The Androids of Tara Part Two

The one where Romana finds she has a Taran twin...

Paul Lavers is very fetching as Farrah, isn't he? Director Michael Hayes had a very astute eye for the right actor in the right part, and youthful, blond Lavers is perfect as the young hero of this swashbuckling adventure. Equally well cast is Peter Jeffrey as the boo-hiss villain, and Simon Lack is suitably restrained and rigid as the slightly pompous Zadek. Lavers may not be the best actor in the story, but he certainly looks splendid.

For most of the episode, the Doctor's ersatz companion is young Farrah, and Lavers and Baker seem to gel well with the repartee. Lavers bounces off Baker beautifully, and I can well see them as an alternative TARDIS team along the lines of Season 21 Turlough.

It feels like Tom Baker has dialled back his flippancy in this episode too, and is much more focussed, balancing the eccentricity with the need to take the story seriously. I realise it's not the most epic of adventures the Doctor's ever had, essentially boiling down to who sits on the throne of a relatively unimportant planet, but for the viewer to get involved properly, the characters have to as well, so I'm glad Baker's balancing his tone better here.

Meanwhile, Romana discovers that Grendel has her doppelganger imprisoned in a dungeon beneath Castle Gracht. He really does hold all the cards that he needs to pull off his quest for Taran supremacy. Not only has he made captives of Princess Strella (Tara's second in line to the throne) and Prince Reynart (Tara's heir to the throne), he also has an exact double of Strella in his pocket as back-up. Quite why the people of Tara aren't questioning the sudden disappearance of both Strella and Reynart just prior to a coronation is baffling, particularly as Grendel is an obvious suspect.

Grendel intends to marry, and then bump off, Strella so that he becomes second in line for the throne. Strella will be "my fiance, my bride and then deceased", but if Strella protests too much, Grendel now has Romana as back-up, who he can marry and murder instead. Same result. Romana asks what will happen if she refuses to cooperate (good question), but the count seems unconcerned by this possibility, merely adding: "Oh, but you won't." Oh, but she very well might, mate, so what's your plan?

There's also hints at a history between Grendel and his peasant engineer, Madame Lamia. She seems jealous of Grendel, while he is far from emotionally attached, and treats her as a one-night stand. He once showed her "a certain courtesy", which is a great way of saying they had it off once, and that he feels like he did her a favour letting her sleep with him! It's a lovely little twist from writer David Fisher, and is played so well by Jeffrey and the sour-faced Lois Baxter. Let's hope it leads somewhere.

Romana is thrown in the slammer to act as nursemaid to the injured Prince Reynart, who Grendel has locked up in the cell next to Strella (who seems happy enough with her tapestry). Neville Jason is also great casting as the Prince, with his Douglas Fairbanks good looks and Errol Flynn moustache. Romana seems content to sit back and let the Doctor come and rescue her, which is a rather disappointing attitude for her to take. I mean, she and Reynart don't even know whether the Doctor's been left alive by Grendel, so it's a shame the companion is written so passively when she could be up and at 'em trying to work out her own escape plan. Romana II would.

As Tara's crazy, unfathomable giant clock ticks towards the appointed hour of coronation, the dignitaries of the court gather to see whether Reynart will turn up or not. Smarmy Grendel knows he won't, and Jeffrey does a fine job of making the Count as egotistical and slimy as possible. The court of Tara looks splendid, with some great set design from Valerie Warrender, sumptuous costumes from Doreen James and creative lighting from Brian Clemmett. This story was Clemmett's final Doctor Who, which is a shame because he did such sterling work on the likes of Planet of Evil, The Deadly Assassin and The Invisible Enemy.

The coronation will be performed by the Archimandrite, played by that doyen of the character role, Cyril Shaps. The Archimandrite (a monastic term used in Slavic and Greek Christianity) wears an outfit of many colours, and a tea-cosy hat, making him look like a cross between Joseph and the Sixth Doctor (but with a grey beard!). Maybe the Archimandrite of Tara is an ardent supporter of LGBT rights, and wears rainbow flag robes to demonstrate this?

A race is on for the Doctor and friends to get the android Reynart to the throne on time, using ancient plague tunnels to get there. Along the way the android bangs its head on a loose polystyrene rock, and our heroes are pursued by Grendel's guards who are completely useless when it comes to aiming straight (they shoot in every direction but at their targets!).

They get to the throne room in time, and the look on Grendel's face is a picture of fire and thunder when he sees Reynart apparently sitting ready to be crowned. It's actually the android Reynart, which struggles slightly to get through the acceptance speech, but what's more concerning for the Doctor is that Romana seems to have rocked up pretending to be the First Lady of Tara, mistress of the domains of Thorvald, Mortgarde and Freya. Without a scrap of self-doubt, the Doctor strikes Strella with Reynart's royal sceptre, obviously not believing for a second that it's really her. Let's hope he's right, otherwise we've just witnessed our hero murder his companion on a whim.

First broadcast: December 2nd, 1978

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Peter Jeffrey is deliciously oily as Grendel, who really does think he has the upper hand until the Doctor spoils his plans.
The Bad: Romana should be less of a wet blanket and more proactive. Sitting waiting to be rescued may be what damsels in distress do in these swashbuckling situations, but a super-intelligent Time Lady from Gallifrey should have a bit more about her.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

"Would you like a jelly baby?" tally: 18

NEXT TIME: Part Three...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Part One; Part Three; Part Four

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: https://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-androids-of-tara.html

The Androids of Tara is available on BBC DVD as part of the Key to Time box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Key-Time-Re-issue/dp/B002TOKFNM