Starting the story with the Second Doctor and Jamie on an adventure is a pretty brilliant move. It feels nostalgic and somewhat wrong at the same time. The first half of the story isn't very interesting until the Doctors meets each other since the menace being built up feels quite thin. The script holds back in the meeting and the two TARDIS teams for so long, the story almost turns dull. What ha surprising is that his story is written by the legendary Robert Holmes, who has written some of the finest stories of the series. This isn't the typical Holmesian script, and it feels quite lifeless and thin compared to his usual contributions. It's strange how the story really hasn't started properly by the end of Part Two. Holmes' biggest feat is the creation of the Androgums, a race of telepathic, cannibalistic and treacherous aliens, who get plenty of screentime. The script doesn't lit the Second Doctor into very good use, mostly making him a comic relief character. Even during the final part, when the volume is turned up a bit, it's not overly exciting or deep.
Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines, to a lesser extent, look 20 years older but slip back into their roles surprisingly well. Troughton last returned two years prior, of course, but Hines hasn't been playing the part since 1969. Some of the characterizations feel iffy, such as Two being overly rude to Jamie, which he wasn't his original run. Jacqueline Pierce is one of the finer actresses to appear in the show. This is her only TV appearance, but she has done plenty of Big Finish Audios over the years. John Stratton is pretty good himself, I just think his character is annoying. The rest of the cast isn't up to much, but no one is bad.
The Second Doctor feels like he used to, only somewhat greyer. The Sixth Doctor seems to be somewhat nicer to Peri, while still thinking high of himself. Two doesn't appear in the story after the first half of Part One and until Part Two is well underway. That's fine though, since this is a Sixth Doctor story, even though I love the Second Doctor. Two has some fine scenes with Stike of the Sontarans, showing his fiercer side. I am slightly disappointed that Holmes didn't do more with the two Doctors meeting, like not having them two bickers with each other.
Peri turns out to be useful to Sixie, actually helping him along. Poor Jamie gets a few lines and tags along, but he's mostly just there. He's also combined with Two and Peri, which doesn't help him at all.
The Sontarans are revealed early on, glimpsed a couple of times but forgotten throughout the serial. They certainly don't get very much done and feel superfluous to the story. The Sixth Doctor and Peri are threatened by a murderous computer who speaks a couple of lines and then disappears from the story. Stike is a pretty forgettable Sontaran commander when comparing to earlier commanders. Dastari has all the potential to be a fine villain, but he just never feels very threatening.
The production is fine, but nothing special. The Sontarans look good, the location footage is fine and the Spanish-inspired music is something special.
I'm surprised by how slow this story feels, during the first episode at least. The plot is wafer-thin, there's almost no build-up of menace and neither the Second nor the Sixth Doctor is very well-used. The story doesn't turn faster until Part Three when the Sontarans finally start feeling dangerous and the two Doctors meet.
It feels like this story relies so heavily on nostalgia and fan-service, that the actual plot loses focus and tension. The first part isn't exciting or particularly interesting after the opening moments with Two and Jamie. There isn't even much of a spark between Six and Peri. The characters involved are pretty boring and there distant seem to be any plot to develop. The third part is where the story turns interesting, funny and more action-packed. This is really where things get interesting as the story moves into its climax.
As multi-Doctor stories go, this is one of the least celebratory ones. As Robert Holmes stories go, this remains one of the bleaker ones.
I was hoping for more, but it's just slightly too long and not exciting enough to warrant many rewatches.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Are we supposed to believe that the Second Doctor and Jamie have just dripped Victoria off the TARDIS, so this happens between Fury from the Deep and The Wheel in Space? Why do they look so older? Then again, the Doctor mentions being exiled from Time Lord society, which he was in The War Games. Nah, I believe in Season 6B!
We now learn that the Doctor eats one meal a day and apparently forces his companions to do the same. Poor Jamie!
The Sixth Doctor likes fishing, like the Fourth Doctor, did, and is good at hypnosis, like his past selves.
I love it how easily Jamie accepts the fact that the Second and Sixth Doctors are the same Time Lord. But then again, he wasn't a companion who called many things into the question during that time on the show.
The wheelchair gag at The End of Time is inspired by a similar scene in Part Three of this story.
The Androgum version of the Second Doctor is a pretty creepy one, like a clown version of Salamander from The Enemy of the World.
