A previous reviewer has commented that this story has a poor reputation. Close. It has a dreadful reputation based on the humour of the time, the creature and a general tiredness with Tom Bakers portrayal of the main lead role.

As for me, I love this story, it is terrific. The plot is simple, it is extremely well shot, the jungle scenes are second only to Planet of Evil in the history of the show for me and the pace of the story never flags. The sets are also superb.

Creature from the Pit is an interesting study in the abuse of power. It is obviously in the interests of Chloris to enter into a reciprocal trading a agreement with Tythonus however if Chloris did this then Adrasta loses her power base and her wealth. Simple economics, simple supply and demand. In order to prevent this from happening she has the Tythonian Ambassador dumped down a pit where he cannot escape and then, curiously the Ambassador becomes an even more potent weapon for her to re-inforce her reign as the threat of being thrown into the pit for the slightest transgression hangs ever over the head of the subjects of Chloris. In effect it is an interesting paradox that the one thing that could bring an economic and personal freedom to the people of Chloris becomes a very useful tool of its enslaver.

Chloris is a rarity in Doctor Who, being a planet that is dominated by women with two very strong female leads and I have to say why not. In nature the female is often the strongest of the sexes however we go from planet to planet where the male holds the upper hand. It does not make sense. Here that is rectified. I agree that more could have been done with the Chlorisian society to develop and explain it however David Fisher does go someway towards addressing that in the book.

Adrasta is well realised by Myra Frances (married to Peter Egan - Ever Decreasing Circles) although some of her dialogue is delivered in a rather, shall we say, wooden manner. Karela is suitably played by Eileen Way and, God, when I first watched this I hated her with a passion. The scene where K-9 destroys her metal and thus destroys her power is wonderful.

Erato is a great concept. Why should all creatures by humanoid bipeds. Just as the Ogri were a great break with this tradition so was Erato and quite frankly for me it works. Had it been done today with the technology available no doubt it would have been a CGI effect villain and would have been very realistic. In 1979 that technology was not available, it is like judging Pertwee stories on poor CSO. It makes no sense. Willing suspension of disbelief I believe the term is. Again the book does develop the Tythonians and their society more than the TV does and is certainly worth reading if you like this story.

I see little point in dwelling on the bandits. Edward Kelsey and co have little to work with. They are nothing but cliched outlaws and are merely there for a mixture of comic relief and plot resolution. Although they do not detract from the story they do not add to it either.

I have to say I also found Adrasta, as a young 14 year old at the time, very very very sexy. Repeat viewings with the passing of age has not dimished that either. Karela, not so.

The Doc and Romana are on cracking form. Romana trying to outbitch the queen bitch, Adrasta, and coming off a poor second is great as is Romanas wonderful put downs of the bandits where she treats them with little more than scant regard. The Doc and Organon have a wonderful relationship full of sparkling dialogue which really does make the story memorable. Organon is little more than a fortune teller, a lucky one whose luck ran out and he was chucked in the pit for his trouble and managed to survive. Played by Geoffrey Bayldon, a man many thought would make a great Doctor, with aplomb his characterisation draws heavily on his early seventies hit, Catweazle.

I must admit I found the premise that as an act of revenge Tythonus would send a Neutron star across the galaxy to obliterate Chloris. This is where the willing suspension of disbelief Graham Williams was fond of talking about comes in. Ignore the physics and just enjoy. Just like the scene with the cricket ball in Four to Doomsday it does not detract from the story overall.

So to summarise, this is a terrific story and shows, like City of Death and Androids of Tara, that when the humorous approach is done well then it can offer a story as good as any other from any other era. I would rate this story as highly as Inferno, Daemons, Ark in Space and Pyramids of Mars. All favourites of mine. Doctor Who has a place for all styles and all genres. Creature from the Pit is most welcome in that.

Having left behind the quest for the Key to Time, Doctor Who returns to its usual format, as the Doctor's meanderings are left to the randomizer, which promptly returns him to Skaro. The first Dalek story for some considerable time, 'Destiny of the Daleks' should have been a triumphant return for the Doctor's perennial foes, but instead is marred by the unwise decision to resurrect the most successful aspect of their last appearance and a rather half-hearted feel throughout.

