The first part is a pretty average opener to a Doctor Who story, but it seems rather mundane and not very exciting. And even after that, the script fails to satisfyingly construct an engaging narrative around its simple plot details. Everything feels somewhat muddled like this serial was hastily written to replace another story. The script also seems to forget Turlough's true mission after the opening episode.
Liza Goddard is a pretty believable and cool female pirate captain. I just wish she would put in an even more memorable performance. She is the only one next to the regulars who stands out. Mark Strickson also feels forgotten here, while Sarah Sutton once again puts in a pretty good performance. Strickson's performance is starting to feel a bit too repetitive.
The Doctor's relationship with his companions is seen here, as he refuses to allow Nyssa to leave until she can persuade him to think otherwise.
Nyssa gets the most to do, while Tegan and Turlough hand around doing nothing while stuck inside a room. Turlough forgets his prime mission and Tegan doesn't like Turlough, so those scenes are understandably a joy to watch. Nyssa's departure is fairly well handled and carries some emotional depth.
I don't understand the villains here. They're guys playing dress-up, but I don't know if they're supposed to be some vampire/zombie creatures or just creepy humans. They're pretty forgettable, honestly.
I like the grey and dark design of the Terminus spaceship. It's dark and ominous, like Dracula's castle. The make-up job on the diseased also looks horrifying and pretty realistic.
This is another slower four-parter. Things don't change enough to stay interesting and even the more exciting parts lack energy and soul.
Terminus begins with a somewhat strange atmosphere, that lacks tension and just feels odd. And it never goes anywhere from there. It tries to keep the tension flowing and to build up a mystery, but it doesn't go anywhere.
This story would probably be fairly forgotten if it wasn't for Nyssa's departure at the end.
Not the most exciting or interesting adventure, so not one I would revisit very often.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
The Part One cliffhanger is horrifying in its strange way, once we realize where the TARDIS team has arrived. The guys screaming at the end, by the way, has one of the funniest screams in Doctor Who history. His voice cracks to such an extent, that the tension of the moment kind of vanishes.
We're back explaining the cause of the Big Bang, like Castrovalva (1982) did before and The Big Bang (2010) will do later on.
With Nyssa's departure at the end, it feels like companions come and go all the time in recent episodes.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-08T05:36:24Z
The first part is a pretty average opener to a Doctor Who story, but it seems rather mundane and not very exciting. And even after that, the script fails to satisfyingly construct an engaging narrative around its simple plot details. Everything feels somewhat muddled like this serial was hastily written to replace another story. The script also seems to forget Turlough's true mission after the opening episode.
Liza Goddard is a pretty believable and cool female pirate captain. I just wish she would put in an even more memorable performance. She is the only one next to the regulars who stands out. Mark Strickson also feels forgotten here, while Sarah Sutton once again puts in a pretty good performance. Strickson's performance is starting to feel a bit too repetitive.
The Doctor's relationship with his companions is seen here, as he refuses to allow Nyssa to leave until she can persuade him to think otherwise.
Nyssa gets the most to do, while Tegan and Turlough hand around doing nothing while stuck inside a room. Turlough forgets his prime mission and Tegan doesn't like Turlough, so those scenes are understandably a joy to watch. Nyssa's departure is fairly well handled and carries some emotional depth.
I don't understand the villains here. They're guys playing dress-up, but I don't know if they're supposed to be some vampire/zombie creatures or just creepy humans. They're pretty forgettable, honestly.
I like the grey and dark design of the Terminus spaceship. It's dark and ominous, like Dracula's castle. The make-up job on the diseased also looks horrifying and pretty realistic.
This is another slower four-parter. Things don't change enough to stay interesting and even the more exciting parts lack energy and soul.
Terminus begins with a somewhat strange atmosphere, that lacks tension and just feels odd. And it never goes anywhere from there. It tries to keep the tension flowing and to build up a mystery, but it doesn't go anywhere.
This story would probably be fairly forgotten if it wasn't for Nyssa's departure at the end.
Not the most exciting or interesting adventure, so not one I would revisit very often.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
The Part One cliffhanger is horrifying in its strange way, once we realize where the TARDIS team has arrived. The guys screaming at the end, by the way, has one of the funniest screams in Doctor Who history. His voice cracks to such an extent, that the tension of the moment kind of vanishes.
We're back explaining the cause of the Big Bang, like Castrovalva (1982) did before and The Big Bang (2010) will do later on.
With Nyssa's departure at the end, it feels like companions come and go all the time in recent episodes.
Score: 58/120