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.

Janet Budden's set design for Castrovalva's interior is splendid, making it look like a real, working, liveable township, with staircases, archways, doorways and corridors. It also has a lovely multi-level quality, with a balcony looking down over the town square, where a suckling pig is being spit-roasted following the recent hunt.

But look a little closer and the design of the town actually resembles the work of M C Escher (whose 1930 lithograph gave this story its name). There are echoes of Relativity (1953), Ascending and Descending (1960) and Waterfall (1961) in the architectural make-up of the design, and by the end of the episode the themes of Escher's art become even more relevant, making Budden's work here all the more special.

Peter Davison gives a marvellous performance in this episode, one that develops as it goes on. He starts the episode not knowing who he is, just knowing he has to find "the Doctor". His whole demeanour and body language is one of social awkwardness, sitting like a little boy lost as events spin around him. But Davison's portrayal develops as the Doctor becomes more confident, and although the whole "you mean, books 'n' stuff" bit is a little cringey, by the time he's sitting down at table and plucking at a stick of celery ("definitely civilisation"), you can feel the Fifth Doctor is on his way back.

The people of Castrovalva are a tricksy bunch. They lead pretty sedentary lives, and have recently taken to practice something called exercise by re-enacting the hunting parties of their ancestors, going out into the wild beyond the walls to bring food home for eating (hence the pig). They wear the rough, tribal furs of savage huntsmen, wielding spears and gaffs, but do not act like feral predators. They are actually refined and enlightened people, educated by the books (and stuff) in Shardovan's library. Mergrave is no hunter, he's a doctor.

They are led by an aged magistrate, the Portreeve, who likes to wear double-hats and shuffles about with a stick looking all kindly and benign. Truth be told, it's fairly obvious the Portreeve is played by Anthony Ainley, but I tried to place myself back when I watched Castrovalva for the first time, and ask whether I did actually know it was Ainley. Of all the disguises donned by the Ainley Master (Kalid, Gilles Estram, a scarecrow), the Portreeve is the most successful, mostly due to Ainley's considered performance. Ainley was an actor with very particular mannerisms and tics which he struggled to disguise, but he tries his very best here, and with some success. He is very convincing in his first scene in the Doctor's low-lit bedroom, but less so in the stark light of the next morning, when it becomes obvious.

Nevertheless, Ainley maintains his performance throughout, which is admirable. Maybe some of the younger viewers were fooled, particularly as they weren't overly familiar with Anthony Ainley as the Master by this point. Of course, I'm the guy who was completely fooled by John Simm's Masterly disguise in World Enough and Time until just a few minutes before the big reveal, so who am I to judge?

Having entered Castrovalva at last, Tegan and Nyssa decide to hit the local library to try and find out more about telebiogenesis (regeneration to you and me), because Nyssa knows so little about it. I'd imagine Tegan doesn't either, but she's keeping schtum. Sadly, the technical section of Shardovan's library is a little lacking in this regard, so instead the girls borrow all 15 volumes of The History of Castrovalva, to see if that helps in any way.

Meanwhile, Adric does an impersonation of himself to communicate with Nyssa and tell her that the Doctor must remain in Castrovalva until his regeneration is complete. But this is a 'bad Adric' (a Badric?), summoned up as a block transfer computation by the real Adric, who's still trapped in the Master's evil web thing. It's a shame we have to cut away to the Master, because it implicitly reminds the viewer of what Anthony Ainley looks like, so that when we return to Castrovalva, and the Portreeve, our credulity is weakened.

The Portreeve shows the Doctor a tapestry which he uses to see things. It's not explained what this is, or how it works, just that the elderly seer uses it as the source of his "great wisdom" (in other words, he uses it to eavesdrop). He manages to take the tapestry back in time by one day to a "state of yesterday", which shows the Doctor the trouble Nyssa and Tegan went to to carry him in his Zero Coffin Cabinet. I find this whole tapestry thing unconvincing, mainly because it isn't explained properly what it is, how it works, or what relevance it has. On the face of it, it's like some kind of time-space visualiser. There's mention of fast particle projection, but that tells me little.

Some further observations:

• Janet Budden's design for the Castrovalvan sets are obviously based upon Escher's lithographs, but also bear a striking resemblance to Elliot Scott's magnificent production design for the film Labyrinth, which didn't come along for another five years. So well done Janet!
• Ron Bristow also lights Castrovalva sympathetically during night-time scenes, which is to be applauded as we enter an era of Doctor Who when things tended to be over-lit.
• Another example of Bidmead's clumsy deus ex machina writing style crops up when Shardovan introduces himself as a librarian, and then a few minutes later Nyssa says: "If only there were some books here!" Well, you know what, Nyssa? There's a library!
• Amusing that the Doctor takes time to reminisce with the Portreeve about Frontier in Space, mentioning the Daleks and Ogrons (but, tellingly, not the Master). He could, of course, be referring to Day of the Daleks.

The episode steps up its game towards the end, and again Davison steps his up too as the Doctor's mind snaps alive thanks to the innocent interjection of a little girl. The Doctor is struggling to remember who his third companion is, as the Master has placed Adric out of the Doctor's mental reach, and strides around the town square counting "one... two...", but is unable to get to three. A child rushes over to tell him that three comes after two ("Stop please, you're making me dizzy!"), and the Doctor casually says she should get a badge for mathematical excellence. BANG! Adric snaps back into his memories, and all at once, the Fifth Doctor is back in the room.

I love the scene which begins with Tegan and Nyssa idly perusing their library books, before the door crashes open and a mildly enraged Doctor rushes in. "The history of Castrovalva's fascinating," welcomes Tegan, but the Doctor's not in the mood for small talk. "No time for that, where is he?" he demands, his body language verging on the aggressive. This is such a great performance from Davison, so easy to overlook, but he develops his Doctor beautifully throughout the episode to the point where here he is firing on all cylinders, and is actually a little bit scary. An angry Fifth Doctor is not to be trifled with!

As the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa try to escape Castrovalva ("must dash!"), the township begins to fold in on itself, and no matter how far they run, or how hard they try, they keep returning to the same spot on that balcony overlooking the square. Castrovalva is not the simple, uncomplicated place they thought it was, far from it. It's actually a space-time trap, a recursive occlusion, the perfect manifestation of Escher's impossible art. It's such a clever idea to have a Doctor Who story set in a world inspired by the work of Escher, and although the special effects for the day weren't quite up to the demands of the script, that final shot of the shards of Castrovalva merging as one still pack a visual punch.

After two episodes of painfully pedestrian storytelling, part 3 picks up the pace, ironically by going to a place where everybody lives sedentary lifestyles. I'm all for that irony though. I'm just pleased things have improved.

First broadcast: January 11th, 1982

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Janet Budden deserves huge credit for her Escher-inspired sets.
The Bad: It's a big mistake to remind the viewer what Anthony Ainley looks like when you're trying not to let the viewer think about Anthony Ainley.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

NEXT TIME: Part Four...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Part One; Part Two; 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.

Castrovalva is available on BBC DVD as part of the New Beginnings box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Beginnings-Logopolis-Castrovalva/dp/B000LE1HLQ/