Talk about a revelation! I knew a little about this story going in - namely that it is generally well liked and the Drashigs are in it - but I should have known that there was more than meets the eye in Bob Holmes' fifth script for the series. His wit and finely honed sense of satire have clearly developed by this point, and it makes for one of the best serials we've had on the show yet.
From the off, we're put on a beautiful set (an actual boat, I think?) of an interwar vessel traversing the Indian Ocean, or at least it first appears. The Doctor and Jo's little disagreement about the chickens was a charming little moment, and when we shift to the terminally gray and drag Inter Minor, the sight of Vorg and Shirna coming tumbling out of the baggage claim - presumably because they couldn't afford better seats - is a great gag. Their hideous costumes shouldn't work, but I find them charming regardless, and the pair of them make for a great comedic double act. Also exceeding expectations are the Inter Minor tribunal, saved by the late decision not to put them in masks, and by the excellent triple casting of Michael Wisher, Peter Halliday (Packerrr!) and Terence Lodge. What would otherwise be three dull, gray aliens from a dull, gray planet are played with a surprising amount of breadth and irony, in spite of their samey appearances and elevated dialog.
This last bit works because Inter Minor is supposed to be a crap Doctor Who alien world on purpose, and the story uses it as a contrast to the events inside of the miniscope. It's a place where the very idea of entertainment is alien, so what does Vorg do? Why, he shows them an episode of Doctor Who. They all crowd in around the screen to watch the monsters play away. It's an amusing moment when Jo, being captured again for the fourth time after escaping, groans "It's all right. I know the routine." So too is the bit where she reveals her skeleton key, showing that those escapology classes she supposedly took were actually good for something. She gets captured often enough! Coming right after the self-mythologizing The Three Doctors, this story seems to pick up on the same thread, but with a comedic spin, reproducing the show's own plot structures and conventions, and winking knowingly while doing it.
For all that it's on a shoestring budget, the effects look very good. The Plesiosaurus, I'm sad to inform you, is tragically not scientifically accurate but has a very winning snarl. And the Drashigs, puppets though they may be, look astoundingly good. The giant hand reaching into the miniscope to pluck the Doctor's TARDIS away is an amazing effect, and the pyrotechnics in the Drashig swamp made me gasp. "Cheap" doesn't always mean "bad", as this story shows with such aplomb.
I was pleased to see Ian Marter a bit earlier than I thought I would. Although his part is a bit limiting, forced to repeat the same actions over and over again, he plays it memorably, with a kind of dated charm despite being at odds with our regulars. I was also interested to note the presence of Albert Moses, who unless I am mistaken (or if someone was crammed in a monster costume) is the first South Asian actor on the program.
The Doctor and Jo are, as usual, brilliant. For me the highlight is the part where, once the Doctor emerges from the miniscope, he ignores the task at hand to see if he won his argument with Jo over what planet they were on. The dejected sort of way he says "I see" when he realizes Jo was right is hilarious.
I could praise this story all day, really. It's one of the smartest scripts that's been offered to the show so far, and is full of interesting moments, great acting, and a whole lot of spectacle. Absolutely one of my favorites now.
We'll be embarking on a somewhat longer galactic adventure next, starting with Frontier in Space.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 6 April 2021.)
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