told him. That's why "the moment has been prepared for" at the end.

Regarding the rest of the new cast... As much as I like Sarah Sutton, I don't think Nyssa brings that much to the table and the Fifth Doctor should have travelled with just Adric and Tegan. It's too crowded and the show's writing isn't deft enough to give them all something to do (see Kinda next season for a blatant example of this). Tegan is a different take on a character who doesn't want to travel with the Doctor - she will spend all of next season whining about getting back to Heathrow. The idea - a friendly, but unwilling travelling companion could, in the hands of good writers (and, crucially, a good script editor [this is foreshadowing lol]), work, but just having her whine about going home every week is the most boring and annoying possible version of that type of character.

I adore the season 19 cast, but they are fraught with problems conceptually. Individual stories within Davison's time work, sometimes fantastically (it has some all-timers), but as a whole, the era is an utter mess.

 

[Daikaiju]

My local PBS stations, WHYY and NJN, ran a lot of the 3rd & 4th doctor episodes for the longest time before they got they got access to the earlier and later episodes. I initially missed the transition from Baker and was confused to see so many people travelling with the Doctor.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

I think the larger crews after the first go to the "nice" Doctors like Davison and Whitaker, which is an interesting trend. Despite being the namesake, the Hartnell era was more an ensemble show

 

[Daikaiju]

Despite being the namesake, the Hartnell era was more an ensemble show

And had a random 'appearence' by the Beatles in concert! Early TV was a helluva a thing

 

[Kazin]

I think the larger crews after the first go to the "nice" Doctors like Davison and Whitaker, which is an interesting trend. Despite being the namesake, the Hartnell era was more an ensemble show

It is an interesting parallel, yeah. The showrunners of both eras were not up to the task of giving everyone something to do or even basic character facts (such as remembering, for example, that the Master is wearing Nyssa's dad's body as a skinsuit when she meets him the next fifty times, or that Ryan has dyspraxia).

 

[Daikaiju]

or that Ryan has dyspraxia

That's a helluva thing to forget.

 

[Kazin]

That's a helluva thing to forget.

The Chibnall era was a hell of a time.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The Fourth Doctor Retrospective

Tom Baker has had the longest tenure of ANY Doctor in the series. Seven full seasons. And I think Tom remains my favourite despite the failings of certain segments. Particularly early on. He is, more than any other Doctor, really leaning into the otherness and alienness of the character. This makes sense; the first Doctor never makes it clear till later on that he is an alien and it is never a big part of the charater until Pertwee, where it becomes a very big part of the character. But Baker really brings some wildness early on. That does mean that the first Robot turns it into outright clownishness with the scene where he's trying different costumes but even as a clown there's a Willy Wonka unhinged nature to him that feels natural.

And you know, it's easy to forget if you haven't read the book or seen any incarnation of the movie (though let's face it, there's just the one worth watching) that there is an undercurrent of anger to Wonka and there's also that to Baker. It's not the same as Pertwee's anger; he plays thing on different wavelength than other characters but gets really cutting. And by the end of his run, you feel that the real Baker is pouring his frustration into the performance. And I actually think that works for the scripts being used (especially in the last story) but the fun is gone, kind of. Not for a lack of trying but I feel like that the kinds of stories changing play a role.

When the show started, there was a bit of the Pertwee era left but it moved into Gothic horror stories. But I noticed that the sidekicks started being not people from Earth. It's weird because I actually like that considering the nu-Who era is almost exclusively a variety of everywoman (and Wilfred Mott, a little bit, as a treat. Oh and Nardole a little bit). And keep in mind, many of them work out to be interesting characters and very different than the others, this had a long run with outerspace warrior woman, a time lord, a mathamatician from a reverse universe and a space noblewoman (for two episodes). And it's a long streak. Similarly, as the show goes on it seems like it is almost exclusively space adventures. Episodes like City of Death become rarities. And while there are many problems with the general overall writing in the latter half, I think that this actually hurt one of the great things about the series; that it can go ANYWHERE (well, within a PG-13 basis).

