The Leisure Hive Part Four

The one where Pangol incites a second war between the Argolins and the Foamasi...

The episode durations for the first two stories of Season 18 are unusually short, but the reprises also feel tiresomely long. For this episode, it lasts almost two minutes, which is rather long for an episode lasting just 21 minutes 19 seconds. And when the reprise includes dead dialogue ("Is it something to do with the random field frame?") and various people leaving rooms at an orderly pace, it becomes very humdrum.

The reprise extends the Foamasi attack on Mr Brock though, to include the defrocking of creepy old Klout (a character with not a single thing to do or say throughout). The whole thing feels a bit like they're stripping Brock and Klout, until you see their face masks fall to the floor among their clothes. It's a mix of horror and unintentional comedy, topped off by the Foamasi official proclaiming: "Now that I have your attention..."

The Leisure Hive Part Three

The one where an ally proves to be a lizard in disguise...

One aspect of JNT's stylistic revolution I've not gone into very much so far is the radically different incidental music, in this case provided by Peter Howell. Veteran composer Dudley Simpson had pretty much had a monopoly on Doctor Who for the last few years (except if Douglas Camfield was directing!), but as dependable as he was, it was certainly time for a change. Simpson's first work for the show was for Season 2's Planet of Giants in 1964, and his last was for Season 17, so he'd had 15 years (on and off) to give Doctor Who all he had, and I think, to be fair, that's what he'd done.

The switch to music provided by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop on a more permanent basis (Simpson was not a member of the Workshop, which had only scored three Doctor Whos in the past*) was another way to modernise and refresh the programme. Howell, as well as updating the theme music, scored The Leisure Hive with an ocean of gorgeous synthesised soundscapes. There are waves of sound washing over the visuals, draping and drenching it in sci-fi ambience to match the snazzy graphics and model shots. The score manages to be moody and nimble, and stands shoulder to shoulder with Brian Eno's work with David Bowie on the Low and Heroes albums, and also calls to mind the early, innovative work of musicians like Gary Numan, John Foxx and Vangelis (Howell's score sounds very Vangelis sometimes, to be extent that it starts to become the score from Bladerunner in my head!).

The Leisure Hive Part Two

The one where the Doctor ages into an old wizard...

Considering the way this episode ends (with the Doctor aged into an old, white-haired and bearded man), I think Tom Baker looks remarkably youthful in the shot where he reveals he wasn't in the Tachyon Generator at all (where he's standing in front of the TARDIS). For some reason, in that one shot, he looks as young as he did when he started being Dr Who, back in '74. Curious, seeing as this is a story about time experiments and rejuvenation (and the season has a theme of entropy as a whole).

What I like about this episode is that Tom Baker gets to be the Doctor - his Doctor - much more than in part 1. He comes out of his shell more and Tom is able to inject more personality into his performance, more of the little quirks and eccentricities that make watching his Doctor so compelling. The beaming grin is back, and the staring googly eyes, and that wonderful wit that the Fourth Doctor often uses as a weapon, or defence. When Pangol asks the Doctor how he got out of the Tachyon Generator, he replies: "Through a hole in the back". When Pangol states that there is no hole, the Doctor holds up his (damaged?) sonic screwdriver and says: "There is now."

The Leisure Hive Part One

The one where (almost) everything changes...

Welcome to the new season on BBC1, and there's a new look for Dr Who... Boy, is there a new look. It's a new everything! Practically everything changes between Seasons 17 and 18 apart from the two lead actors, and there's even some significant changes there. There's a lot to look at, so much to comment on and pick through, so let's get on with it.

I'm loving those new titles, and that new theme arrangement. It's so arrestingly new and fresh, so modern and clean and sci-fi, but it also feels so right, like it should always have been that way. After too many years of the same old (albeit lovely) time tunnel effect, and the same old picture of Tom Baker, it's a welcome development for the opening titles and music to get a good shake-up, to bring the programme firmly into the 1980s. It's a feast for the eyes and ears: the rainbow colours, the movement through the starfield, the developing head of the Doctor (Tom now looks correctly 46 rather than 40), the new logo and bubbly font. It's almost too much to take in all at once, like a Newness Overdose.