In a VERY "traditional" story, THE VISITATION has the TARDIS drawn centuries into Earth's past due to the crash of an alien spaceship whose crew is causing havoc for the locals. Being the good sort of chap that he is, naturally, The Doctor goes looking for them, intending to offer them a lift home. But he soon finds they're NOT interested, and have other, more genocidal, plans in mind...
Considering the havoc he played for several years as the series' story editor, it's almost hard to believe this was the 1st WHO story from writer Eric Saward. The tone, the structure, and especially the pacing feels almost exactly like a Tom Baker story, something the show would steer further and further away from as "MTV" pacing designed for multiple viewings on VCR became more and more the norm. Of course, Baker would have been a lot more dynamic, charismatic, and witty. Peter Davison, who continues to stand out more than even a "Doctor" should in that absurd cricket outfit, merely comes across as a "nice guy" who almost nobody seems to listen to.
There's far too much "continuity" between the previous story KINDA and this one, which gets bizarre when you realize this was filmed just before that one, not after (probably for outdoor location and weather reasons). At least, unlike FOUR TO DOOMSDAY, both Tegan and Adric are written (and acted) far less annoyingly-- and the pair seem to be developing an unexpected mutual friendship as well. (Perhaps he's at the age where he finds himself more interested in "women" than-- ahem-- "just girls"?)
The only regular in the story whose outlandish clothing doesn't seem completely out-of-place (due to the comparatively drag color scheme) is Nyssa, who once again gets to shine when she winds up single-handedly taking The Doctor's advice and painstakingly assembling a device capable of taking out a killer robot. Then she regrets the need to have done so, as it was an ingeniously-crafted machine itself that had no choice in its programming.
Outstanding in this one is the character of Richard Mace (played by Michael Robbins), a thespian turned highwayman, who seems to have stepped out of a Robert Holmes story (Saward of course being a huge devotee of Holmes, who he later was instrumental in bringing back to the series). Mace and The Doctor become quick allies, even though he's repeatedly witness to things most men of his era would simply disbelieve, or run from in blind panic. When they finally part at the end, he tells The Doctor, "I'm afraid your lifestyle is too fast-paced for me."