Time-Flight [Doctor Who, Story 122]

Time-Flight by Peter Grimwade
22 - 30 March 1982​

Oh dear.

From a production standpoint, I am totally understanding of the fact that Earthshock could not have been the finale of Season 19. But even in light of that, the decision to follow it up with this is so profoundly misjudged that it loops back around to hilarity again.

The show is still a bit uneasy with this "pathos" thing, so the second scene of this serial, with the remaining heroes in the TARDIS, rings a bit hollow.

DOCTOR: Now listen to me, both of you. There are some rules that cannot be broken even with the Tardis. Don't ever ask me to do anything like that again. You must accept that Adric is dead. His life wasn't wasted. He died trying to save others, just like his brother, Varsh. You know, Adric had a choice. This is the way he wanted it.

For my own part, I sort of think he would have wanted not to be blown to smithereens, but what would I know? The TARDIS crew certainly doesn't dwell, as they greet this with a stiff upper lip and immediately begin to consider a get-away to cheer themselves up.

The Heathrow setting is fun, although I think it's a mistake to not portray the Doctor as being at sea in this mundane environment. He introduces himself as a UNIT advisor and gets all the cooperation he could possibly want, which robs the story of a lot of tension to start out with. You would think this would also introduce a nice bit of tension where one wonders about Tegan's reaction - will she leave or won't she? - but the story ends with the decision being taken from her in a way that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I shouldn't have allowed myself to get excited by the word "Jurassic", since there are no prehistoric beasts to be seen, only a curiously barren heath once the characters are sent back in time. The Doctor's remark about the Pleistocene being close at hand made me bare my teeth like a frightened chimp, wishing Peter Grimwade had opened an encyclopedia.

The central plot itself has a lot of untapped promise - especially the appearance of Adric's "ghost", which is far too brief and underplayed. This is to say nothing of the unfathomable choice to have the Master made up in yellowface (or brownface, or both, somehow) long before he'd even have any need to be disguised. I thought we were past this crap already.

There are fun parts, like seeing the airplane pilots trying to make sense of the TARDIS console, or Tegan (finally!) getting to act as an air-stewardess - in the Jurassic period! This story is inept in a way that's almost cute. Except for the racism, for which there's no real excuse.

What a trip to end the season on. The Season 19 roundup will be coming next.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 11 October 2022.)