5 reviews
Who Am I?...
The computers schizophrenic and psychotic, for some time it's been neurotic and despotic, the Doctor needs to find, a pathway to its mind, the anarchy and confusion is chaotic.
Good Doctor Who story.
- poolandrews
- Apr 7, 2008
- Permalink
The Day God Went Mad
Review of all 4 episodes:
A proposed title for this story was The Day God Went Mad and that is a good title for any story as well as a pretty appropriate name for this adventure. It involves The Doctor arriving on a planet which he has visited before, but does not remember at first, and slowly realising he has somehow come to be thought of as a God by the people there following his actions on his previous visit. That premise is an extremely thoughtful idea in itself, contemplating the aftermath and consequences of The Doctor's interventions on other worlds. There is a lot more to this story too, including the character Leela who becomes The Doctor's new companion. Following Sarah Jane is the toughest act to follow of all but Leela is a brilliant and different type of companion, being a tough and fiery young woman from a tribal civilisation with violent tendencies.
The first two episodes are absolutely fascinating, engaging and brilliantly written setting up a story which is really intriguing. The final two episodes are not quite at that great level but remain really good with some good thrills, nice scenes and plenty of interest. Although I felt the outcomes were not quite as fully intellectually satisfying as the wonderful build up caused me to expect it was still an enjoyable and involving conclusion. These episodes also serve as an effective introduction for Leela with some lovely scenes for her and Louise Jameson putting in a super first performance. Tom Baker is amazing throughout the story yet again as well, lighting up the screen at every moment.
The concepts in the story are strong and there are some chilling moments such as the tremendous cliffhanger at the end of part 1 and the almost equally gripping end to part 3. This adventure reminds me in some ways of a number of First Doctor stories and although some of the action scenes could have been directed better nowadays that was simply due to production limitations of the time. The sets are very good and the music is decent too.
This great adventure is wrongly overlooked due to being in such a great season where it is overshadowed by 4 all time top classics surrounding it. In most seasons this would be a highlight.
My ratings: Parts 1 & 2 - 10/10, Parts 3 & 4 - 9/10. Overall - 9.5/10.
A proposed title for this story was The Day God Went Mad and that is a good title for any story as well as a pretty appropriate name for this adventure. It involves The Doctor arriving on a planet which he has visited before, but does not remember at first, and slowly realising he has somehow come to be thought of as a God by the people there following his actions on his previous visit. That premise is an extremely thoughtful idea in itself, contemplating the aftermath and consequences of The Doctor's interventions on other worlds. There is a lot more to this story too, including the character Leela who becomes The Doctor's new companion. Following Sarah Jane is the toughest act to follow of all but Leela is a brilliant and different type of companion, being a tough and fiery young woman from a tribal civilisation with violent tendencies.
The first two episodes are absolutely fascinating, engaging and brilliantly written setting up a story which is really intriguing. The final two episodes are not quite at that great level but remain really good with some good thrills, nice scenes and plenty of interest. Although I felt the outcomes were not quite as fully intellectually satisfying as the wonderful build up caused me to expect it was still an enjoyable and involving conclusion. These episodes also serve as an effective introduction for Leela with some lovely scenes for her and Louise Jameson putting in a super first performance. Tom Baker is amazing throughout the story yet again as well, lighting up the screen at every moment.
The concepts in the story are strong and there are some chilling moments such as the tremendous cliffhanger at the end of part 1 and the almost equally gripping end to part 3. This adventure reminds me in some ways of a number of First Doctor stories and although some of the action scenes could have been directed better nowadays that was simply due to production limitations of the time. The sets are very good and the music is decent too.
This great adventure is wrongly overlooked due to being in such a great season where it is overshadowed by 4 all time top classics surrounding it. In most seasons this would be a highlight.
My ratings: Parts 1 & 2 - 10/10, Parts 3 & 4 - 9/10. Overall - 9.5/10.
- A_Kind_Of_CineMagic
- Dec 7, 2014
- Permalink
A great way to conclude Leela's first story.
