Robert Holmes does what he does best. Double acts.
It starts off with a travelling showman Vorg and his assistant Shrina arriving in planet Inter Minor to amuse people with his miniscope. The humourless rulers of the planet deny them an entry visa.
Meanwhile the Doctor promised Jo an alien planet. They land on a cargo ship, the SS Bernice crossing the Indian Ocean in the 1920s.
The Doctor realises that the SS Bernice disappeared without trace and the inhabitants of the ship are trapped in some kind of a time loop.
More disconcertingly the ship is attacked by a plesiosaurus risen from the sea.
The episode ends with the reveal that the Tardis materialised inside the miniscope as a giant hand lifts the Tardis.
Vorg and Shirna are colourful and gaudy. In contrast with the bureaucratic rules of Inter Minor.
The mystery is that at first the Doctor's adventures are disconnected. It is nothing to do with Inter Minor.
They land on a ship in 1926 and it is loaded with atmosphere populated by a retired major, his young daughter and the ship's officer.
I cannot help noticing it that it is very much how the Big Finish audio adventures operate when it comes to imbuing a production with atmosphere.
Things take a turn when the sea monster emerges that all is not what it seems and the lifting of the Tardis is a startling cliffhanger.
It starts off with a travelling showman Vorg and his assistant Shrina arriving in planet Inter Minor to amuse people with his miniscope. The humourless rulers of the planet deny them an entry visa.
Meanwhile the Doctor promised Jo an alien planet. They land on a cargo ship, the SS Bernice crossing the Indian Ocean in the 1920s.
The Doctor realises that the SS Bernice disappeared without trace and the inhabitants of the ship are trapped in some kind of a time loop.
More disconcertingly the ship is attacked by a plesiosaurus risen from the sea.
The episode ends with the reveal that the Tardis materialised inside the miniscope as a giant hand lifts the Tardis.
Vorg and Shirna are colourful and gaudy. In contrast with the bureaucratic rules of Inter Minor.
The mystery is that at first the Doctor's adventures are disconnected. It is nothing to do with Inter Minor.
They land on a ship in 1926 and it is loaded with atmosphere populated by a retired major, his young daughter and the ship's officer.
I cannot help noticing it that it is very much how the Big Finish audio adventures operate when it comes to imbuing a production with atmosphere.
Things take a turn when the sea monster emerges that all is not what it seems and the lifting of the Tardis is a startling cliffhanger.