Doctor Who (TV Series) Snakedance: Part Two (1983) User Reviews

It's still a bit dull.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 18 October 2019]

Tegan now possessed by the Mara shares her cursed gift with Lon, the pair are now linked.

It is a bit in the dreary side, I have to concur with the other reviewer on here. Martin Clunes seemed to have a lot of fun camping it up as Lon, the scene of him and Tegan cracking into the mirror isn't a highlight. The cliffhanger it picked up from was once again the most dramatic moment.

Nyssa's outfit really is truly hideous, and perhaps remains the most exciting aspect of Snakedance thus far.

I'm not a lover yet, it's a bit dull, and it's a mix of nice and awful production values. 6/10

Has anything actually happened yet?

[poolandrews · 4/10 · 10 April 2008]

Doctor Who: Snakedance: Part Two starts as the Doctor (Peter Davison) heads off to see Ambril (John Carson), the Director of Historical Research on Manussa to try & warn him that the Mara have returned & the 500th anniversary celebration of the defeat of the Mara should be called off. Ambril thinks the Doctor mad. Meanwhile Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) has gone off in search of Tegan (Janet Fielding) who has taken off her anti-dream device & is fighting the Mara that has almost complete possession of her now. The Mara needs the Great Crystal, or the Great Mind's Eye of legend that is able to transform thought from the mind into energy & which will bring the evil Mara back into being...

Episode 6 from season 20 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during January 1983, directed by Fiona Cumming & a direct sequel to the previous seasons Kinda (1982) I have been less than impressed with Snakedance so far. The script by Christopher Bailey revolves around the historical past of the planet Manussa, it's religions, belief's & tradition. There's the clichéd & predictable arguments & struggles between two distinct sets of character's, the sceptical academics who believe in nothing other than what they can see & touch & the superstitious who believe in prophecies & ancient legends with the Doctor somewhere in the middle as he believes in legends but from a factual standpoint. I just found all the exposition really dull & drab, nothing particularly exciting happens & I have to say Sankedance is one of the few Doctor Who stories that I can honestly say I was bored watching. The plot is unfolding at a rather slow pace & for me Snakedance has been rather forgettable so far.

Snakedance: Part One saw Martin Clunes make an early TV appearance & here in Part Two it's the turn of Jonathon Morris who has gone on to have a reasonable acting career & is probably best known for playing Adrian Boswell in the popular British sitcom Bread (1986 - 1991). The costumes here in Snakedance look a bit silly, Nyssa & Lon in particular are walking fashion disasters. There hasn't been many special effects, just Tegan & her red eyes. There is also a silly surreal scene as Tegan sees a snake skull in a mirror, I'm not sure if it's meant to be scary but if it was it isn't.

Snakedance: Part Two much like Part One is a totally forgettable, talky, dull & dare I say it clichéd sequel to a story that I didn't like in the first place anyway. I am sure there will be people out there who will like it but it's one of Davison's worst in my opinion, give me Warriors of the Deep (1984) any day over this.