Terrance Dicks is responsible for one of the last atmospheric horror stories on Doctor Who. Base-under-siege has never felt this claustrophobic before!
Story: 8
Due to a contained setting and the minimal cast, there is plenty of time in the story to develop the characters and the plot properly. The story feels fleshed out, the dangers feel palpable and the character seems realistic. The period feels also translates well from script to screen.
When the newcomers reintroduced in Part Two, Dicks spends a lot of time developing subplot that doesn't have any impact on anything else going on. It feels like a waste of time, particularly when the characters are so unlikable. It also takes away from the tension and slows down the pace. It is like Dicks is trying to weave the base-under-siege story with a whodunit. For a story this simple and brief, that's just too much. The final episode once again trust the focus ion the matter at hand, and does it fairly well,
Acting: 6
Colin Douglas stands out as the brusque, old Reuben. He played Bruce in The Enemy of the World (1968) and was terrific. Here he is equally great, if not better. He also provides the Rutan voice, which sounds properly terrifying. Douglas is particularly good in the second half, after being taken over by the Rutan.
John Abbott is all over the place most of the time, which is annoying. The three characters appearing in Part Two feel mostly superfluous (that is, they are there to be killed), and we get several lengthy scenes of them talking about their lives and businesses. Sean Caffery is incredibly annoying as the temperamental Lord Palmerdale, while Alan Rowe is fine as Skinsale. Annette Woollett is one of the worst actresses I've seen on this show and her character is terrible. She whines and complains all the time and everything she says sounds similarly horrible.
While the solution feels logical and believable, it also comes across as just another quick fix from the Doctor's side.
The Doctor: 10
The Doctor has a hard time keeping tabs in everything. It's not easy keeping people alive when you're stranded in a lighthouse!
The Companions: 7
Leela is still naive, believing she can solve everything by fighting. It's her most palpable character trait, and something she seems to have difficulties shaking off despite then Doctor doing his best to do just that.
The Monster/Villain: 6
It's a bit of a shame that all we get here is a Rutan scout. It doesn't look very menacing and its plan is pretty dull. There's the connection to the never-ending war with the Sontarans, but other than that there is pretty little that is interesting with the Rutan. It also looks pretty ugly.
Production: 10
The production of this serial was reportedly troubled, but you can't see that from the finished product. The set is simple but realistic and effective, the simple visual effects work well and the direction and editing are fine. For once, Dudley Simpson's eerie and calmer than usual incidental music stands out from his previous work. It's used very well to build up tension during the story.
Pacing: 7
Horror of Fang Rock is fairly slow at times, and never truly fast. The middle episodes drag as the script tries to siphon in a boring subplot. The setting and the music keep things going fairly well, however.
Atmosphere: 10
This story has one of the most atmospheric and claustrophobic settings of any Doctor Who story - a Victorian lighthouse during gloomy weather. It's a classic setting for a horror-themed story and suits Doctor Who well. Of all settings the show has done, only Midnight (2008) rivals this one, and possibly The Web of Fear (1967-68). This is also an effective use of the classic base-under-siege story; it doesn't feel like a story for the Second Doctor.
The atmosphere falters a little in the middle parts, but the final episode once again manages to rebuild tension and eeriness for the climax.
Impact: 8
Horror of Fang Rock remains one of the last Gothic horror stories of Doctor Who before the show was taken into a new direction by new produced Graham Williams. It also introduced the Rutans, who had been mentioned before in the series.
Replay Value: 9
It's not my favourite Gothic horror story or the best one by Terrance Dicks, but in a season more lacklustre compared to the first three Baker seasons, it's a standout that should be acknowledged.
Random Observations:
Here we finally meet the Rutans, the enemy race of the Sontarans (who appeared in The Time Warrior, 1974; and The Sontaran Experiment, 1975).
The serial has a strange ending with Leela becoming blind and then having her eye colour changed. The reason this was written into the story was that Louise Jameson had been wearing brown contact lenses, that were becoming uncomfortable for her to wear, so she stopped using them and this was incorporated into the story.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2018-07-19T12:19:39Z— updated 2020-06-30T05:43:20Z
Terrance Dicks is responsible for one of the last atmospheric horror stories on Doctor Who. Base-under-siege has never felt this claustrophobic before!
