This story starts slowly, building up the mysterious atmosphere on Sarn and combining that with the introduction of Peri on Lanzarote. The Sarn stuff is built around a unique belief system and isn't very interesting during the first half. It is Peri's part of the story that keep things going. The plot suffers from a slow pace in terms of plot development, particularly when it isn't made exactly clear what the different people involved are striving for. It takes until the end of the third episode before things become clear and the reveal in the cliffhanger is one of the best ones in the series' history.
Peter Davison puts in a surprisingly fierce performance in this one. Mark Strickson puts in his best performance in the TV show, although he is even better in the Big Finish audio Loups-Garoux (2001). Nicola Bryant is infamous for her unrealistic American accent and the distracting cleavage, but she makes that up with an otherwise solid performance. Her scenes together with Anthony Ainley's unusually brusque Master are great, and I particularly like how effectively she objects the Master's attempts to occupy her mind.
The Doctor shows a fiercer and darker side here, yet again, but not forgetting the humane and lighthearted side of his personality.
Peri is introduced as the new companion, the first American to travel with the Doctor. We get to know her and her abusive stepfather pretty well here, so she feels fleshed out. Her introduction is rough but memorable. Turlough's past is finally revealed here, which feels a bit odd since he leaves the series immediately after. Kamelion appears only to set things in motion and then to be written out of the series.
The Master is starting to feel overused and worn-out by now, but Ainley plays the character with the same joy and energy he has done throughout every story of the Davison era (save for Castrovalva, 1982). And for once, he at least has a slightly different plan with slightly different motivations. He gets some very fine moments here.
The location footage on Lanzarote looks beautiful and gives the series a break from the overused quarries.
The pace is quite slow during the first half, then picking up speed for the second half. The Peri scenes keep it going throughout, but the final part is a breeze in its entirety.
It's interesting how the Peri/Master scenes carry so much tension and excitement, while the Doctor/Turlough/Sarn scenes are pretty boring for most of the story. The first episode turns up the dial on the tension, particularly once we realize what has happened to the Master.
This story ushered in a new companion, wrote out another one and also finished the Master's story arc for a while. It's in many ways a landmark adventure.
A pretty nice end to Turlough and the beginning of a new era with Peri, this is a story well worth a rewatch.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Kamelion is usually referred to as a companion of the Fifth Doctor, even though the only appears in The King's Demons (1983) and this story before being written out of the show.
They've gone from the classic "OH MY GOD! IT'S A DALEK" cliffhanger to the "OH MY GOD! IT'S THE MASTER!" cliffhanger. I guess that's some kind of improvement.
There is something very James Bond-ish about the Master having his secret lair inside a volcano.
The TARDIS crew is back to two people for the first time since Full Circle (1981).
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-09T05:38:45Z
This story starts slowly, building up the mysterious atmosphere on Sarn and combining that with the introduction of Peri on Lanzarote. The Sarn stuff is built around a unique belief system and isn't very interesting during the first half. It is Peri's part of the story that keep things going. The plot suffers from a slow pace in terms of plot development, particularly when it isn't made exactly clear what the different people involved are striving for. It takes until the end of the third episode before things become clear and the reveal in the cliffhanger is one of the best ones in the series' history.
Peter Davison puts in a surprisingly fierce performance in this one. Mark Strickson puts in his best performance in the TV show, although he is even better in the Big Finish audio Loups-Garoux (2001). Nicola Bryant is infamous for her unrealistic American accent and the distracting cleavage, but she makes that up with an otherwise solid performance. Her scenes together with Anthony Ainley's unusually brusque Master are great, and I particularly like how effectively she objects the Master's attempts to occupy her mind.
The Doctor shows a fiercer and darker side here, yet again, but not forgetting the humane and lighthearted side of his personality.
Peri is introduced as the new companion, the first American to travel with the Doctor. We get to know her and her abusive stepfather pretty well here, so she feels fleshed out. Her introduction is rough but memorable. Turlough's past is finally revealed here, which feels a bit odd since he leaves the series immediately after. Kamelion appears only to set things in motion and then to be written out of the series.
The Master is starting to feel overused and worn-out by now, but Ainley plays the character with the same joy and energy he has done throughout every story of the Davison era (save for Castrovalva, 1982). And for once, he at least has a slightly different plan with slightly different motivations. He gets some very fine moments here.
The location footage on Lanzarote looks beautiful and gives the series a break from the overused quarries.
The pace is quite slow during the first half, then picking up speed for the second half. The Peri scenes keep it going throughout, but the final part is a breeze in its entirety.
It's interesting how the Peri/Master scenes carry so much tension and excitement, while the Doctor/Turlough/Sarn scenes are pretty boring for most of the story. The first episode turns up the dial on the tension, particularly once we realize what has happened to the Master.
This story ushered in a new companion, wrote out another one and also finished the Master's story arc for a while. It's in many ways a landmark adventure.
A pretty nice end to Turlough and the beginning of a new era with Peri, this is a story well worth a rewatch.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Kamelion is usually referred to as a companion of the Fifth Doctor, even though the only appears in The King's Demons (1983) and this story before being written out of the show.
They've gone from the classic "OH MY GOD! IT'S A DALEK" cliffhanger to the "OH MY GOD! IT'S THE MASTER!" cliffhanger. I guess that's some kind of improvement.
There is something very James Bond-ish about the Master having his secret lair inside a volcano.
The TARDIS crew is back to two people for the first time since Full Circle (1981).
Score: 79/120