Castrovalva Part Three

The one where the Doctor struggles to count to three...

The Doctor is now up and about, making his own way to Castrovalva while Tegan and Nyssa run away from local tribespeople and try to scale the rocks in heels. I do like the little contretemps between the two girls when Nyssa wishes they had a three-micron beam wedge, and Tegan snaps: "Well we haven't!", to which Nyssa shoots back: "I said 'if'!" It's a little moment like that which makes a dramatic situation that bit more truthful, with people annoying one another or taking their frustrations out on each other. They're like two sisters squabbling. Let's face it, Tegan and Nyssa are two very different people, so they're bound to annoy each other from time to time.

The Doctor is taken inside the town of Castrovalva (so it's a town, not a planet then?) by the furry tribespeople, and confronted by a man called Shardovan who's dressed for all the world like the Master, all in black with facial hair. This is actually quite a clever little distraction, making the viewer think about him possibly being the Master, or an agent of his. Actor Derek Waring didn't usually have a moustache, so the look of Shardovan - so dark against the generally pastel hues of his surroundings - is a purposeful attempt to lead the viewer.

Castrovalva Part Two

The one where 25% of the TARDIS is thrown away...

Nyssa, the girl who seems to know everything and likes you to know it, has to learn all about hydrogen by reading aloud from the TARDIS databank. This databank is quite a utilitarian affair: a uninspiring dun monitor screen, with verbose jargon in place of straightforward definitions and information. It's Wikipedia written by Christopher H Bidmead.

The entry for Standard Flight Procedures (stage 387) reads like an academic report: "If the Logical to Physical mapping techniques described in Stages 11-275 have been understood [some hope!] and implemented, i-o ambiguities should not normally create difficulties at this stage. On zeroing the coordinate differential, automatic systems reactivate the real world interface (see: Main Door, The Opening of). Main door closure techniques, though not a direct reversal of the above procedure, are centred around similar differential layer-slippage to create the minimum of user involvement in the mathematical sub-structure."

And the user is supposed to understand what the heck all that means?

Castrovalva Part One

The one where the new Doctor becomes unravelled from his past (and his scarf)...

It was unheard of for Doctor Who to do a cold open at the time, but the reprise of the regeneration at the top of this episode is a wise move. It edits what went before, but reminds the viewer where we were up to (although anybody who'd been watching The Five Faces of Doctor Who repeat of Logopolis would already be aware). It provides a tantalising jumping-off point for the new era, revealing the Doctor's new face to us before launching into those thrilling, galloping opening titles. A new era has begun!

By rights, Peter Davison should be "my Doctor". I was five years old when Season 19 began, so the Fifth Doctor ought to have been the version I grew up with and got attached to. But I've never been terribly fond of this Doctor. It's not that I dislike him, I just don't think he quite fulfils my search for eccentricity in my Doctors. To me, Davison was more of a bland hero figure, and less like the "crazy" Dr Who I knew. I don't think I actually grew attached to a Doctor until Sylvester McCoy took over, by which time I was 11 years old. Sylvester is "my Doctor", even though I grew up with Davison (and, I suppose, Colin Baker). So, let's see how I feel about Number 5 now I'm in my forties!

Logopolis Part Four

The one where the moment has been prepared for...

So here it is: the end. The last time we'll ever see Tom Baker's face in the opening titles, the last episode of a monumentally significant and popular era in Doctor Who history. But this moment has been prepared for...

It's strange watching classic Who through the lens of the 21st century, when the departure of a Doctor is given such apocalyptic importance, such grandiloquence. Back in the "olden days", a Doctor going was often treated with as much importance as a mid-season pot-boiler, and in many ways, that goes for Logopolis. These days, this story would be called something grandiose like The End of the Universe, but in 1981, it's named after a planet. And these days the Doctor would go out doing something far more heroic than simply trying to unplug a cable, but there you go. That's how different television was 40 years ago.

Logopolis Part Three

The one where the Master accidentally rots the Universe...

Somewhere, a Logopolitan has got his sums wrong, resulting in the TARDIS reducing in size with the Doctor trapped inside. "The honour of Logopolis is at stake!" whittles Monitor. Yes, just imagine: people laughing at Logopolis because it got one of its sums wrong! I do like the way Peter Grimwade directs the TARDIS interior scenes though, with a muzzy look to the lens as if it's smeared with Vaseline. It reflects the fact the dimensions are compacting (it also makes it look like the Doctor's back on Vortis!).

The Logopolitans (who don't speak or smile, but do carry) transport the miniaturised TARDIS through the streets to the central registry. It's every Doctor Who fan's dream to have a mini TARDIS like this, in the corner of the bedroom or the bottom of the garden! Now most of us have a model police box on our bookshelves, but a model this size is even more exciting. It's almost possible it's the real thing, as we see here and in Flatline over 30 years later.

Logopolis Part Two

The one where someone from the last story randomly turns up...

This is the last episode that we get to see the Fourth Doctor/ Adric dynamic working in isolation, which is a shame. I'll be sorry to see the relationship corrupted by the arrival of additional companions, and ultimately by the change in Doctor. This episode is full of little moments of charm between the two, such as the continuation of the reprise where the Doctor just knows Adric is there behind him, and shouts over his shoulder calling for a diversion to help him escape the police.

Adric searches around for a prop and finds the copper's bicycle, and it's a lovely little moment when Matthew Waterhouse looks at the bike in confusion because of course Adric doesn't know what a bicycle is! Adric then pretends he's fallen off the bike to distract the policemen, allowing the Doctor to skip merrily back into the TARDIS with a cheeky wave. Adric hurls the bike into the pursuing policeman's path before rushing into the TARDIS and slamming the door in their face. What a team!

Logopolis Part One

The one where there's a TARDIS within a TARDIS...

Logopolis. Great word to roll around the mouth, but what does it mean? It's one of those Doctor Who stories named after something that doesn't mean anything until you've sat down and watched it, like Meglos, Praxeus or, indeed, anything written by Christopher H Bidmead. When I was a teenager first encountering this story on VHS, I thought it was pronounced "LO-GO-PO-Lis", stressing the first three syllables in a most unlikely way! I used to say "SON-ta-ran" too until I learnt better!

This 550th episode of Doctor Who opens with a policeman using the telephone of an actual, real police box, which even 40 years on, is ridiculously exciting for a Doctor Who fan. This episode is full of moments like that, teetering dangerously close to fanwank, but that's no reason not to find it exciting! Something wibbly seems to happen to the police box, and the copper is pulled menacingly inside it by malevolent laughter. Attack of the killer clowns?