The Curse of Fenric Part Four

The one where Ace learns who the baby really is...

What I'm getting from this critical review of the story - after decades of watching it thinking I'm understanding it all - is that the Doctor hasn't necessarily fought "Fenric" before. Fenric is just Millington's interpretation of evil, and as the Doctor says in part 3, "evil has no name". It seems to me that evil has simply chosen to manifest itself in this way on this particular occasion, using Norse mythology as an amusing cover, but the adversary the Doctor played chess with in the shadow dimensions, and trapped there for 17 centuries, was not Fenric as such. It was evil. The Doctor played chess with evil.

He says elsewhere in this episode, as he tries to remember where the pieces were left on the chess board, that it took place "so long ago", suggesting it wasn't his seventh self which did all this. It's an interesting take on things, and I'm not convinced it was meant this way by writer Ian Briggs, but I quite like the theory that Fenric isn't the Doctor's ancient enemy. Pure evil is his enemy, and this time around it's called Fenric.

The Curse of Fenric Part Three

The one where evil takes a body...

Wow, when Perkins gets an order, he certainly carries it out to the very best of his abilities, doesn't he? And with so much gusto! Charged with the task of disabling all of the radio transmitters on the base, he sets about chopping them up with an axe, sparks flying everywhere! Millington rushes in, hoping to find that Perkins isn't as loyal as he fears, but too late - the hardware's in bits. "Splendid work, Perkins, splendid work!" jeers the Doctor. "Now put them back together again." And just look at the sweet little smile from Ace behind him when he says that. That girl really loves that man (for now).

There are so many little moments like this in the relationship between the Doctor and Ace / Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred. The chemistry between them is like lightning in a bottle, and beyond the narrative development of the relationship and characters, it can be found in the organic performance between the two, the unscripted looks and gestures which were also present between Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. That naturalness, that ease between them, is palpable. It happens again when Ace blows up the brick wall with her nitro-9, and as they're all escaping, the Doctor stops Ace and says: "I'll talk to you later", and Aldred responds with a big goofy grin. It's a timeless, organic working relationship and we are so lucky to have witnessed it.

The Curse of Fenric Part Two

The one where the chains of Fenric shatter...

A fine example of the hotch-potch way The Curse of Fenric is edited/ sequenced is the fact Dr Judson's recital of the Wainwright translation bridges two episodes. He starts reading it toward the end of part 1 but doesn't get to finish until part 2, making it seem like he's been reading it all week! Placing the entire recital in one or the other episode, and not both, would have been far better.

Part 2 is far more satisfying than part 1, but I'm still left with a glut of unanswered questions. Why does a whole new set of Viking inscriptions burn into existence when Judson reads the translations? It looks good, but why does it happen? Why does the corpse of the dead Russian beneath the water come back to life? Again, it looks good, but why does it happen? What becomes of him? Does he turn into a Haemovore?

The Curse of Fenric Part One

The one where the Russians invade wartime Northumbria...

The TARDIS materialises in the grounds of a top secret naval camp in Northumbria in 1943. The Doctor and Ace are here to see Dr Judson, a mathematician charged with the task of cracking the German cyphers in World War Two. The Doctor's duffel coat makes him look a bit like Paddington Bear, while Ace's period outfit makes a refreshing change from her usual badge-scattered bomber jacket (although she still has that).

We're straight into the story, no messing about, as the Doctor and Ace waltz into the base as if they were expected all along. The Doctor even goes so far as to fake his own credentials, right in front of the ratty Dr Judson and his nurse, Crane. It's a very brief letter, with forged signatures from Prime Minister Winston Churchill and MI6 Chief Stewart Menzies (good attention to detail there by production designer David Laskey). The Doctor's gall in forging this letter before presenting it to Captain Bates with the ink still wet is highly amusing, including when Bates knocks on the door and the Doctor shouts: "Come in!" The Doctor is instantly in charge.