The opening scene in the TARDIS is rather at odds with the subsequent tone of the story, as Douglas Adams' script editing makes itself felt with Romana's off-camera regeneration. I generally like Adams' sense of humour, but here it falls rather flat, possibly because Mary Tamm's sudden departure makes recasting her role a work of desperation. Romana's silly regeneration wastes several minutes and fails to be amusing, despite would-be funny lines, such as during the Doctor and Romana's bickering about character versus appearance, and the brief conversation they have from different rooms, during which they both repeatedly mishear one another. This silliness is enhanced by the nonsensical reason used to both remove K9 from the rest of the story so that Terry Nation doesn't have to fret about his creations being humiliated by a robot dog and also to recast its voice later in the season, due to John Leeson's (temporary) departure. The entire scene reeks of contrivance and just doesn't really work, although points are gained for the Doctor's inexplicably hilarious "Oh look, rocks!"

After this dubious opening, the humour is considerably toned down as the story proper begins. And what a pedestrian story it is. Nation should have long ago realized that if his stories are going to have the word "Daleks" in the title, spending the first episode building up to their supposedly dramatic revelation is utterly pointless. Nevertheless, this is what happens. In all fairness, we do have the mysteries of who the pilots of the mysterious spacecraft are and what the zombie like humanoids are doing, but even so the episode feels like it's treading water. Even when the plot starts to develop in Episode Two, there's something very lethargic about the whole thing. I can't help feeling disappointed by the lack of impact that the revelation that the setting is Skaro has on me either. Skaro has in the past been a nightmarish place, from the weird petrified forest and the mutant filled swamps of 'The Mutants', through the cold and unwelcoming Dalek stronghold of 'The Evil of the Daleks', to the depressing war-torn wastelands of 'The Genesis of the Daleks'. Here, it's just a rather scenic grassy place with old and ruined barns lying around and the odd gravel pit. There are half-hearted references to high radiation levels in Episodes One and Two, but after Romana's heart-stopping performance in Episode Two, this is completely forgotten. 

The story only really gathers momentum during Episode Three, with revelations about the Movellans and the return of Davros. Unfortunately, I have issues with both. Whilst I like the look of the Movellans (nice arses in tight spandex) and their spaceship (and the model shot of their spaceship burying itself is quite impressive), they are generally rather unimpressive as a race. Their main problem is that don't seem particularly threatening, and this is painfully obvious in Episode Four; despite the fact that Agella is strong enough to survive being buried under rubble in Episode Two, several of the Movellans are overpowered by slaves who have spent considerable time working for the Daleks under presumably debilitating conditions. Worse still, Commander Sharrel seems to be astonishingly badly damaged by a minor blow in his spaceship, resulting in Romana being able to literally disarm him with a kick near the end. As for the fact that snatching a tube from their belt can deactivate them, it can of course be argued that a Dalek could not do this, but it still renders them less than impressive. They are all acted well enough, Peter Straker's softly spoken Sharrel especially of note, and it's also nice to see a multiracial cast in the series, but as villains they don't have much impact. This might not seem to be a problem given the presence of the programme's most enduring monsters, but due to an unwise development in their characterisation, they too suffer badly…

