Castrovalva by Christopher H. Bidmead
4 - 12 January 1982
You must forgive the cobwebs. Despite appearances, I have been semi-regularly watching Season 19 for most of this year [2022], but for some reason I managed to convince myself to watch the whole season before composing my reviews.
This probably kept things moving slightly faster than they would have otherwise, but it also means that as I reach back into the Before Time and sweatily thumb through my threadbare notes for Castrovalva, I find myself a little mystified by the lack of detail. Nevertheless, I'll do my best to sound at least halfway coherent.
When last we left Doctor Who, the goliath seven-year tenure of Tom Baker had come to an end. Although I think most people will associate his reign with the Seventies era of the show, his one season in 1980-1981 with new producer John Nathan-Turner also sticks in the mind. While Season 18 was the coda of the Fourth Doctor era, it was also a prologue of sorts for the new decade to come.
In short, with Castrovalva we finally get to see this new era of the show come into its fluorescence, now free of all (or most) remnants of the past. So what exactly does the new regime have to offer?
For starters, I think it's interesting that Castrovalva starts with a recap of the last moments of Logopolis. It's understandable after an 11-month break (longer than any other season break to date, unless I'm missing something) that they might want to refresh viewers' memories. They had, however, just reran Logopolis just a month earlier as a part of the Five Faces of Doctor Who repeat run, which a lot of people evidently saw, so I don't think that's the whole story.
I detect just a hint of insecurity in this decision, though a more charitable diagnosis of "easing us in gently" is also possible. Some extra gentle touches like these might have been necessary when struggling to come out from under Tom's shadow in particular. Still, it's bewildering to imagine a new Doctor's story in the modern era starting with a recap of the last one's regeneration scene. Castrovalva's close New Series counterpart The Eleventh Hour, by contrast, seems a bit more self-assured in its new leading man.
Both of these stories do, interestingly, feature bits of their illustrious predecessors' costumes slowly being unraveled or stripped away, which is a fun parallel. This is a somewhat literal but still pleasing bit of Castrovalva's unmaking and remaking, death and rebirth themes. Tegan and Nyssa even act as the Doctor's pallbearers for a while in the early parts of this story when they carry his cabinet around.
Talking of Tegan and Nyssa, this is really their first chance to be the Doctor's companions after their chaotic debut in Logopolis. Like the last serial, Castrovalva also feels like it's got a lot going on, what with having to establish a new Doctor and all, but it is a little less hectic overall. This is helped a bit by putting Adric in the fridge early and only letting him out in the later parts of the story. The air stewardess and the Trakenite princess get a little more time to themselves as a result.
At this point, Tegan has yet to prove herself. Like many companions, she doesn't really want to be here to start with, but unlike most, she stays that way. This is... an interesting choice. Obviously this is where we started off back in 1963, but when the other two companions are quite happy to be the Doctor's assistants, it just ends up feeling silly on Tegan's part. She could grow on me from here, but hopefully this would be through getting some more chances to shine.
Nyssa seems to be adapting quickly by contrast. I liked the moment where she admits that her strict scientific principles aren't good for everything and talks about "turning that 'if' into a fact". It's a nice bit of characterization, though I can't help but wonder if it would have been better served by coming up when we had gotten to know her better than we do now.
As for the rest of the supporting cast, notably, the Master is also here. I admit, I groaned a bit and went "what, again?" For someone who had waited 11 months for this serial, the effect would probably be less pronounced, but after three stories in a row featuring him I was already a bit fatigued. I like Anthony Ainley, but in this story and the previous, he's just never as menacing as his predecessor, seeming to indulge in a greater degree of mustache-twirling that threatens to veer into flanderization should current trends continue.
The one-off characters for this story didn't make a lot of impact on me, but I liked the Castrovalva setting. The idea of a world that's a living M. C. Escher painting is a pretty interesting one, although I have to say I didn't care much to follow the thread Christopher H. Bidmead was trying to draw between the story and real-world mathematics, as I was more preoccupied with the metaphysical themes behind the Doctor's rebirth. Attempts to inject "hard science" into the show are laudable ones for sure, but I sense that this script editor's intentions are not going to pan out.
Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned the new guy a whole lot yet, have I? First impressions tell me that Peter Davison is an exceptional actor. I feel I'm still getting used to his interpretation of the Doctor at this point (as is he, unless I'm mistaken) which is a feeling that will persist for me throughout much of this first season. There is a lot to appreciate in this more understated version of the Doctor, though; it is a nice contrast to 4's bombast.
I've run out of things to say, so I'll leave this one off by saying that Castrovalva feels like it's pulling in a few different directions at once, but still generally succeeds as a solid intro story for the Fifth Doctor. We'll see how the changes it's signaling evolve over the rest of the season. Four to Doomsday is next.
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 29 June 2022.)
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