I don't know what is cooler: the Tenth Doctor snapping the TARDIS doors open or the Second Doctor summoning his TARDIS by whistling.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-10T08:00:14Z
Starting the story with the Second Doctor and Jamie on an adventure is a pretty brilliant move. It feels nostalgic and somewhat wrong at the same time. The first half of the story isn't very interesting until the Doctors meets each other since the menace being built up feels quite thin. The script holds back in the meeting and the two TARDIS teams for so long, the story almost turns dull.
What ha surprising is that his story is written by the legendary Robert Holmes, who has written some of the finest stories of the series. This isn't the typical Holmesian script, and it feels quite lifeless and thin compared to his usual contributions. It's strange how the story really hasn't started properly by the end of Part Two.
Holmes' biggest feat is the creation of the Androgums, a race of telepathic, cannibalistic and treacherous aliens, who get plenty of screentime.
The script doesn't lit the Second Doctor into very good use, mostly making him a comic relief character. Even during the final part, when the volume is turned up a bit, it's not overly exciting or deep.
Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines, to a lesser extent, look 20 years older but slip back into their roles surprisingly well. Troughton last returned two years prior, of course, but Hines hasn't been playing the part since 1969. Some of the characterizations feel iffy, such as Two being overly rude to Jamie, which he wasn't his original run.
Jacqueline Pierce is one of the finer actresses to appear in the show. This is her only TV appearance, but she has done plenty of Big Finish Audios over the years. John Stratton is pretty good himself, I just think his character is annoying.
The rest of the cast isn't up to much, but no one is bad.
The Second Doctor feels like he used to, only somewhat greyer. The Sixth Doctor seems to be somewhat nicer to Peri, while still thinking high of himself. Two doesn't appear in the story after the first half of Part One and until Part Two is well underway. That's fine though, since this is a Sixth Doctor story, even though I love the Second Doctor. Two has some fine scenes with Stike of the Sontarans, showing his fiercer side. I am slightly disappointed that Holmes didn't do more with the two Doctors meeting, like not having them two bickers with each other.
Peri turns out to be useful to Sixie, actually helping him along. Poor Jamie gets a few lines and tags along, but he's mostly just there. He's also combined with Two and Peri, which doesn't help him at all.
The Sontarans are revealed early on, glimpsed a couple of times but forgotten throughout the serial. They certainly don't get very much done and feel superfluous to the story. The Sixth Doctor and Peri are threatened by a murderous computer who speaks a couple of lines and then disappears from the story.
Stike is a pretty forgettable Sontaran commander when comparing to earlier commanders. Dastari has all the potential to be a fine villain, but he just never feels very threatening.
The production is fine, but nothing special. The Sontarans look good, the location footage is fine and the Spanish-inspired music is something special.
I'm surprised by how slow this story feels, during the first episode at least. The plot is wafer-thin, there's almost no build-up of menace and neither the Second nor the Sixth Doctor is very well-used. The story doesn't turn faster until Part Three when the Sontarans finally start feeling dangerous and the two Doctors meet.
It feels like this story relies so heavily on nostalgia and fan-service, that the actual plot loses focus and tension. The first part isn't exciting or particularly interesting after the opening moments with Two and Jamie. There isn't even much of a spark between Six and Peri. The characters involved are pretty boring and there distant seem to be any plot to develop.
The third part is where the story turns interesting, funny and more action-packed. This is really where things get interesting as the story moves into its climax.
As multi-Doctor stories go, this is one of the least celebratory ones. As Robert Holmes stories go, this remains one of the bleaker ones.
I was hoping for more, but it's just slightly too long and not exciting enough to warrant many rewatches.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Are we supposed to believe that the Second Doctor and Jamie have just dripped Victoria off the TARDIS, so this happens between Fury from the Deep and The Wheel in Space? Why do they look so older? Then again, the Doctor mentions being exiled from Time Lord society, which he was in The War Games. Nah, I believe in Season 6B!
We now learn that the Doctor eats one meal a day and apparently forces his companions to do the same. Poor Jamie!
The Sixth Doctor likes fishing, like the Fourth Doctor, did, and is good at hypnosis, like his past selves.
I love it how easily Jamie accepts the fact that the Second and Sixth Doctors are the same Time Lord. But then again, he wasn't a companion who called many things into the question during that time on the show.
The wheelchair gag at The End of Time is inspired by a similar scene in Part Three of this story.
The Androgum version of the Second Doctor is a pretty creepy one, like a clown version of Salamander from The Enemy of the World.
I don't know what is cooler: the Tenth Doctor snapping the TARDIS doors open or the Second Doctor summoning his TARDIS by whistling.
Score: 60/120