Category: Doctor Who
Doctor Who episode 587: Snakedance – Part Four (26/1/1983)
‘Fear is the only poison.’ In the final analysis, this ending doesn’t quite land as well as it might, which is perhaps why the story as a whole undervalued. It’s a shame we’re left to imagine the comeuppances for such a vivid cast of characters – though I imagine after Lon’s public humiliation and Ambril’s part in it the Federation might well be looking for new leadership. I suppose with limited time, it’s right that the story focuses on Tegan’s recovery, and it’s fitting that it ends in quiet contemplation. I don’t think the concept of the Snakedance is well articulated, so it all ends up sounding a bit airy-fairy, but fortunately enough groundwork has been laid with the telepathic crystals that it doesn’t entirely matter.
Doctor Who episode 586: Snakedance – Part Three (25/1/1983)
‘Nobody these days believes in legends.’ This avoids some of the normal pitfalls of third episodes with a structure that keeps the Doctor out of the action but in the detail, learning about the origins of the Mara and the Snakedancers from Dojjen’s journal which he has persuaded Chela to share with him. Meanwhile, Lon and Tegan lure Ambril to their lair, and manipulate the same sort of greed that created the Mara to persuade him to reveal the great crystal required in the Mara’s resurrection ceremony. It has less forward motion than the first half, but it’s a useful clarification and the mirroring of the Doctor’s temptation of Chela with Lon’s of Ambril creates a nice balance between the two elements.
Doctor Who episode 585: Snakedance – Part Two (19/1/1983)
‘Mystical mumbo jumbo.’ What a shame this wasn’t broadcast as produced – the first story of the 20th series. I love its mixture of weary cynicism and a sense of wonder. It’s the best material Davison has been presented with, by a writer who, I sense, has seen what he can do and channels it into a Doctor every bit as compelling (and perhaps moreso) as the previous four. The Doctor is full of energy, dashing between the TARDIS, Ambril’s office and the marketplace like a madman. Which is, incidentally, what he looks like as he bursts into Ambril’s celebratory dinner with Tanha and associated lackeys. A lot is made of this Doctor’s determination in The Caves of Androzani, as if it’s something unique to that story. It’s not – he’s every bit as driven to save Tegan here as he will be Peri.
Doctor Who episode 584: Snakedance – Part One (18/1/1983)
‘Dare you come face to face with the finally unfaceable? Children half price.’ The opening shot – a hermit in a painted landscape – looks very artificial. But that works because the whole episode is full of artifice; the Manussan culture has turned archaeology, history and religion into a commodity for tourists. Showmen and fortune tellers twist the story of the Mara into a way to cash in. Tanha is all fake charm and concern: actually she’s as dismissive as her awful, entitled son of people like Ambril, she just does more to hide it.
Doctor Who episode 583: Arc of Infinity – Part Four (12/1/1983)
‘You’re stuck with me aren’t you.’ Much as I’m not a fan of “shipping” there’s plenty here to keep the Nyssa/Tegan slash fanciers going, particularly Nyssa’s delight when she realises Tegan is still alive, and evident excitement to see her friend again. The Doctor seems less delighted – the final shot, of his barely-concealed disappointment at regaining Tegan as a travelling companion is very funny indeed, even if I can’t imagine any other period of the show suggesting the Doctor likes his friends so little.
Doctor Who episode 582: Arc of Infinity – Part Three (11/1/1983)
‘Once I too had life.’ Compared to the normal pattern, this third episode definitely feels like it’s stepped up a gear from the opening half. Maxil, previously only interesting because he’s played by Colin Baker, finally does something not completely useless and proves that Nyssa was, in fact, telling the truth – that someone in the High Council is a traitor, plus the Doctor is still alive. This is enough to prompt the Castellan to actually start doing some Castellanning (perhaps he wasn’t feeling well – Paul Jericho sounds a bit hoarse). The result is an episode that, fitfully, starts to make something of the conspiracy mystery.
Doctor Who episode 581: Arc of Infinity – Part Two (5/1/1983)
‘So much for your justice.’ An attempt to redo The Deadly Assassin with a mysterious traitor in the High Council and lots of intrigue about biodata is undermined by the Doctor’s passive acceptance of his fate. This time, he gets to spend an episode mostly standing round the TARDIS while Nyssa and Damon play Dempsey and Makepeace and try to uncover the truth and save his skin. The plus: Sarah Sutton finally gets a character; the way she imperiously tosses her head at Maxil is pure class and holding the High Council of Gallifrey at gunpoint is a power move.
Doctor Who episode 580: Arc of Infinity – Part One (3/1/1983)
‘To kill you? Is that why they’ve brought you back?’ You can see why on paper this looked like a good idea: opening the 20th anniversary series with the first Gallifrey story since 1978, some overseas filming and the return of both an old friend and an old enemy. It’s a slightly longer list of requirements than a writer might usually have – but only slightly. It’s not like The Five Doctors.
Doctor Who episode 579: Time-Flight – Part Four (30/3/1982)
‘I’ll explain later.’ The punchline of The Curse of Fatal Death comes from its repeated use here to gloss over the need for more immediate explanations. It would be OK if these just highlighted Brigadier-style density on the part of the some of the flight crew, but it extends to the conclusion of the whole serial, which – having under-used the Master – doesn’t even feature him. Instead, the Doctor hand waves something to Nyssa and then, to get out of another mildly tricky explanation, abandons Tegan. Coming after Adric’s death, this just makes the fifth Doctor look like a careless idiot: the pay-off to a season when he’s continually been a bit useless.
Doctor Who episode 578: Time-Flight – Part Three (29/3/1982)
‘The TARDIS has turned into a helicopter!’ The end point of Season 19’s Liberty Hall attitude towards the TARDIS naturally concludes with randoms wandering in and flying it about. This undermines what should have been a jarringly wrong moment of the Master at the controls. Having unveiled the Master, Grimwade under-uses him: Ainley spends most of this wandering in and out of the TARDIS looking purposeful.
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