Enlightenment Part Four

The one where the Doctor wins Enlightenment...

According to Wrack, the image of the Doctor in Tegan's mind is "quite intriguing". This poses a number of questions, and even Tegan looks confused by the statement! Is Wrack talking romance here? Or is she merely referring to the knowledge Tegan has of the Doctor, such as that he's a Time Lord, can regenerate and likes long scarves? I've never felt that Tegan harbours even the remotest romantic feeling for the Doctor, so Wrack must be referring to the way Tegan thinks of the Doctor, and the combative relationship they have. Is the Doctor like Tegan's big brother? A father figure? Intriguing indeed...

Back at the party, Marriner is trying some of his legendary chat-up lines on Tegan. "I missed you, I was concerned. I am empty without you," he moons. "You are life itself. Without you I am nothing. Don't you understand? I am empty. You give me being. I look into your mind and see life, energy, excitement. I want them! I want you. Your thoughts should be my thoughts. Your feelings, my feelings."

Enlightenment Part Three

The one where the Doctor and Tegan attend an Eternal party...

The reprise of the cliffhanger shows that the end of part 2 could have been edited much more effectively by finishing with a shot of Turlough drifting off into space, something you don't actually see in the transmitted episode. At the start of part 3 there are plenty of shots of Turlough looking desperately back to the Shadow as he drifts away, his hand reaching out in agonised terror, which would have been a much more thrilling way to end it.

Luckily, Turlough is "rescued" by the Buccaneer, which scoops him up in a net and takes him aboard. This is just as well because the efforts of the Shadow and its crew to retrieve Turlough leave much to be desired. Marriner tries to comfort Tegan by telling her that Turlough will have a quick death as he has so little oxygen, but I'm not sure this is going to placate her! The half-hearted attempt to throw a life ring to Turlough, which isn't even tethered, shows how little the Eternals value ephemeral lives.

Enlightenment Part Two

The one where Marriner rummages through Tegan's mind...

Those sailing (space)ships look gloriously quaint. The way they hang in the vastness of space, their sails quivering in the solar winds, has a certain magic. The fact they are real models, not CGI, adds a beautiful hauntological quality, reminiscent of the work of Ray Harryhausen. The re-edited version released on DVD in 2009 was, to my mind, a comparative abomination, removing the homespun joy of these model ships and replacing them with a studied soullessness.

The Shadow is approaching the next "marker buoy" in its race through space, which is actually the planet Venus. Striker wants to be first to pass the planet, and narrowly succeeds in doing so, before witnessing the unexpected destruction of Critas the Greek. Before the Greek ship blew up, the Doctor noticed an historically inaccurate piece of jewellery on his finger, a Spanish jewel from the 17th century. Curiouser and curiouser...

Enlightenment Part One

The one where the White Guardian gets in touch...

As we near the end of Season 20, and its pocket story arc involving Turlough and the Black Guardian, it's worth reflecting on the welcome increase in female involvement behind the scenes at this time. It might be something to do with the fact Doctor Who's producer was a gay man, or it might be simply because there were more women working behind the scenes than there used to be. Whatever the reason, it can only be A Good Thing that this 20-year-old series was finally getting a woman's touch.

Doctor Who's first ever producer was a woman, of course (the legendary Verity Lambert), but Enlightenment is the first time that a story has been written wholly by a woman (Barbara Clegg). OK, so The Ark was co-credited to Paul Erickson's wife Lesley Scott, but the truth is she didn't actually write a word of it. Clegg was the series' first bona fide female scribe, and it's a shame it took 20 years for that to happen. Even Blake's 7 had a female writer before Who (Tanith Lee, in 1980).