‘This is Terminus: no-one’s happy here.’ I think this is easily the best episode of the story because the themes of freedom and self determination suddenly come into focus as the Garm, the Vanir and finally Nyssa assert their independence, and hope conquers despair. Whether that’s enough pay off to probably the most joyless Doctor Who so far is debateable, but it at least feels like the slog had some purpose.
‘If we don’t do something quickly, the whole universe will be destroyed’ *Boing* The bathos of that climactic sound effect is typical of the whole. There’s a good story in Terminus, but unlike Warriors’ Gate, it’s being actively hindered by poor production standards or, more likely, time constraints. Fight scenes look under-rehearsed. Even some of the dialogue scenes look like they could have done with one more take. There are images which seem to have been lifted from horror films, like Nyssa being chained up like a King Kong sacrifice to the Garm, or the dead pilot slumped in his chair like the desiccated corpse in Alien. But they’re empty references without broader relevance.
‘What is this horrendous place.’ The story arrives at Terminus, ‘at the exact centre of the known universe’, and – oh, more grey corridors. Accepting that Terminus itself needs to be grim, it’s a shame more wasn’t done to make the Lazar transport look a bit different. As a result, this looks as boring as some of the cheapo spaceship sets from the Graham Williams run, without the saving grace that at least those usually took place across multiple, visually distinct locations.
‘There is no return. This is Terminus.’ Steve Gallagher is very good at space gothic – the crumbling castle of Warriors’ Gate, the haunted landscapes of Nightmare Country, and this: with secret passages, medieval lepers, and ghostly skulls it’s a futuristic Castle of Otranto. The setting is promising, but this episode drags ominously and it was almost certainly a mistake to sequence it between two other stories that also involve pottering around (better looking) spaceships.
‘I’m supposed to be working against him.’ This is a hot mess. Two episodes ago, Mawdryn declared he was going to be a Time Lord, now he just wants to die. Turlough is meant to be assassinating the Doctor, but now the Black Guardian’s complaining he isn’t following the Doctor’s orders. Mawdryn’s mutation is now, somehow, a time travel virus. It’s difficult to imagine anything quite so spotty going out under any other established production team.
‘Spare me the endurance of endless time.’ I’m torn between finding this all perfectly pleasant adventuring and wishing there was actually more to it than lots of people wandering about in their own little storylines. Turlough’s continual excuses to avoid killing the Doctor, and the Black Guardian’s grumpy exhortations are wearing a bit thin, even if the Guardian’s appearance on the TARDIS scanner is a nice little link back to The Armageddon Factor. Still, Strickson gets to appear in the creepiest scene in the episode: Turlough’s discovery of the room of the undead.
‘What worries me is the level of coincidence in all this. Almost as if some cosmic influence…’ Grimwade at least makes some effort to imply someone is trying to direct these events – perhaps a hint that the White Guardian is working behind the scenes to provide the Doctor with allies against his counterpart (maybe you could ret-con the whole of the first part of Season 20 to the White Guardian’s interventions – reuniting the Doctor and Tegan, and freeing Tegan from the Mara before pitching them into a battle against darkness). Or maybe it’s just a cheap hand wave to excuse the second accidental reunion this series.
‘I don’t trust that boy.’ Adric’s replacement feels like another attempt to create JNT’s ideal of a tricky, untrustworthy boy companion. There are several things in Turlough’s favour though. First, while he’s naturally ‘cunning as a fox’ (he lies to the headmaster about Hippo’s responsibility for crashing the Brigadier’s car, then later tells Hippo he’s taken full responsibility), he’s also a victim of a higher power. Secondly, while he’s clearly not an ordinary human being (‘I hate Earth’), he’s introduced in recognisable surroundings and more easy to warm to than a space brat declaring his genius every five minutes. And he’s played by Mark Strickson, who brings his experience and training to create a character with the twitchy panic of a trapped animal, full of nervy energy.
‘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.
‘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.
Next Time... 