Vengeance on Varos (1985)
Review
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Review
This is a two-part serial (with two parts of 45 minutes each), first broadcast between 19 - 26 January 1985. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: looking for fuel for the Tardis, the Doctor and Peri find themselves on a former prison planet where torture and executions are the only entertainment, and where falling out of favour with the viewing public will get politicians killed.
The good bits:
- the ideas behind the story
- the pacing
- the excellent cliff-hanger
- the scenes with Arak and Etta responding to what they see on their television screen. They're done well, and are important in getting the story's points across
- the scene where Quillam captures the Doctor. This is very entertaining, and gives an idea of the edgy kind of humour that Colin Baker could bring to the part
Mixed feelings about:
- Sil, who is the villain of the piece (though most of the characters are pretty nasty). He looks and sounds great, but he's one-dimensional and fairly predictable
- the Doctor. He has his moments, but they're interspersed with "ooooh, aren't I funny" bits that, well, aren't that funny. And, since this is the first serial with the sixth Doctor that I'm reviewing and I might as well get it out of the way, there's also That Bloody Costume
- the acting. Martin Jarvis gives a great performance as the governor, Sil's fine, the Chief Officer and Colin Baker's Doctor have their moments, but everyone else is adequate at best - though they're not helped by the often clunky dialogue and weak characterisation
The not so good bits:
- visually there's little to enjoy here. The sets look drab, and the way they're lit and shot is workmanlike but unimaginative
- those silly, slow-moving carts. It's unclear why the guards use these, since any reasonably fit escapee could easily outrun them
- the daft religious ceremony performed at the execution
- those ridiculous-looking cannibals
- the scenes inside the Tardis. Since the soap opera of the Davison era things haven't improved
- the revelation of the hideous-face-behind-the-mask, which seems mostly there for old times' sake
The puzzling bits:
- why would Sil's co-conspirators broadcast their top-secret communications to every screen in the control centre on Varos?
- one character is apparently in prison for figuring out that Varos is a former prison planet and that the rulers are descendants of the former guards. Why is this such a closely-guarded secret, and how has this remained a secret throughout Varos' two-hundred-year history?
- how does the Doctor know that touching certain plants means instant death, when the governor and several other locals apparently don't?
My verdict:
Another tough call. The ideas behind it are interesting, but as entertainment it doesn't quite work. Then again, it is nice to see Doctor Who attempt something as new and different as this, even if it isn't entirely successful.
More about Doctor Who
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Doctor Who reviews: 1984 - 1986
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Original version of this review:
06/09/13
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