Paradise Towers Part Four

The one where Kroagnon possesses the body of the Chief Caretaker...

The mind of Kroagnon, which has been trapped in the basement all this time in the form of a pair of glowing neon eyes, transfers into the body of the Chief Caretaker by way of corpo-electroscopy. This is a cue for Richard Briers to turn in one of the worst - if not the worst - performances of his long, distinguished and admirable career as he decides to opt for silly rather than scary.

Physically, he plays Kroagnon quite accurately, as a man who hasn't been inside a living body for a very long time, and has to learn to move and walk and talk afresh. He looks like the living dead, struggling with his motor skills. However, it's the stupid voice he uses which spoils everything, some weird attempt at a Germanic accent delivered with a rumbling drawl, his glassy eyes rolling all the while. It's truly embarrassing to watch, both for the viewer and for Briers. The BAFTA-nominee decided to go over the top because that was the best way to portray a megalomaniac, he believed. He was wrong, because his performance utterly ruins the atmosphere of the story, and to any casual viewer flicking through the channels, it must have seemed like they were tuning into some pre-school drama on CBBC.

Some people credit Briers with trying something different. Those people are being mischievously contrary, in my opinion. Briers was already pushing it with his Fawlty-esque turn as the Chief, but as Kroagnon he smashes all credulity. I believe it could be the single worst performance given by any actor ever in Doctor Who

A lot of this final episode is spent getting the differing factions of Paradise Towers to unite as one force to attack Kroagnon and his killer Cleaners. It's a tradition that the Doctor rallies opposing factions into fighting for one common good, and it's great to see the Rezzies and Kangs make up, and then the Deputy Chief Caretaker join the "army". There's still a lot of disrespect aimed at poor Pex by the teasing Kangs, but once he vows to take a vital role in the plan to overthrow the Great Architect, even he is accepted into the fold (by way of a Kang bracelet).

Mel's tussle with the pool cleaner in the opening few minutes of the episode is frustratingly done because she would surely see the bright yellow submersible coming a mile off. It's also frustrating that Howard Cooke makes Pex quite so cowardly, whimpering "Help!" like a pathetic schoolgirl. It'd be nice to see a bit of conflict in the performance, perhaps seeing that Pex wants to help Mel, but is held back by his fears. As it is, Pex is a complete namby-pamby and, on the face of it, deserves every bit of ribbing he gets from the Kangs. He really is a cowardly cutlet.

As the zombified Kroagnon instructs his Cleaners to clear Paradise Towers of the living trash that are humans (many Rezzies lose their lives, we're told - it'd be better to see it), the Doctor comes up with a plan to destroy him. It's quite a basic plan, with a degree of finality that hints at future Seventh Doctor schemes. The Doctor has no intention of disarming or imprisoning Kroagnon. He intends to kill him with explosives, a rather callous and merciless plan. I do like how he tries to talk Kroagnon into self-defeat, criticising his architectural skills and casting doubt over his abilities, offending the Great Architect's swollen ego ("You couldn't design a simple door knob!").

In the end it is Pex who saves the day in the inevitable moment of redemption where he overcomes his fears and cowardice, and pushes Kroagnon into the Kangs' boobytrapped brainquarters, killing himself as well as the villain in the explosion. There's a lovely tribute to Pex paid by the Kangs, Rezzies and Caretakers in Fountain of Happiness Square. "Hail Pex! Hail the unalive who gave his life for the Towers!" they chant. "In life he was not a Kang, but in death he was brave and bold as a Kang should be." Well he was certainly brave putting himself forward for the task, and braver than the various Kangs who looked awkwardly away when the Doctor was looking for volunteers...

Keff McCulloch composes some lovely, melancholy music to accompany the final scene, honouring Pex and heralding a new start for Paradise Towers, now that the evil of Kroagnon has been purged and the different factions - young ones, old ones, and the in-betweens - will work together to build a better future. The Doctor even gets a new scarf - his third in two stories - which makes him an honorary member of both the Blue and Red Kangs. "I'll be honoured to wear it," says the Doctor, who probably shoves it into the back of the wardrobe room as soon as he's shut the TARDIS door. However, I think Mel should have been the one to receive an honorary Kang scarf. It would make more sense after the rocky start the Kangs and Mel got off to at the beginning.

Quickies:

• The moment when the Doctor and Mel are reunited for the first time since part 1 is heart-warming, a nice little hug showing how much they think of each other (instigated by Mel, you'll notice).
• The Cleaners - huge, bulky dodgem cars armed to the teeth with whirring blades and pincers - are easily overcome by a bunch of old ladies with a tablecloth, and a few teenagers with a crossbow. The sight of the Rezzies chucking a lace shawl over the Cleaner to supposedly incapacitate it would be pathetic if it weren't so hilarious. By the way, one of the two unspeaking Rezzies seen here is played by Kathleen Bidmead, a regular supporting player best recognised as Mike Smith's mum, owner of the B&B, in Remembrance of the Daleks. She also played a member of the Tribe of the Free in The Trial of a Time Lord, a tourist at Windsor Castle in Silver Nemesis, and Mrs Aitken, the mother of the man who's washing his car at the start of Survival. When not acting, Kathleen worked behind the scenes as production unit manager on series such as Wings, When the Boat Comes In and The Onedin Line.
• I'm pleased the story takes time to mourn Pex the unalive, rather than just gloss over his sacrifice as a mere casualty in the grand scheme of things. The story was building up to Pex's redemption from the moment we learnt he was a deserter, and it's good to have it come full circle. Death is generally treated more respectfully and maturely in the McCoy era than in some previous eras.

Paradise Towers is a fantastic story, written with flair by Stephen Wyatt, and features some cracking characters and ideas. It fails occasionally in the execution - the Cleaners, Briers' Kroagnon - but by and large succeeds at telling a refreshing story relevant to the time. McCoy is getting better by the episode, and although Bonnie Langford still needs someone to rein her in a bit, the two work together nicely. Build high for happiness!

First broadcast: October 26th, 1987

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The final, melancholy scene honouring Pex is nicely pitched, and brings everything full circle.
The Bad: Richard Briers.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (story average: 7 out of 10)

Ace says "Professor": 0

NEXT TIME: Delta and the Bannermen...

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

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.

Paradise Towers is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Paradise-Towers-DVD/dp/B004VRO84M