"Now listen to me, you young idiot; you're not so much gullible as you are idealistic."
Episode 117: Four to Doomsday.
Companions: 5th Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric.
Air Date: 18th to 26th January 1982.
The TARDIS arrives on board a huge spaceship where the Doctor and his companions encounter the frog-like Urbankans and a population of human androids. The androids are drawn from four different ethnic groups - Greek (led by Bigon), Chinese (led by Lin Futu), Mayan (led by Villagra) and Aboriginal Australian (led by Kurkutji) - and perform regular displays of dance and other rituals termed 'recreationals'. The Urbankans' leader, Monarch, aided by his ministers Persuasion and Enlightenment, is engaged in a complex scheme to plunder from Earth the raw materials needed to enable him to travel back in time and thereby confirm his belief in his own status as the universe's divine creator.
The first proper adventure for the 5th Doctor is another that comes across as a tad weak. The story is watchable but never quite hits the mark. It is silly in places, such as floating in space in just a space helmet and using the momentum of a cricket ball to bridge space. You can't help but roll your eyes at times. The story deals with the concept of a messiah complex. The villainous Monarch believes that he created the universe and wishes to travel back in time to the Big Bang in order to meet himself. The plot itself seems to work but the scripting of it all is where the episode falls flat.
The characterisation of the characters is fine for the Doctor and Nyssa but Teagna and Adric seem very out of character. Adric jumps immediately to the point of view of Monarch even when the Doctor, a figure he should trust, tells him otherwise. All very out of character for him. As for Tegan, she seems to suffer massively from culture shock in this story even though she has seen space/time travel and encountered alien cultures. Although she hasn't been with the Doctor for long it already feels out of character.
No comments:
Post a Comment