The Twin Dilemma Part Four

The one where Mestor's devious plan is revealed...

"Why don't you kill her?" Noma asks Mestor of the captive Peri. "I find her pleasing. Pleasing!" replies the giant slug, which is the last thing I expected him to say. Why on earth would a giant Gastropod (or Sectom, as the novelisation has it) find the female human form remotely attractive or appealing? Don't giant slugs fancy giant slugs the most? It's the latest of far too many instances when Peri becomes the focus of an alien threat's devotions, like she's some kind of universal sex symbol, devastatingly attractive to almost every species in the entire cosmos, from Androgum to Zarbi!

And apart from the preposterousness of Mestor finding Peri "appealing" (yuk), there's the fact this plot point is very swiftly dropped almost as soon as it's mentioned. Mestor's soft spot for Peri is never mentioned again, meaning the only reason Mestor doesn't kill Peri is because the writer doesn't want him to. In truth, he would kill her, seeing as that's what he's been threatening all along.

The Twin Dilemma Part Three

The one where the Doctor tries to kill his old friend Azmael...

After the success of his character Professor Eustacius Jericho in Flux, it feels so odd to see Kevin McNally look so young as Hugo Lang. McNally was a youthful 28 when he appeared in The Twin Dilemma, and a not-so-youthful (but much more experienced) 65 by the time of Flux. While Jericho is definitely his better contribution to the canon, it's easy to imagine Hugo Lang staying on as one of the Sixth Doctor's companions in an alternative timeline. If only this Doctor wasn't so much of a git, more people might have wanted to travel with him!

Colin Baker definitely settles down a little bit in this episode, relaxing into a level of performance more recognisable as the "normal" Sixth Doctor. But the Doctor is still unstable, and remains unlikeable ("How I hate these hit or miss performances"), as shown when he and Peri argue over compassion being "the difference that remains between them" (this episode is chock full of clunky dialogue like this).

The Twin Dilemma Part Two

The one where the Doctor meets an old friend from the past...

The Doctor's first reaction when somebody points a gun at him is one of self-preservation, demonstrated both when Hugo threatens him in the TARDIS, and when the Jacondans capture him later on. He is aghast that anybody should want to harm him, and shows little compassion for Hugo when he passes out again. Peri expresses pity for Hugo and what he must have been through, and appeals to the Doctor to help him heal, but this new Doctor only thinks of himself and his own preservation.

It's not a good look (and I don't mean just his coat). It's such a mistake to be toying with the Doctor's fundamental character like this, it's dangerous and has the potential to damage the programme's reputation. The Doctor is supposed to be our hero - a fallible hero, I admit, but a hero all the same - someone we can trust in, look up to, and learn from. For all their grumpy spats in previous incarnations, the Doctor has always been a likeable character, but I must admit I'm struggling to warm to this sixth incarnation at all. He's not making it easy.

The Twin Dilemma Part One

The one where the new Doctor tries to strangle his companion...

Same season, new Doctor. Same opening titles, new effects (and face!). The Doctor Who titles have regenerated with the title character and we now have Colin Baker's grinning face swathed in a rainbow of swirling colour. It's great to see the four-year-old titles given a bit of a polish, and I do like the logo zapping at the screen, and the new watery ripple effect for the story title and credits.

And for the second (and last) time in Doctor Who history, viewers get a preview of the new Doctor's outfit before the story's even begun, as we see the shoulders of his coat and the flouncy necktie long before he finds his new clothes on screen. Similar happened with the Fourth Doctor, as we could glimpse his scarf in the opening titles of Robot part 1 before it ever appeared on screen proper.