7 • Time-Flight
This is the sort of Doctor Who that I feel embarrassed to watch, even on my own. Time-Flight is pretty much abysmal in every way. The script. The acting. The characters. Anthony Ainley is nobody's favourite Master, but he's never been further away from Roger Delgado's charm and dignity than he is here; his pointless "disguise" as Kalid is a racist caricature so incompetent that it wouldn't offend anyone—apart from any intelligent viewer. At one point a force field appears around the crew and the Doctor says "I did warn you": I've watched it over several times, and he doesn't. At another, he watches Hayter saunter to his death, not moving a muscle. Davison really struggles in this, and while I don't think it's the worst story ever told, it is regardless an awful, boring mess. (E+)
6 • The Visitation
"I feel my mind slipping into a bottomless pit of gloom and despair." I know how he feels. Historically, Doctor Who has often been at its strongest in the, er, historical stories, but almost all of The Visitation feels off to me. We have to be told the house is spooky, because there's nothing tangibly spooky about it; we learn we've arrived during the great plague very early on, but the story is painfully short on detail, and lacks the sense of urgency and jeopardy you would deem essential for the setting; episode 1's cliffhanger is so sloppily directed, ending on a shot of Tegan and Nyssa staring at each other, neither taking any notice of the apparent threat. Even Davison's squeaky voice gets on my nerves; a sense of phoniness permeates the whole project, and there's no evidence that this sort of thing is what Doctor Who does best. (D)
5 • Castrovalva
It's an uneven debut for Peter Davison. Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding really impress, carrying the story (literally at times) during the dull tracts, of which there are many. Episode 2 is a stinker—Fiona Cumming livens up the trek through the woods, but fails to bring any energy to the stand-and-talk scenes with Adric, the Master, and his hydraulic lift. She also tries her best in episodes 3 and 4 to show the city's Escher-esque qualities, with limited success, though the effect is really beyond the technical ability of the time. There are a few areas of innovation and style, but the Master's absurd plan is indicative of a script that was never fully worked out. (C)
4 • Four to Doomsday
A genuinely bizarre serial in which Peter Davison is actually quite brilliant. (It was his first to be recorded, and I adore his "good grief" when told that Tegan has attempted to fly the Tardis.) The Urbankans are a fine make-up job, allowing an excellent Stratford Johns performance to come through. Elements of the plot lose me a little; I'm as unconvinced as ever by the androids (always a sign of a bored writer), and there's a horrible "fight" scene between Tegan and Adric which serves only to highlight how the story presents the pair of them as total cretins—Tegan tries to leave everyone behind and Adric tries to get them killed. I enjoyed this slightly more upon a second watch. It's at its best when it knows how strange it is, but, as signified by the yawn-inducing android tract, it settles into a lull that fails to inspire much hope. (C+)
3 • Earthshock
I've never loved Earthshock. I'm only able to admire it from afar—I mean, the return of the Cybermen, and an emotional companion departure. And I have huge respect for the enormous preparation that went into its hundreds of scenes. What's not to like? Well, for starters, these Cybermen are the worst in the series: their voices display far too much emotion ("I know that object!" and "Excellent!" are particularly heinous), although the "emotions" scene itself is rather excellent. And then we have Adric. It's difficult. Matthew Waterhouse is clearly up to the task and isn't at all bad here, nor has he been all season, but we must face facts. Pyjama-clad and petulant, he's not looked right in the Tardis from day one. Back in 1964, Susan's departure was preceded by an episode designed to bring her and her grandfather together to maximise the emotion—compare that with Black Orchid. It's never a good sign when the only thing you can think to do with a character is kill them off. Of course, his actual demise is emotional and the silent credits and broken badge are powerful—but they're also sentimental, and ultimately feel a bit cheap. Episode 1 is superbly tense, although its spooky tunnels are badly juxtaposed with flat, unintentionally comical Tardis scenes; aside from poor Adric, Earthshock still doesn't quite work for me. I just don't feel its impact. (B-)
2 • Black Orchid
This solitary return to the "pure historical" theme is a qualified success. It's a mystery with no mystery, with none of the characters given enough time to be suspicious, let alone suspects, but Black Orchid has a great deal of style that helps it overcome its rather limp story. Adric is sidelined—hilariously—filling his plate at a buffet for most of the story. (With not long left of the first episode I still held out hope for his only line being the extraordinary "What do you do with a cocktail in the bath?") Sarah Sutton also finally has something to do as Nyssa and Ann (she's good here as both), but I'm not convinced that people would find them indistinguishable: it's easy, Nyssa's the one with literally no characteristics. (B-)
1 • Kinda
One of my favourite Doctor Who stories ever, this is an astonishing serial that is nearly unrivalled in the series for almost unbearable tension. Nerys Hughes gives a masterclass in understated performance as Todd, and Mary Morris is similarly remarkable. A lot of the words and names have meaning in Buddhism which I'm ashamed to say I don't know anything about, but I can at least recognise the thinking behind a garden-dwelling serpent tempting women with forbidden apples. One could poke fun at Hindle's ridiculous snarl (which has the misfortune to appear twice due to its being a woeful cliffhanger), or the sparse leaves on the concrete studio floor. But why? Not even a giant inflatable snake can stop this being an example of the programme at its best. (A)