Planet of Fire Part Two

The one where Peri steals a bit of the TARDIS...

The opening scenes of part 2 might be confusing for someone just tuning in. Anyone who missed part 1 will be utterly baffled by the procession of bizarre images presented as K-Howard morphs into K-Master, then into the real Kamelion, then back to the K-Master. But then there's another Master - the real Master - controlling Kamelion from somewhere else, somewhere very green with turtle shells hanging on the wall. Oh, and if all that's not enough to get your head round, there's a version of K-Howard wandering around with silver skin too. I reckon Auntie Margaret's probably turned over to ITV by now.

Anthony Ainley is very good though, dressed in suave "gangster" suit and giving a quieter, more understated performance than usual. It's mainly when he's playing K-Master that he's more effective - deliciously menacing and threatening, sometimes even brutal in the way he manhandles Peri - as he's given some traditionally overripe lines to say as his "real" self (as well as the tiresome "my dear Doctor", there's also the pantomime villain material Ainley got so bogged down with, such as describing the TARDIS as a "preposterous box" and Peri as "positively evanescent").

The K-Master chases after the escaped Peri because she's apparently stolen the TARDIS comparator (director Fiona Cumming fails to show her taking it though), which means he cannot materialise the Doctor's TARDIS inside his own, which has recently arrived on Sarn and promptly toppled over. It's implied that the real Master is inside his TARDIS, but why he doesn't seem able to come out is currently a mystery. He does a fine line in green light bulbs though.

I must admit, so far I'm finding new companion Peri quite irritating. Nicola Bryant plays her as a whinging sexpot, all cleavage and complaints. She is no adequate replacement for Tegan Jovanka, who gave as good as she got and didn't suffer fools gladly. Perpugilliam Brown (and what sort of stupid name is that?) just moans and cries all the time, like a spoilt brat. She calls out for the Doctor (who she barely knows) and runs aimlessly through the ashen wastes of Sarn, her mardy face screwed up like a frat girl who's torn her prom dress. Peri seems surplus to requirements already. I do not believe for a second that she would have stolen a bit of TARDIS, but the fact she did is about the only thing giving her any agency in the story. Writer Peter Grimwade did something tediously similar in Time-Flight, where everything degenerated into the Doctor and the Master swapping bits of TARDIS between them.

Peri's not the brightest spark either. When confronted with Kamelion, the most roboty robot since robots were invented, she still doubts whether it's an actual robot. "You really are some kind of robot?" she asks Kamelion. Look at him, love! What did you think he was, a koala bear?

Peter Davison hands his leading man badge over to Mark Strickson (just as he did for much of Frontios), who is revelling in the spotlight. Davison has very little to do in this episode, and seems content to let Strickson take the lead. Turlough believes that the Sarns' technology - which they think is a gift from Logar - is actually taken from his father's Trion ship. For the first time we learn that Turlough is from Trion, but what's the link to Sarn? Turlough and Malkon find the crashed Trion ship in the forbidden wasteland, and the truth of their shared history begins to emerge. Malkon says he was found as a boy on the slopes of the mountain of fire, and became the Chosen One, leader of the Sarns. But Turlough has a Sign of Logar on his arm too, actually a Mesos Triangle, a "unique custom" of his people. The plot thickens...

Some further thoughts:

• "I deplore such unsophisticated coercion," says the Master as he twists Peri's arm behind her back, "but your cooperation's necessary to me." It feels like Ainley is channelling Roger Delgado here.
• Peter Wyngarde cleverly allows Timanov moments of explosive anger, which contrast so starkly with the character's usual serene composure. This gives these moments added power, showing that beneath his calm exterior, the raging zealotry bubbles close to the surface.
• Peri doesn't get a "bigger on the inside" moment. She wakes up inside the TARDIS, but when she's dragged outside by the K-Master, she fails to remark upon the fact it's just a police box, and smaller on the outside. She does mention a "transgalactic payphone", but the fact she fails to be at all surprised by its transcendental qualities is a bit of a boob on Grimwade's part.
• The Doctor offers his TARDIS as a way to rescue the Sarns from the volcanic explosion, intending to transport an entire race of people in his Ship, and very probably interfering with Sarn's timestream. Whatever happened to the overly cautious Doctor of Frontios who was very keen not to interfere with events? It's also yet another example of how the Fifth Doctor seems to have an open invitation to all and sundry - friends and foes - to use his TARDIS.
• How does Peri know that Turlough is inside the crashed Trion ship? She shouts his name before she's even arrived.

The Doctor's realisation that the Master's involved is a nice little moment ("Oh no..."), followed by the rising terror that his old enemy is a raving loon who's more than willing to burn innocent Sarns for the hell of it. As Roskal and Sorasta are pushed towards the flames to be sacrificed to Logar, the look on the Doctor's face is one of sheer panic. He realises the Master is crazy enough to do this, and feels powerless to stop him. It's the Fifth Doctor's worst nightmare.

First broadcast: February 24th, 1984

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Anthony Ainley's quietly menacing performance.
The Bad: Peri is really annoying.
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.

Planet of Fire is available on BBC DVD as part of the Kamelion Tales box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Kamelion-Demons-Planet/dp/B002SZQC6Q