Terry Nation's decision to restyle the Daleks as total machine creations is a grave mistake. Suddenly, they are a race not of psychopathic blobs in mobile war machines, but a race of robots, slaved to logic. The Daleks have never been a race of logical machines; they have always been paranoid xenophobic sociopaths motivated by a fierce hatred for any species other than themselves. Cunning and ruthless, they have worked because they have been portrayed as Nazis or used as an allegory for the horrors of war. Reducing them to the status of bargain basement Cybermen lessens their potency as a force for evil by a massive degree. It isn't even handled well within the confines of 'Destiny of the Daleks' itself; the Daleks state that self-sacrifice is illogical, but they have a history of doing so when it benefits the race as a whole, and here we see two of them risking themselves to save Davros from the Doctor's explosive device for that very reason (although I would like to point out that their self-sacrifice in order to destroy the Movellan ship doesn't necessarily conflict with this, since Davros orders it and by this point they have agreed to obey him because he can advise irrational actions and thus end their stalemate). In addition, I find it hard to believe that given the urgency of their mission to Skaro, it is really more logical to use humanoid slave labour than more efficient machinery, a point that Romana actually raises. Tenuous logic abounds in Episode Four as the Doctor uses a game of scissors-paper-stone to illustrate the deadlock between the Daleks and the Movellans (and whilst we're on the subject of dubious logic, why do the Movellans need comfy chairs on board their ship? Do they regularly entertain guests?), but as The Discontinuity Guide points out, this is an inappropriate example, since there is no logical advantage to choosing any one of the three options. Ultimately, the Dalek/Movellan impasse is introduced for the sole reason of giving the Daleks an excuse to resurrect Davros. 

Which brings me to the Daleks' insane creator. When I reviewed 'Genesis of the Daleks', I highly praised Davros as a character and described him as one of the finest villains ever to appear in the series. The production team of 'Destiny of the Daleks' clearly agrees with me, since they elect to resurrect him in this, the very next Dalek story. It is arguably a mistake for several reasons. Firstly, Davros' undoing by his own creations at the end of 'Genesis of the Daleks' was entirely appropriate, as in his last moments he realized that he had made them too pitiless ("have mercy!"). After that, bringing him back feels rather gratuitous and in addition the lesson he learned in that final moment is conveniently forgotten as he awakens delighted to see his homicidal progeny and confident that they will obey him. Secondly, he's far less impressive here due to recasting. I feel that David Gooderson is not as bad in the role as some critics have claimed, but he has a very, very hard act to follow and he just doesn't pull it off. His Michael Wisher impersonation works sporadically, but it often sounds like he's trying too hard and it doesn't help that he's wearing a second hand mask that doesn't fit properly. Thirdly, Davros cheapens the Daleks. As a one-off in 'Genesis of the Daleks', this didn't bother me, but his return marks a change in the nature of Dalek stories that remained constant until Big Finish entered the picture. Gone are the scheming manipulators of the black and white Dalek stories, as the Daleks from this point on in the television series are only ever concerned with either obeying Davros or trying to destroy him. The ambitious conquerors of 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth', 'The Daleks' Master Plan', and the 'The Evil of the Daleks' are replaced by watered down petty factions. Most of this will come later, but for now we get blindly obedient Davros henchmen. 

The other most memorable aspect of 'Destiny of the Daleks' is that it introduces Romana's second incarnation, and the chemistry between the two leads results in a much closer relationship between the two Gallifreyans than that which existed between the Doctor and the first Romana. Lalla Ward's performance as Romana is highly endearing, and the character gains a warmth that Tamm's icy incarnation lacked. Ward's Romana also seems more vulnerable, especially when being interrogated by the Daleks for example, but she retains her previous pluckiness as evidenced by her tackling of Sharrel in Episode Four. Tom Baker actually takes his role quite seriously in this story, with much of the humour played down in comparison with the rest of the season, and the Doctor's intense dislike for Davros is palpable, especially when he tries to blow him up in Episode Three. The feeling is clearly mutual, but what is also evident and which works in the story's favour, is the grudging respect they bear each other, each realizing that the other is more than clever enough to solve the impasse between the Daleks and the Movellans. There is even a "let us put aside our differences for a while" moment, which whilst only a pale imitation of the superb scene between the pair in 'Genesis of the Daleks' in which Davros contemplates unleashing a hypothetical virus that would wipe out all life in the universe, is at least an attempt to characterize Davros as more than just an ranting madman. 

