There are some interesting concepts at play here, but bad acting and a feeling of wasted potential make this story a miss.
Story: 6
Image of the Fendahl is the weakest of Chris Boucher's three Doctor Who scripts (which include the stellar Robots of Death (1977) from the previous season). The dialogue is mostly stupid and makes the audience feel lost and awkward most of the time. This story feels more like a bad British soap opera than an actual Doctor Who adventure. The plot is all over the place and takes some very surreal and abstract (in a bad way) turns along the way.
There are many good ideas here, and others influenced by better stories (namely The Daemons, 1971). It just feels that these ideas aren't played out properly. There's a lack of real tension, real terror or any real stakes. Therese's tremendous build-up that doesn't lead to anything. It's a watered-down version of a Gothic horror story. The concepts lent from classic horror tropes have been used better in earlier stories.
Acting: 6
Tom Baker and Louise Jameson became friends during production of Horror of Fang Rock (1977) and in this story, they have a natural and flowing relationship that translates very well on-screen. It's one of their better stories together.
Famed actress Wanda Ventham appears here once again, after her turn in The Faceless Ones (1967). She stands out as one of the stronger female performers on the show, along with Jean Marsh. She's the single standout here other than the two regulars.
Edward Arthur appears as the typical dashing scientist, a character who reminds me of former companion Ben. I like how he questions everyone and everything and tries to make sense of things. Arthur is very believable depicting just that.
I have no idea what Denis Lill is doing, but it's not acting! Lill's character Fendelman is just one of Doctor Who's several crazy scientists, but his funny voice and German heritage coupled with his quite terrible acting remind me of the legendary and infamous Joesph Furst and Zaroff from The Underwater Menace (1967). Lill isn't half as bad as Furst, but definitely among the worst. And unlike Furst, who managed to turn his terribleness into an entertaining show, Lill is just plain bad.
The rest of the guest cast is average at best. I can't stand Daphne Heard, who plays Martha Tyler.
The Doctor: 7
By now the Doctor and Leela have a great rapport together. It's different than the chemistry between Four and Leela, closer to siblings travelling than to best friends. Tom Baker is magnificent together with Jameson, but for most of this adventure, he is quite low-key whenever he is on his own. We also get acquainted with the Doctor at his worst - going as far as helping a person commit suicide!
The Companions: 5
Leela is still given no character development, which causes troubles for her and the Doctor alike. She remains pretty shallow and boring in this story, after a couple of stories that gave her little more stuff to do.
The Monster/Villain: 4
Stael is surprisingly calm and low-key for being pretty much your average mad scientist. It makes him fresh but also makes him less memorable.
Boucher's apparent fascination with divine beings was a central plot element in The Face of Evil (1977), but in that story, the godlike computer Xoanon was a truly compelling character. The same cannot be said of the Fendahl in this story - a strange and disturbing golden goddess with no speaking lines and little to no personality. Her followers, the wormlike Fendahleen, are among the more forgettable and less successfully realized monsters on the show.
Production: 6
This story immediately sets the tone with quite an intense and atmospheric opening. It's a beautifully directed sequence, and one of the visually most inventive one in 70s Doctor Who.
The rest of the serial isn't up to standards. The set design is nothing special, and the show has seen better directing-. For the second story in a row, we get an awkwardly ugly alien design, this time in the Fendahleen.
Pacing: 6
The first part is perfectly fine and there are reasonable tension and action in the final episodes, but the middle two juts tag along with very little interesting material. It's not a very fast serial and the concepts don't keep it interesting for more than a few moments here and there.
Atmosphere: 6
This story slowly, but fairly effectively builds up tension and the creepy-factor, without going as far as Philip Hinchcliffe would have gone. It's a shame then, that after the fine atmospheric build-up in the opening episode, the tension eases out in the second part as the story slows down.
Nothing happens for the first three episodes. Things start to heat up in Episode 4 - the most surreal and bizarre of the lot, which also happens to be the strongest episode of the story. Episode 4 is, to be fair, quite exciting, with some well-written suspense and a majestic finale. Overall, one could describe Image of the Fendahl as Doctor Who on drugs and arrive very close to the truth.
Impact: 4
Image of the Fendahl does little that other stories haven't done before. There is nothing here that gives it more value as a story.
Replay Value: 4
I wouldn't rewatch this if I don't have to.
Random Observations:
From the file marked "Guest Actors Who Are Parents To Other Famous People": Wanda Ventham is the mother of actor Benedict Cumberbatch, whose Doctor Who credits are limited to guest appearances in Big Finish audio dramas.
This story feels like something Big Finish could have produced as an audio drama. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (2001) springs to mind, in particular.
This is the first story that delves into Gallifreyan mythology and fairy-tales. Several stories, later on, will pit the Doctor against other Gallifreyan mythological creatures.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2018-07-23T16:02:20Z— updated 2020-06-30T05:53:42Z
There are some interesting concepts at play here, but bad acting and a feeling of wasted potential make this story a miss.
