Episode #108 : The Horns of Nimon

"Why don't you give me the gun and then I can keep an eye on myself so I don't get up to any funny business."

Episode 108:    The Horns of Nimon.
Companions:   4th Doctor, K9 and Romana.
Air Date:          Four episodes. 22nd December 1979 to 12th January 1980.

The inhabitants of the planet Skonnos have been promised by an alien Nimon that he will restore their empire to greatness if they in return provide young sacrifices and radioactive hymetusite crystals, both of which they are obtaining from the nearby planet Aneth. With the TARDIS immobilised for repairs, the Doctor and Romana encounter the Skonnan spaceship transporting the latest sacrificial consignment from Aneth. Romana is captured and taken to Skonnos on board the ship, while the Doctor follows in the now semi-repaired TARDIS. Once there, they are consigned by the Skonnans' leader, Soldeed, into the Nimon's labyrinthine power complex.

The Horns of Nimon is a story based heavily on the Greek legend of the minotaur, in this case a race of beings called the Nimon. There is even a maze, sacrifices to appease the Nimon and a hero seeking to slay the beast. From there it changes and you see how the writer has made the story their own. Sometimes these stories translate well to the screen and the Horns of Nimon is just such a story.

The Nimon themselves look a bit paper mache men in suits... on stilts, but somehow it doesn't detract from the episode. It is only when you see three of them waddling about that you begin to smirk. The concept of these creatures, that of galactic parasites devouring the energy of whole worlds before moving on and pretending to be god-like to other foolish civilisations, is nothing new but somehow it works in this one. We get something similar in a later story, The God Complex, with the 11th Doctor but not quite the same.

Another thing that makes this an enjoyable story is that almost all of the typical lines and actions of the Doctor are instead taken up by Romana. I can't think of a story prior to this where the companion gets as much excellent screen time in the classic era of the show.

The Horns of Nimon is a good story for this era in the show providing that you can get past the appearance of the Nimon themselves.