The Visitation Part Two

The one where we meet the creature that came down in the firestorm...

What a wonderfully glib continuation of the cliffhanger! It's less of a resolution, more of a visual gag, as Tegan calls out for the Doctor, and he leans in through the brick wall and says: "Yes?" The brick wall is an illusion, a barrier that you can step through to the other side. It might have made for an underwhelming end to part 1, but I do enjoy the way it pans out unexpectedly here!

On the other side of the barrier, the air smells musty and humid. The Doctor identifies it as soliton gas, and of course Nyssa can't help herself and has to chip in: "I thought I recognised it". Is there anything this teenage girl from Traken doesn't know or have experience of? She's insufferable sometimes (often). She gets away with things more than the other two too, such as when the Doctor tells Tegan not to disturb anything, but when Nyssa prods the soliton gas machine and it bursts into life, there's not a single word of admonishment.

I do like how Richard Mace attempts to lead young Adric astray by introducing him to the joys of alcohol, but the orphan's innocence shines through rather endearingly (Matthew Waterhouse is always very good at portraying Adric's naivety). "What does that stuff taste like?" Adric asks Mace, who tells him it's like nectar. "Oh," responds the boy, "what does that taste like?"

They are rudely interrupted by the disco robot we saw at the start of part 1, which has quietly entered the room behind them dressed in the black robes of the Grim Reaper, complete with a rictus face mask. Just like the bejewelled robot itself, it's a striking design and is good material for the imagination of younger viewers. It has a laser in its hand too, and callously shoots Tegan to the ground, before flinging Adric unconscious to the floor. It might move rather cautiously, but it manages to wreak havoc in the time given. The Doctor is clearly rattled by the robot's effects, appearing to murder one of his young friends and injure another. He's glad to get Nyssa clear, but is visibly frustrated by the comatose state of his other two friends.

Escaping the robot's laser, the Doctor fruitlessly shouts to the unconscious Adric: "Look after her! I'll be back!" His friends are in trouble, and the Doctor is not amused. From this point on the Doctor is in a pretty dark mood, and has little time for the cowardice displayed by Richard Mace when he refuses to help him go back for Adric and Tegan. It's unusual to see the Fifth Doctor is such a stinker of a mood, but it's all the more effective when it happens. You really feel for this more vulnerable incarnation of our hero, who is clearly very concerned for the safety of his travelling companions.

He intends to launch a rescue mission, but when Mace declines the offer, Plan B is put into place: he plans to "vibrate the android to pieces". Of all the means of self-defence or wanton destruction at the Doctor's disposal, vibrating a robot to bits is not one I expected him to come up with first. Are there no alien weapons aboard the TARDIS he can draw upon? Nothing more ingenious or hi-tech than a giant vibrator? It's a truly bizarre plan.

Tegan and Adric are taken prisoner by the robot, which carries them into the main control room of the creature we've been waiting to meet since the start of the story. When it is revealed, the creature is a triumph of costume and animatronic design, truly one of the best new monsters to be introduced to the series for years. The Terileptil is designed with such detail and skill, complete with teeth, a moving mouth, scarring from the firestorm and a gammy eye. It's not perfect - the arms are too short and flappy, and Michael Melia's otherwise beautifully rich voice sounds muffled coming from within the mask - but it remains an impressive creation for its time, even today.

The Terileptil does not suffer fools, and loses his rag while questioning Adric and Tegan. The Australian amusingly suggests the Doctor is from Guildford, explaining that "he likes to be mysterious", and when it's pointed out that she cannot be from 1666 because she is wearing synthetic fibres, she hilariously responds: "You'll have to ask my tailor about that." Ol' dragon-face snaps at that one, growling: "I'm asking YOU!"

The grumpy Doctor (who rather wonderfully has a dig at Nyssa when he tells her to stop lecturing him) is distracted on his way back to the TARDIS by the discovery of the Terileptil's escape pod, half-buried in the ground in a wonderful mix of in-situ prop and glass shot. The interior of the pod is less impressive, it seems impractical for both the actors and particularly the Terileptils. It's odd, because I don't think designer Ken Starkey has applied the Terileptil aesthetic to the pod's design, like the android has. We've yet to learn as much, but it transpires that the Terileptils value beauty, which is why the robot's covered in bling. But shouldn't their spaceships also reflect this cultural respect for aesthetics? It's blandly functional and minimalist, which doesn't suit the Terileptil culture to me. That pod interior should be decked out with jewels, but instead it looks like it's been ordered from IKEA.

The Terileptil is controlling the local villagers using polygrite bracelets, and orders the hot poacher and his pals to attack the Doctor, and secure his time machine. The Time Lord's group simply escapes out the back door, but yet again the Doctor gets distracted from his return to the TARDIS by thoughts that he can learn something from the miller's ability to come and go as he pleases at the Squire's house. The plot is beginning to lose focus and become a bit slapdash, something equally as evident by the humdrum time spent by Tegan and Adric in a locked cell.

In fact, after a quite tightly written and directed opening episode, this second part seems ponderously paced, and the Doctor is losing direction (quite literally). Does he really think it's worth pursuing the miller to the extent that he leaves Nyssa to rig up the anti-robot vibrator alone? Yes, she's "more than capable", but Adric and Tegan could be in serious life-threatening trouble for all he knows, so he needs to focus more and get with the programme.

The end sees him on his knees with a scythe hanging over him, in a repeat of one of Four to Doomsday's cliffhangers. "Not again," he whimpers.

First broadcast: February 16th, 1982

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The Terileptil design is excellent for the time, and even now.
The Bad: Having Tegan and Adric locked up just so they can escape (and be recaptured in Tegan's case) is tiresome padding.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

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.

The Visitation is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Visitation-Special-DVD/dp/B00BEYWWES