Story: 6
Image of the Fendahl is the weakest of Chris Boucher's three Doctor Who scripts (which include the stellar Robots of Death (1977) from the previous season). The dialogue is mostly stupid and makes the audience feel lost and awkward most of the time. This story feels more like a bad British soap opera than an actual Doctor Who adventure. The plot is all over the place and takes some very surreal and abstract (in a bad way) turns along the way.
There are many good ideas here, and others influenced by better stories (namely The Daemons, 1971). It just feels that these ideas aren't played out properly. There's a lack of real tension, real terror or any real stakes. Therese's tremendous build-up that doesn't lead to anything. It's a watered-down version of a Gothic horror story. The concepts lent from classic horror tropes have been used better in earlier stories.
Acting: 6
Tom Baker and Louise Jameson became friends during production of Horror of Fang Rock (1977) and in this story, they have a natural and flowing relationship that translates very well on-screen. It's one of their better stories together.
Famed actress Wanda Ventham appears here once again, after her turn in The Faceless Ones (1967). She stands out as one of the stronger female performers on the show, along with Jean Marsh. She's the single standout here other than the two regulars.
Edward Arthur appears as the typical dashing scientist, a character who reminds me of former companion Ben. I like how he questions everyone and everything and tries to make sense of things. Arthur is very believable depicting just that.
I have no idea what Denis Lill is doing, but it's not acting! Lill's character Fendelman is just one of Doctor Who's several crazy scientists, but his funny voice and German heritage coupled with his quite terrible acting remind me of the legendary and infamous Joesph Furst and Zaroff from The Underwater Menace (1967). Lill isn't half as bad as Furst, but definitely among the worst. And unlike Furst, who managed to turn his terribleness into an entertaining show, Lill is just plain bad.
The rest of the guest cast is average at best. I can't stand Daphne Heard, who plays Martha Tyler.
The Doctor: 7
By now the Doctor and Leela have a great rapport together. It's different than the chemistry between Four and Leela, closer to siblings travelling than to best friends. Tom Baker is magnificent together with Jameson, but for most of this adventure, he is quite low-key whenever he is on his own. We also get acquainted with the Doctor at his worst - going as far as helping a person commit suicide!
The Companions: 5
Leela is still given no character development, which causes troubles for her and the Doctor alike. She remains pretty shallow and boring in this story, after a couple of stories that gave her little more stuff to do.
The Monster/Villain: 4
Stael is surprisingly calm and low-key for being pretty much your average mad scientist. It makes him fresh but also makes him less memorable.
Boucher's apparent fascination with divine beings was a central plot element in The Face of Evil (1977), but in that story, the godlike computer Xoanon was a truly compelling character. The same cannot be said of the Fendahl in this story - a strange and disturbing golden goddess with no speaking lines and little to no personality. Her followers, the wormlike Fendahleen, are among the more forgettable and less successfully realized monsters on the show.
Production: 6
This story immediately sets the tone with quite an intense and atmospheric opening. It's a beautifully directed sequence, and one of the visually most inventive one in 70s Doctor Who.
The rest of the serial isn't up to standards. The set design is nothing special, and the show has seen better directing-. For the second story in a row, we get an awkwardly ugly alien design, this time in the Fendahleen.
Pacing: 6
The first part is perfectly fine and there are reasonable tension and action in the final episodes, but the middle two juts tag along with very little interesting material. It's not a very fast serial and the concepts don't keep it interesting for more than a few moments here and there.
Atmosphere: 6
This story slowly, but fairly effectively builds up tension and the creepy-factor, without going as far as Philip Hinchcliffe would have gone. It's a shame then, that after the fine atmospheric build-up in the opening episode, the tension eases out in the second part as the story slows down.
Nothing happens for the first three episodes. Things start to heat up in Episode 4 - the most surreal and bizarre of the lot, which also happens to be the strongest episode of the story. Episode 4 is, to be fair, quite exciting, with some well-written suspense and a majestic finale. Overall, one could describe Image of the Fendahl as Doctor Who on drugs and arrive very close to the truth.
Impact: 4
Image of the Fendahl does little that other stories haven't done before. There is nothing here that gives it more value as a story.
Replay Value: 4
I wouldn't rewatch this if I don't have to.
Random Observations:
From the file marked "Guest Actors Who Are Parents To Other Famous People": Wanda Ventham is the mother of actor Benedict Cumberbatch, whose Doctor Who credits are limited to guest appearances in Big Finish audio dramas.
This story feels like something Big Finish could have produced as an audio drama. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor (2001) springs to mind, in particular.
This is the first story that delves into Gallifreyan mythology and fairy-tales. Several stories, later on, will pit the Doctor against other Gallifreyan mythological creatures.
Score: 54/120