BYEW! Even when I was expecting it, the Howell sting at the start of the new theme arrangement came like a punch to the face. After seventeen years of variations on the same theme arrangement, nothing can really prepare you for that. The star field makes an impression too, although I could do without that grimace Tom is making. (As much as it seems to be accurate to his Season 18 experience.)
This trend of immediate and noticeable aesthetic change holds true throughout this serial, leaving me feeling like a lost tourist gawking at everything. Watched in isolation, The Leisure Hive might have looked dated to me, but in the marathon context it's actually a bit eyepopping.
How does the story hold up? I think it's a decent one, actually. Not one of the classics, but the location and the ideas the story mooted both interested me. The story of the suffering the Argolins suffered as a result of their nuclear war with the Foamasi is quite affecting, especially the line where Mena tells us how long the war lasted: "Twenty minutes."
Mena, Hardin and Pangol are all quite well-acted, although the way Pangol is written is a little befuddling at times. The revelation that he is a "brand-new" Argolin born through scientific means after the sterilization of his race is an interesting one, although I fail to see how his villainy logically follows from this origin.
The Foamasi subplot isn't much of anything; this story would have made just as much sense without them lumbering around. They're interesting-looking as far as Who monsters go, at least in the masks. The bodies look a little frumpy by comparison.
Notably, John Leeson is back as K9 in this story, but only for one scene before he's out of commission for the rest of the story. The melodrama of the moment where he rolls into the ocean is legendary. I laughed.
So far, Tom and Lalla seem to be coping alright with the change in production team, although Tom seems slightly more subdued than he did in The Horns of Nimon or the filmed bits of Shada. I was most fond of the scene leading up to the Part One cliffhanger, where the pair beat a slow-paced escape through the recreation facility, ending up at the tachyon machine. The cliffhangers in this story are some of the best so far, both the tachyon machine "tearing apart" the Doctor and his scream at the end of Part One, as well as his sudden aging at the end of Part Two.
As far as an opening story to a new era of the marathon goes, I'd say this one leaves an impression. It's not the strongest story, but I enjoyed myself thoroughly anyway. Meglos is next.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 8 October 2021.)
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