Doctor Who: Season 18 (1980-81) - Review
As someone who has grown-up watching so many Tom Baker stories, I can't help but see this season as a betrayal: the iconic title sequence is thrown-out in favour of a jazzy new intro that fits Davison's Doctor much more; Baker's multi-coloured scarf is replaced with a more muted tone, fitting with a burgundy outfit and question-marks (the start of a bizarre trend in Doctors' costumes); and his character feels more somber, less fun. His fun-loving dynamic with Lalla Ward's Romana II and John Leeson's K-9 is replaced with what feels like a sense of duty, an ominous feeling of death and decay...
'The Leisure Hive' is an odd one to start with, as many elements feel quite familiar. Tom Baker's "arrest the scarf" line seems straight out of the previous season, but there's a clear interest in the science of the story, as opposed to the adventure and humour of the previous few seasons. Bidmead fills the story with technobabble about "tachyonics", and while this may work for some, this exposition feels a bit too much for a younger audience, and often slows the momentum down. The Foamasi are a wonderful idea, if not the most developed or interesting monster, while the story's villain Pangol barely interacts with the Doctor and Romana. There's a lot to love here, and this might well be my favourite story of the season - I loved watching the VHS - and if nothing else, the new Blu-ray transfer looks great. It's perhaps not a hugely memorable story, but it does have an interesting concept, great direction, music, performances, and makes for a more fun adventure than the others.
'Meglos' is a surprising gem in this season too, giving Tom Baker the opportunity to play both hero and villain, although for practical reasons, the Doctor and Meglos barely interact. There's some amazing visual effects work in there - at least, for the time - and the make-up work on Meglos is fantastic. But admittedly the story feels a bit clunky in places, trapping the Doctor and Romana inside the TARDIS for almost two whole episodes (about half of the story), and awkwardly killing-off a supporting player in Part Four. There's also a sense that the final part needed an extra few minutes to tie-up loose ends, especially given how short each episode runs.
The first of what's been dubbed the "E-Space trilogy", 'Full Circle' gets off to a shaky start. There's some atmospheric moments in which the mysterious creatures rise from the marsh (a cross between 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon' and Who's own 'The Sea Devils'), but the story's studio sequences don't flow especially well. The atmosphere doesn't last long enough, and too much time is dedicated to new companion Adric trying to be cool and popular. His introduction feels oddly mishandled, especially considering that no one seems to have a particularly close connection with him. No wonder he just wanders into the TARDIS and stays there. The introduction of E-Space itself is an odd one, and doesn't add much to the serial, while the ultimate twists are interesting in theory but not so much in execution.
'State of Decay' feels like a left-over from a previous season, and that's because Terrance Dicks' script was originally intended to open Season 15 (instead replaced by 'The Horror of Fang Rock') as a wonderful piece of gothic horror. Here in Season 18 though, the gothic trappings of this vampire tale clash with the science-fiction elements a bit too much. The music doesn't fit the style, while the over-abundance of science and technology kills the atmosphere. The vampires themselves aren't particularly creepy, and the story never gets to indulge in its own atmosphere long enough to actually be a proper gothic horror piece. 'The Brain of Morbius' this is not. Adric's role feels like a last-minute addition, and it's difficult not to want to reach into the screen and punch him in the face for being such a pain in the arse. The Doctor and Romana's reaction to Adric stowing away on the TARDIS feels underplayed, and more like they just can't be bothered. There's little-to-no humour to lighten the mood, which just feels a bit monotonous throughout.
The "E-Space trilogy" reaches a close with 'Warrior's Gate' - a wonderful, baffling tale with some fascinating concepts that never quite manages to kick-off, thanks to having four leads with virtually no chemistry. Again, Adric feels like a spare part, and K-9 does sod-all. Romana never seems fully invested in the conflict to justify leaving the Doctor, which makes the ending feel a bit off. Otherwise, there's some good supporting characters and the story has some wonderful concepts, design-work and direction (despite issues behind the scenes). It's better than the previous two stories, but it doesn't quite take-off in the way it should.
'The Keeper of Traken' meanwhile kicks off yet another trilogy, reintroducing the Master to menace the Doctor for three consecutive stories. He hardly appears in this one, and his ultimate reintroduction is limited to one scene with the Doctor - and a lot of scenes posing as the menacing Melkur statue. It's a very entertaining story though, with the politics of Traken taking center-stage, and the Doctor trying to unravel a not-too-mysterious mystery. Anthony Ainley is lovely as Tremus, whilst Nyssa's ending feels oddly unresolved - that is, of course, until she gets awkwardly reintroduced mid-way through the next story...
Speaking of which, 'Logopolis' is an odd story in that its concepts are that of a large-scale Doctor Who season finale and its execution is that of a typical villain-of-the-week set-up. Tegan's introduction is brilliantly-handled, while Tom Baker exudes a lot more energy than previously in this season. There's some very Christopher H. Bidmead ideas in here, several of which are later repeated in 'Castrovalva' (the very next story), and that often means too much technobabble-exposition. The Watcher is a wonderful presence, and the Master a great villain, but considering how grand previous Tom Baker stories like 'Genesis of the Daleks' and 'Shada' had been, 'Logopolis' feels almost like an anti-climactic way to end his 7-year run as the Fourth Doctor. The newly-updated special effects look great though.
Regardless of the story's quality though, the new Blu-ray boxset is a treat for fans old and new, boasting a variety of commentaries, featurettes, a 5.1 surround-sound mix for 'Warrior's Gate' "Behind the Sofa" extras (essentially a cut-down visual commentary of Baker and others watching each serial) and even an hour-long, brand-new making of documentary for 'Logopolis'. Even the one-off pilot for K9 and Company is included - a nice treat for fans, but not a hugely memorable spin-off in its own right. The remastered episodes look wonderful, although some stories suffer from lacking the original film reels to remaster properly (unlike the Season 19 Blu-ray release), and there's a lot of love and care put into this release. It's not as incredible as Season 19's release, but perhaps has more new features than the original Season 12 Blu-ray.
Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 19 is on Blu-ray available now. Each serial is available as separate DVD releases.
Comments
Post a Comment