The Doctor and Leela battle Xoanon.
It's been a terrific watch, the story has been too notch, it's been well made, and boasted a creepy vibe. Leela's introduction has been a revelation, I was such an adoring fan of Sladen, I forgot just how good Jameson was, a terrific start. Tom has been on fine form, he's been hugely charismatic and entertaining, at the height of his brilliance. Xoanon has been a formidable foe, with images of Tom looking villainous.
Some of the images in this are brilliant and disturbing, the CCTV scenes of Leela and The Doctor on Xoanon's screens look so advanced for the time. I love the scene where a seated Doctor removes a jelly baby from a silver case.
What made this so great is that it showed The Doctor wasn't infallible, even he made mistakes. 9/10
It's been a terrific watch, the story has been too notch, it's been well made, and boasted a creepy vibe. Leela's introduction has been a revelation, I was such an adoring fan of Sladen, I forgot just how good Jameson was, a terrific start. Tom has been on fine form, he's been hugely charismatic and entertaining, at the height of his brilliance. Xoanon has been a formidable foe, with images of Tom looking villainous.
Some of the images in this are brilliant and disturbing, the CCTV scenes of Leela and The Doctor on Xoanon's screens look so advanced for the time. I love the scene where a seated Doctor removes a jelly baby from a silver case.
What made this so great is that it showed The Doctor wasn't infallible, even he made mistakes. 9/10
- Sleepin_Dragon
- Oct 26, 2019
- Permalink
S14: The Face of Evil: Decent serial which is never as good as the high point suggest
Travelling alone, the Doctor arrives on a planet where a population of savages are being led by their shaman to attack an unseen 'evil one' who is supposedly holding their god captive. Connecting with what appears to be the only female in the entire tribe (who they exile – which is short-sighted for many reasons), the Doctor finds there is more to this situation than first appears.
There are some interesting ideas in The Face of Evil: religion, the power of computers, the Doctor as a villain; so it is a shame then that none of them really come off in the way you would like. The plot does have a familiarity to it, and there is not quite as much smartness or commentary as it seems at first. The cliffhangers and the use of the Doctor's face as a force of evil, are all interesting but are not sustained through each episode. There is enough to hold the attention, but not enough to reward it. Perhaps this is why they decided to have a character running round showing as much skin as possible? At the end of the serial Leela is revealed to be the new companion; I guess the show deserves credit for another strong female character (on paper), but less so for her still essentially being there for the Doctor to explain stuff to, and to maybe draw in male viewers.
Baker does solid work but has not too much to work with compared to some stronger serials. Meanwhile the supporting cast are variables; aside from their origin, the Tesh aren't particularly interesting, although the savages include fun turns from Schofield and Garfield. The sets don't particularly stand out, and the serial does lack spark. A shame, because some of the ideas and some of the high points (the face in the mountain) are pretty good, but it doesn't quite come off as it should.
There are some interesting ideas in The Face of Evil: religion, the power of computers, the Doctor as a villain; so it is a shame then that none of them really come off in the way you would like. The plot does have a familiarity to it, and there is not quite as much smartness or commentary as it seems at first. The cliffhangers and the use of the Doctor's face as a force of evil, are all interesting but are not sustained through each episode. There is enough to hold the attention, but not enough to reward it. Perhaps this is why they decided to have a character running round showing as much skin as possible? At the end of the serial Leela is revealed to be the new companion; I guess the show deserves credit for another strong female character (on paper), but less so for her still essentially being there for the Doctor to explain stuff to, and to maybe draw in male viewers.
Baker does solid work but has not too much to work with compared to some stronger serials. Meanwhile the supporting cast are variables; aside from their origin, the Tesh aren't particularly interesting, although the savages include fun turns from Schofield and Garfield. The sets don't particularly stand out, and the serial does lack spark. A shame, because some of the ideas and some of the high points (the face in the mountain) are pretty good, but it doesn't quite come off as it should.
- bob the moo
- Jul 1, 2016
- Permalink