The Invasion of Time Part Six

The one where Leela and K-9 decide to stay behind on Gallifrey...

Two minutes in to the sixth episode, Sontaran Commander Stor finally takes off his mask... and, as suspected, it wasn't worth the wait. The mask is an ill-fitting travesty of previous Sontaran masks, it isn't even attached to Derek Deadman's face around the eyes or nose. Coupled with Deadman's painfully poor performance (his delivery is slow, rasping and leaden), the whole Sontaran experience is disappointing. Deadman might be right for the part in that he is short and stout, but other than that, the guy just can't act. This is the sort of actor more accustomed to roles such as "Man at telephone box", "Knicker snatcher" and "Second porter". Playing a potato-headed Doctor Who monster might not be up there with Hamlet or King Lear, but Deadman does not have the talent required to play a convincing villain in a rubber mask. Kevin Lindsay did. Derek Deadman does not.

He can't even put his helmet on correctly, plonking it on his head skew-whiff in a moment that made me burst with laughter. Derek Deadman's Stor is a laughing stock.

The Invasion of Time Part Five

The one where the Doctor becomes the first President of Gallifrey since Rassilon to hold the Great Key - and then gives it to an alien savage...

The Sontarans have invaded Gallifrey! What a corking plot twist that is. I mean, it could have been a more likely race of monster, like the Daleks or Cybermen, but the Sontarans will do, I suppose. This is the first time the Sontarans have been shown in force, as The Time Warrior only had one (Linx) and The Sontaran Experiment just two (and one was on a screen). Unfortunately, these Sontarans are led by Cockney Stor, who speaks in fits and starts as if he's constipated. Stor is certainly no Linx, and actor Derek Deadman is definitely no Kevin Lindsay!

I like the musical theme Dudley Simpson has for the Sontarans though, a deep parping signature reminiscent of the one Malcolm Clarke comes up with for the Cybermen in Earthshock.

The Invasion of Time Part Four

The one where the Vardans come, and the Vardans go, but then...

Andred levels his gun at the Doctor, announces he is going to execute him... then waits a little bit for the Doctor to react, then waits a little longer as the Doctor orders K-9 to stun him, which he does. Andred falls to the ground, stunned. Andred was pretty useless, but then that seems to be what the Chancellery Guard are trained to be.

Andred soon comes round to the Doctor's way of thinking though, and it's great to see the Fourth Doctor with a male companion again, however temporary. Christopher Tranchell is a good partner for Tom Baker, and with every passing scene he seems to remove another item of clothing. Although I haven't spent very long in Andred's company, I think I'm falling in love with him. Maybe he has that effect on people?

The Invasion of Time Part Three

The one where the Doctor reveals that he's not the bad guy after all...

The invading tin foil aliens are called Vardans apparently, which is as rubbish a name as any I suppose. The Vardans are proclaimed to be instantly in control of the entire planet, with barely a word of protest or a single shot being fired. The entire Time Lord civilisation bends its knee to a trio of shimmering Bacofoil ghosts, which is literally pathetic. The Vardans - one of which speaks with a broad Scottish accent - do nothing to demonstrate their supremacy, they are just accepted and that's it. It's really lazy writing. And to think this was written by both Doctor Who's script editor and producer. It doesn't bode well.

What is good is that we finally get confirmation that the Doctor has had a good reason to appear to collude with the Vardans so far. He asked Borusa for lead-lined quarters because the Vardans can travel along any wavelength, and are telepathic. So the Doctor was shielding his real thoughts from the Vardans by strength of will alone all this time, but can let go and relax when sealed in his lead-lined room. It enables him to take Borusa into his confidence, and so too the viewer. The design of the lead-lined room, with its wheels and cogs reflecting a temporal theme, is marvellous, one of the best things about the story so far (a tip of the hat to Barbara Gosnold).

The Invasion of Time Part Two

The one where the Doctor allows aliens to invade Gallifrey...

The Doctor is seemingly rejected by the Matrix after donning the Coronet of Rassilon, and Chancellor Borusa takes this opportunity to try and get rid of President Doctor by claiming he's not fit for office. But he hasn't reckoned on the prissy Surgeon-General Lord Gomer, a shady old queen if ever there was one ("Borusa, I suggest you... keep all your tedious bureaucratic problems to yourself")! Gomer takes the Doctor under his medical wing, and retires him to the Chancellery for treatment.

The Doctor wastes no time in ordering that his friend and companion Leela is banished from the Citadel, out into the wastelands of Gallifrey where she can do no harm. Both Leela and the viewers are astonished by this. Why is our hero being so nasty towards Leela, who only ever shows loyalty and support for her mentor? The savage makes her escape, which is made particularly easy by the fact the Chancellery Guards are utterly useless. All Leela has to do is show them a leg, give them a gentle push, and they fall over like skittles. Their ray guns don't even have rays! There's a knack to making guards seem capable while also being overcome, but director Gerald Blake hasn't got that knack.

The Invasion of Time Part One

The one where the Doctor claims his right to be President of Gallifrey...

The opening shot of this episode is basically the opening shot of Star Wars, but done on a Doctor Who budget. The scene was actually filmed in November 1977, before Star Wars had premiered in the UK, so I'm not sure whether it's an influence or a massive coincidence that this story opens with a huge spaceship dwarfing a smaller one. What does puzzle me though, is what these two ships are? We see that the Doctor is talking to some aliens on one ship, but what's the other one? It's not clear at all.

And who are these aliens? They look like giant talking cones, but I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be the chairs the aliens are sitting in, and we can't see the aliens (although you do glimpse the tiniest scrap of a mint green knee at one point). Again, Gerald Blake's direction doesn't make it very clear. I mean, they could be talking cone aliens for all I know, this is Doctor Who after all.