I think Tom remains great throughout but I think maybe being SUCH an iconic Doctor Who who probably had the biggest impact (for good and ill) of what the Doctor SHOULD be and act like) meant being on maybe on the show a little longer than was good for the show and for Baker. Of course, I think the attempts to change course after the show stopped doing horror-based stories was also a problem. I actually think getting away from that should have been, to some extend, good, even if the reasons behind it suck. With the introduction of regeneration, the show created a device to allow the show constant invention and reinvention. Not beholden to one performance or creative vision. The Doctor Who of the Baker era was the far cry from the beginnings where The Doctor was cantankerous, frail and not-entirely-trustworthy and not even quite the star (the companions, if anything, tended to resolve as much if not more and tended to be the engines of the plot). But frustratingly, it never quite pulled those off satisfactorily and getting stuck in space stories so often tended to leave Baker to have to barf out to the best of his ability nonsensical sci-fi jargon to resolve things in very disappointing ways.

I get why Baker and Ward where also not happy with the start of the 80s era of the show. It will be somewhat infamous, particularly when we get to the OTHER Baker, who gets stuck in a stupid clown suit with an unlikable Doctor with the weakest plots. But I also think that the failings of the era also comes with hope. Maybe the show didn't need a synth score but it does reach for something more ambitious. I actually think the Nathan-Turner era is a space with good ideas and poor execution (except the costumes. The show gets to into the stupid costumes. What the fuck is with the ducks?!) Even though the Doctor is stuck in space or alien worlds most of this season, it does feel like it is aiming for weirder (in a good way) plots, even if they are sadly just a little too muddled a lot of the time.

But Baker, when he's on. is still my favourite. His Cheshire cat smile, a braggadocios man who also can't help undercutting himself, a personality calculated to vex people and endear him to his friends (though they might debate how effective he is). It's taking from the three previous Doctors for sure (Troughton's first couple stories have him almost as wild but sadly don't maintain this aspect of the character) but his shadow is immense. In the Day of the Doctor, with no slight to any other actor (all Doctors are good Doctors, it's the scripts that fail them), I think no other Doctor would work as the Curator to give his scene the impact that it does.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Well, I'll be taking another break before tackling the Fifth Doctor. While Tom is my favourite, Davison was the one I kind of claimed ownership of because of my strong memories of his stories airing on YTV when I was in elementary school. My grade three teacher actually had a Doctor Who book in her classroom that I poured over for days (one published before the McCoy era) and I remember thinking "this one is mine" on the Pete Davison page. But I also remember that era when the show was getting just a bit too much of a bummer for me. Like, I remember things getting a little nastier in some ways. I'm curious if that take will hold up on a rewatch as I have not seen this era in a very long time.

 

[Kazin]

What the fuck is with the ducks?!

Before I got to the last word of that sentence, I expected it to end with "question marks." Ducks? What am I forgetting, here? lol

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Ducks

DUCKS

....FUCKING DUCKS!!

I know this is from EXACTLY one serial but it's so representative of the dumb aesthetic choices of the show. The Doctor is quirky! So here's some ducks. Or maybe celery upon the lapel. Or a black cat pin! It's so stupid. I think the question mark motif was bad too (way too Superhero-y and I love superheroes) but by the time poor Colin is in the hobo clown suit instead of his suggestion of crushed black velvet, it's clear that the priorities are in the wrong places. It was smart that Christopher Eccleston suggest not doing any big costumes for the character so he isn't trapped by them (it does sound like the actors for nu-Who got a whole lot of input into what they should wear, which I think is the right way to do it.)

 

[Kazin]

I know this is from EXACTLY one serial

Ah, right, okay. Yeah, it's from a serial I don't like all that much and thus don't rewatch lol (tbh, I'd not noticed it before)

And, yeah. Eccleston was right to not go Big on the costume. I'd argue that even the super long scarf applies here, too. Blasphemy, I know, but still!