Story: 8
Due to a contained setting and the minimal cast, there is plenty of time in the story to develop the characters and the plot properly. The story feels fleshed out, the dangers feel palpable and the character seems realistic. The period feels also translates well from script to screen.
When the newcomers reintroduced in Part Two, Dicks spends a lot of time developing subplot that doesn't have any impact on anything else going on. It feels like a waste of time, particularly when the characters are so unlikable. It also takes away from the tension and slows down the pace. It is like Dicks is trying to weave the base-under-siege story with a whodunit. For a story this simple and brief, that's just too much. The final episode once again trust the focus ion the matter at hand, and does it fairly well,
Acting: 6
Colin Douglas stands out as the brusque, old Reuben. He played Bruce in The Enemy of the World (1968) and was terrific. Here he is equally great, if not better. He also provides the Rutan voice, which sounds properly terrifying. Douglas is particularly good in the second half, after being taken over by the Rutan.
John Abbott is all over the place most of the time, which is annoying. The three characters appearing in Part Two feel mostly superfluous (that is, they are there to be killed), and we get several lengthy scenes of them talking about their lives and businesses. Sean Caffery is incredibly annoying as the temperamental Lord Palmerdale, while Alan Rowe is fine as Skinsale. Annette Woollett is one of the worst actresses I've seen on this show and her character is terrible. She whines and complains all the time and everything she says sounds similarly horrible.
While the solution feels logical and believable, it also comes across as just another quick fix from the Doctor's side.
The Doctor: 10
The Doctor has a hard time keeping tabs in everything. It's not easy keeping people alive when you're stranded in a lighthouse!
The Companions: 7
Leela is still naive, believing she can solve everything by fighting. It's her most palpable character trait, and something she seems to have difficulties shaking off despite then Doctor doing his best to do just that.
The Monster/Villain: 6
It's a bit of a shame that all we get here is a Rutan scout. It doesn't look very menacing and its plan is pretty dull. There's the connection to the never-ending war with the Sontarans, but other than that there is pretty little that is interesting with the Rutan. It also looks pretty ugly.
Production: 10
The production of this serial was reportedly troubled, but you can't see that from the finished product. The set is simple but realistic and effective, the simple visual effects work well and the direction and editing are fine. For once, Dudley Simpson's eerie and calmer than usual incidental music stands out from his previous work. It's used very well to build up tension during the story.
Pacing: 7
Horror of Fang Rock is fairly slow at times, and never truly fast. The middle episodes drag as the script tries to siphon in a boring subplot. The setting and the music keep things going fairly well, however.
Atmosphere: 10
This story has one of the most atmospheric and claustrophobic settings of any Doctor Who story - a Victorian lighthouse during gloomy weather. It's a classic setting for a horror-themed story and suits Doctor Who well. Of all settings the show has done, only Midnight (2008) rivals this one, and possibly The Web of Fear (1967-68). This is also an effective use of the classic base-under-siege story; it doesn't feel like a story for the Second Doctor.
The atmosphere falters a little in the middle parts, but the final episode once again manages to rebuild tension and eeriness for the climax.
Impact: 8
Horror of Fang Rock remains one of the last Gothic horror stories of Doctor Who before the show was taken into a new direction by new produced Graham Williams. It also introduced the Rutans, who had been mentioned before in the series.
Replay Value: 9
It's not my favourite Gothic horror story or the best one by Terrance Dicks, but in a season more lacklustre compared to the first three Baker seasons, it's a standout that should be acknowledged.
Random Observations:
Here we finally meet the Rutans, the enemy race of the Sontarans (who appeared in The Time Warrior, 1974; and The Sontaran Experiment, 1975).
The serial has a strange ending with Leela becoming blind and then having her eye colour changed. The reason this was written into the story was that Louise Jameson had been wearing brown contact lenses, that were becoming uncomfortable for her to wear, so she stopped using them and this was incorporated into the story.
Score: 81/120