Arc of infinity (1983)

Review
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Review

This serial was first broadcast between 3rd - 12th January 1983. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: after his execution, the Doctor doesn't go to heaven but to Amsterdam...

Like in 'Time-flight', in 'Arc of Infinity' we have (beware, spoiler ahead) a renegade Time Lord who is able to do his mischief by means of a lot of dodgy technology, and it's interesting to compare and contrast the way this is dealt with in both serials. The main difference with 'Time-flight' is that in 'Arc' Omega has a reason to do what he does, he has relationships with the other characters and the conflicts that arise from this are what drives the plot. While 'Time-flight' was about science and technology, 'Arc of infinity' is about character and relationships which makes it a much better story.

Some good things about this serial:

we get a clever mix of several different story lines (the two young travellers in Amsterdam, the conspirators, the Doctor and Nyssa, the events on Gallifrey) that gradually merge into into a coherent whole
this is a good story for Tegan, who always seems to work better as a character when the Doctor isn't around and she has to take the initiative in order to protect those around her, and it is especially a good story for Nyssa. It explores Nyssa's relationship with the Doctor and her budding romance with the Doctor's old friend Damon, and as a result she seems to have more of a personality here than in any other serial that I've seen her in. Perhaps this isn't surprising, as 'Arc of Infinity' was written by Johnny Byrne who had also written Nyssa's first story 'The keeper of Traken'
we get good performances from the regulars and from the Time Lords, helped by good characterisation in the script
the costumes and the sets look like money has been spent on them
the serial rather cleverly combines location filming at Frankendael, a fairly unknown spot in Amsterdam, with studio work

The less good news:

part four is a bit superfluous. Its main function seems to be to give the Tardis crew a chance to chase Omega through the historical city centre of Amsterdam
the visual effects aren't great. The visual effect used for 'the matrix' had been used before in 'Castrovalva', and seems to be reused here for no apparent reason other than that the makers knew how to achieve it and thought it looked cool
the Ergon, Omega's sidekick, is one of Doctor Who's dafter-looking monsters. Come to think of it Omega himself isn't one of the BBC's more successful creations either, though shown in negative he doesn't look that bad

The fun fact about this serial:

in this serial Colin Baker, who would take over as the Doctor in 1984, shoots the fifth Doctor

My verdict:

Quite good, actually.

I have a bit of a weakness for this serial since part of it was filmed in Amsterdam, a city I know extremely well, and some of it was shot at Frankendael which is a location that I'm quite fond of. Although I realise 'Arc of infinity' is far from 'Doctor who for the ages' I do think it's a sweet little story.

More about Doctor Who

An introduction:
Doctor Who reviews: introduction

More "quite good, actually" Doctor Who:
Doctor Who reviews: quite good, actually

More Doctor Who with Peter Davison:
Doctor Who reviews: 1982 - 1984

Similar stories:
Doctor Who reviews: Gallifrey stories

Original version of this review:
08/12/30

More about this serial

Episode guides:
BBC Episode guide

Serial reviews:
Outpost Gallifrey

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