The story immediately sets up the high-stakes finale of the Black Guardian trilogy and combines that with a fascinating period piece onboard an Edwardian ship. We quickly learn, however, that things aren't quite what they seem. From here on, the script weaves an engaging mystery, held together by the performances and the production values. There are some great ideas at play here, and the execution mostly works. The only problem is the lack of any proper plot progression and variety. It's also passing time until the real goal of the story, the showdown between the Doctor and the Black Guardian.
Christopher Brown gives a creepy performance as Marriner. I also like the stern seriousness Keith Barron brings to Striker. Lynda Baron is a ruthless Captain Wrack in one of the stronger female performances I've seen on the show.
The Doctor mostly watches things unfold this time, and the tensions between him and Turlough never really reaches the breaking point. He doesn't have much time to take in what the Black Guardian has been planning before stopping him.
With Nyssa gone, Turlough can finally step forward and we get to truly see the difficult relationship he has with the Doctor. His characteristics still revolve around the same things, though, and there's a lack of variety in his way of doing things. He does play a pivotal part in the finale, however. Tegan, unfortunately, doesn't get much to do here.
It's funny how Eternals seem to work in much the same way as they do within the Marvel Universe, personifying different abstract aspects of humanity. They're such a fascinating concept of a villain, it's almost strange how the show hasn't featured something similar before now. At the same time, they seem surreal and mysterious, and almost too perfect. Captain Wrack makes for a great companion of the Black Guardian, ad I begin to wonder why he didn't send her in the first place instead of the incompetent Turlough.
I like the combination of period clothing and sets and futuristic technology, all brought to life by fine model work. That's the kind of mix Doctor Who usually does well. The scenes on the deck of the shop are among the most beautiful in Classic Who.
Another slower paced adventure, it stays interesting thanks to some intense scenes dropped here and there but could flow even better with a more varied plot.
This serial dips into darker territory at times, such as in the rather blunt cliffhanger to part Two or Turlough stuck within the vacuum shield, but otherwise, it stays on quite safe waters. There's not much build-up to the climax and the climactic showdown itself remains underwhelming. The scene between the White and the Black Guardian in part Four is pretty memorable, though.
Enlightenment is another example of the show combining science fiction with history in unexpected ways. It's largely successful in that sense, at least creating something fresh and inventive.
This is a middle-of-the-road adventure, one that can be rewatched sometime, but not very often.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
The crew aboard the shop not remembering coming aboard harks back to another ship with an unclear past, as seen in Carnival of Monsters (1973). In other ways, there are also similarities with The War Games (1969); the Eternals picking human beings from different points in history for their race.
The orange light inside the TARDIS at the beginning of the serial makes the console room look similar to the Eleventh Doctor's first TARDIS console room.
The Doctor arrives towards the climax of another space race in The Ghost Monument (2018).
The Black Guardian's laughter is similar to the infamous laughter of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).
Lynda Baron, who appears as the ruthless Wrack, also recorded the infamously catchy "Ballad of The Last Chance Saloon" for the 1966 serial The Gunfighters.
The White Guardian returns from his previous appearance during Season 16s Key to Time-arc.
This is the first story to be both written and directed by a woman. The second time this would happen is with The Witchfinders in 2018.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-08T07:48:17Z
The story immediately sets up the high-stakes finale of the Black Guardian trilogy and combines that with a fascinating period piece onboard an Edwardian ship. We quickly learn, however, that things aren't quite what they seem. From here on, the script weaves an engaging mystery, held together by the performances and the production values. There are some great ideas at play here, and the execution mostly works. The only problem is the lack of any proper plot progression and variety. It's also passing time until the real goal of the story, the showdown between the Doctor and the Black Guardian.
Christopher Brown gives a creepy performance as Marriner. I also like the stern seriousness Keith Barron brings to Striker. Lynda Baron is a ruthless Captain Wrack in one of the stronger female performances I've seen on the show.
The Doctor mostly watches things unfold this time, and the tensions between him and Turlough never really reaches the breaking point. He doesn't have much time to take in what the Black Guardian has been planning before stopping him.
With Nyssa gone, Turlough can finally step forward and we get to truly see the difficult relationship he has with the Doctor. His characteristics still revolve around the same things, though, and there's a lack of variety in his way of doing things. He does play a pivotal part in the finale, however. Tegan, unfortunately, doesn't get much to do here.
It's funny how Eternals seem to work in much the same way as they do within the Marvel Universe, personifying different abstract aspects of humanity. They're such a fascinating concept of a villain, it's almost strange how the show hasn't featured something similar before now. At the same time, they seem surreal and mysterious, and almost too perfect. Captain Wrack makes for a great companion of the Black Guardian, ad I begin to wonder why he didn't send her in the first place instead of the incompetent Turlough.
I like the combination of period clothing and sets and futuristic technology, all brought to life by fine model work. That's the kind of mix Doctor Who usually does well. The scenes on the deck of the shop are among the most beautiful in Classic Who.
Another slower paced adventure, it stays interesting thanks to some intense scenes dropped here and there but could flow even better with a more varied plot.
This serial dips into darker territory at times, such as in the rather blunt cliffhanger to part Two or Turlough stuck within the vacuum shield, but otherwise, it stays on quite safe waters. There's not much build-up to the climax and the climactic showdown itself remains underwhelming. The scene between the White and the Black Guardian in part Four is pretty memorable, though.
Enlightenment is another example of the show combining science fiction with history in unexpected ways. It's largely successful in that sense, at least creating something fresh and inventive.
This is a middle-of-the-road adventure, one that can be rewatched sometime, but not very often.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
The crew aboard the shop not remembering coming aboard harks back to another ship with an unclear past, as seen in Carnival of Monsters (1973). In other ways, there are also similarities with The War Games (1969); the Eternals picking human beings from different points in history for their race.
The orange light inside the TARDIS at the beginning of the serial makes the console room look similar to the Eleventh Doctor's first TARDIS console room.
The Doctor arrives towards the climax of another space race in The Ghost Monument (2018).
The Black Guardian's laughter is similar to the infamous laughter of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).
Lynda Baron, who appears as the ruthless Wrack, also recorded the infamously catchy "Ballad of The Last Chance Saloon" for the 1966 serial The Gunfighters.
The White Guardian returns from his previous appearance during Season 16s Key to Time-arc.
This is the first story to be both written and directed by a woman. The second time this would happen is with The Witchfinders in 2018.
Score: 68/120