It's odd to think that I've just arrived at Tom's fourth season as the Doctor, but am still nowhere near the end of his tenure. I'm starting to grasp just how big seven years of TV really is, but not in a negative way.
(Don't let my slowing rate of posts fool you! I just get distracted easily.)
You wouldn't know immediately that a new producer is in charge, with a mandate to lighten the tone and tighten the belt. This story could very well fit in with Season Fourteen. Paddy Russell (who also, notably, directed Pyramids of Mars) clearly "got" how to frame and execute a gothic story. The atmosphere is great and captures the historical setting very well.
Although it's far from a groundbreaking Doctor Who story, it is a very good one. Watching the Rutan slowly pick off the luckless Edwardians inside provides endless enjoyment. The extended cast are all amusing to watch, and the alien itself is realized quite well despite being a jellyfish. Once again, I'm very taken with Leela, who is outrageously funny in this story, and a strong character, too. Favorite line: "You will do as the Doctor instructs, or I will cut out your heart!" But "I do not like Brighton" is a close second, and the disagreement over whether the TARDIS is a "small" vessel is a delight of its own.
This time I don't have a lot to say, and will instead trundle onward toward The Invisible Enemy. See you then.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 24 June 2021.)
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