Doctor Who (TV Series) Black Orchid: Part Two (1982) User Reviews

The attack of PG Wodehouse?

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 27 August 2015]

Harlequin has grabbed Anne and murdered a butler, as Anne faints. Lady Cranleigh discovers the Doctor, who explains he's found a body, the miscreant returns the Halrequin costume which the Doctor wears. Anne is kept by a badly disfigured man. Naturally the Doctor is blamed after Anne breaks out and accuses him. The Police are called in, and the Doctor's appearance at Cranleigh is deemed to be suspicious. The disfigured man is being held down by Latoni, but breaks free and starts a fire.

It's nice to see Tegan display a slightly softer side of her character, she even smiles a few times, Janet seems to have had fun in the making.

This episode gets pretty mixed reviews, but I quite enjoyed it, I love the fact that it's so different, particularly from anything in the 80's. It's the oddball of the season, as there's no reason sci fi element at all, but Part 2 is down on the opener, it is a little bit more farcical. The Police entering the TARDIS could have been in the Two Ronnies.

Sutton is really over the top in parts in character of Anne, she is much better as the subtle Nyssa.

Part 1 is very good, Part 2 is a little off the pace, but enjoyable enough.

"Strike me pink!" Really good two part Peter Davison story.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 14 August 2007]

Doctor Who: Black Orchid: Part 2 starts as the unknown person dressed as the Harlequin attacks Ann (Sarah Sutton), a servant comes to her rescue & is strangled to death as Ann faints... Moments later & the body is discovered, due to a case of mistaken identity the Doctor (Peter Davison) is accused by Ann & arrested for the murder. Somehow the Doctor must prove his innocence & uncover the sinister truth behind the killings at the estate...

Episode 18 from season 19 this Doctor Who adventure was originally aired here in the UK during March 1982, directed by Ron Jones I really enjoyed Black Orchid even it's not typical 80's Doctor Who which definitely works in it's favour. The script by Terence Dudley has been a period murder mystery with a touch of unexpected horror thrown in there for good measure, in fact Black Orchid reminded me heavily of the Peter Cushing horror film The Ghoul (1975) as if you were to take the Doctor out of the story the two would be virtually identical & that in itself is no bad thing. I liked the story & the period setting along with the mystery whodunit elements, the ending is a bit rushed but still perfectly satisfactory. The near impossible also happens in Black Orchid, neither Adric or Tegan irritated me as they aren't featured in the story much! I'm still not sure why Ann & Nyssa look identical though, it's never explained & seems to be a pure coincidence. Only lasting two 25 minute parts Black Orchid was the shortest Doctor Who story since The Sontaran Experiment (1975) from season 12 & it's moved at a nice pace, it's breezed along & has been very entertaining, it hasn't been too camp & has taken itself fairly seriously. This is Peter Davison's fifth story as the Doctor & is my favourite of his to this point.

It's interesting to note that the cliffhanger ending to Part 1 was a bit of a cheat as the recap & start of Part 2 is different as it has one major shot removed, the scene at the very end of Part 1 as the killer's hands approach Ann's throat is cut here & after his killing of the servant it cuts directly to the Doctor examining the dead body in the closet & therefore technically there is no resolution to the cliffhanger because the final shot from Part 1 is not included here! This has looked really good with fine period production design, costumes, locations & sets. There is one really weird aspect of this though, there's a South American Indian guy who has this bizarre looking plate thing stuck in his mouth all the time, he looks like he is trying to swallow a beer mat or something & it just looks totally daft which is a shame as it's the only silly aspect of this story. Again like Part 1 there hasn't been any special effects although there are shots of a deformed man with scars on his face & melded together fingers which may scare the youngsters. Since a lot of Black orchid was shot on location on film rather than in a studio on videotape it looks rather nice & almost cinematic at times, this is one of the more impressive looking Dcotor Who stories from the 80's.

Black Orchid: Part 2 is a great end to a great story which has become my favourite Peter Davison adventure, overall I'll give Black Orchid a very respectable 7 stars out of 10 across it's two episodes & say that I enjoyed it a lot.

So historically accurate!

[wetmars · 10/10 · 28 February 2020]

This felt so accurate, hecking character development and the Doctor being the Doctor. lol