Overall, 'Destiny of the Daleks' isn't as crushingly bad as I remembered; it's just very half-hearted and mediocre. The production doesn't really help, with tatty Daleks and a generally drab feel. I also find the presentation of the Dalek city rather dubious, since at first it seems to be deep underground, but later there appear to be windows leading in and out all over the place. This gnaws away at my suspension of disbelief throughout. Some of the supporting cast members further weaken the production; Tim Barlow is rather wooden as Tyssen, but does at least make an effort, but the others are atrocious. Most of the extras used don't even get speaking roles, simply being cast as cannon fodder, but they can't even fall over convincingly and I'm sure that one or two of them start giggling when they get exterminated in Episode Three. In summary, 'Destiny of the Daleks' is a disappointing start to Season Seventeen; fortunately however, what follows next more than makes up for it…

Like The Armageddon Factor this is another show where "the memory cheats". When I was a kiddie, this was my all-time favorite Dalek show. Now it's an episode that causes headaches while watching it. A lot of things don't make sense. Davros explains how and why he was able to come back, but it all sounds like baloney. There are lots of unanswered questions and plotholes you could herd a fleet of Drashigs through. After the Daleks "killed" Davros at the end of Genesis, it looks like they rolled his body into the Dalek equivalent of a broom closet, so how does the Doctor know exactly where to find him? Why did the Daleks save his body anyway? Why does Davros "wake up" the moment the Doctor finds him? Since when are Daleks slaves to logic? How can K9 catch laryngitis? ARGH! 

There are other things that give this story a tacky look: Davros wobbles a lot whenever he moves, the Dalek operators are constantly re-adjusting their upper casings, and the fight scene between the escaped prisoners and the Movellans in Episode Four just looks sad. Then there's the Movellans themselves. Looks like they're going to a disco after they leave Skaro. 

Anything good? Yeah. Lalla Ward in her debut as Romana is great. Well, apart from the scene where she blubbers in front of her Dalek interrogators. I don't think Mary Tamm's Romana wouldn't have done that. David Gooderson is also good as Davros. His scenes with the Doctor are the highlight of the story.

Episode One: 

It's hard for a first episode to be poor, when all the Doctor has to do is arrive and witness some intriguing events. Intriguing events here include a burial, a wandering man, a ship that arrives and burrows into the earth, and finally the Daleks, though as usual, the title has given them away. The Movellans are serene cats in disco suits, and we don't know why they hate the Daleks. 

Episode Two: 

Suddenly, this goes downhill fast. I'll take the "Death Comes to Time" Timelords any day over Romana crying when "interrogated" with a few simple questions. It fits well with her plan, however, to drop dead after a half day's work, which the Daleks seem to believe without checking. Watch carefully for the Dalek who skips on his way into the Dalek bridge. The Daleks were digging, it turns out, for Davros, but the Doctor knows how to get there in seconds (um, OK I'll buy that I guess). Davros, having been exterminated by the Daleks, and then having sat there for centuries, wiggles his fingers for the episode climax. My God, has he been looking for the TV remote all these years?

Episode Three: 

After the rhyming Dalek ("seek, locate, do not deviate"), there is a little tension and suspense here, with the Doctor trying to hold the Daleks off simply by threatening to kill Davros. At last, in episode three, the Daleks show they're evil (a new viewer to the show would have been waiting all this time to understand what the big deal is about them) by exterminating prisoners to get the Doctor to cooperate. The Movellans are serene cats in disco suits, and we don't know whey they hate the Daleks, or why they put Romana in a tube with a bomb. Except, perhaps, to draw out the Doctor, who they suddenly seem to have decided is a better objective than Davros. We'll find out in… 

Episode Four: 

The Movellans are defeated because no matter how many times it happens, they never learn to prevent anyone snatching their exposed power packs. The Daleks, having been cruel enough to exterminate prisoners as a pressure tactic in the previous episode, are once again ridiculous. First, they allow the Doctor to sneak up on Davros, and then when one Dalek does stand in the Doctor's way, a hat defeats it. The other Daleks charge towards the Movellan ship, frantically repeating the idea that nothing can be allowed to stand in their way. Meanwhile, nothing stands in their way. The Doctor plays with Davros's arm and gets him to blow up his Daleks, while Romana is able to kick the last Movellan apart (presumably this is because he was wounded, I guess) and of course, snatch his power pack. 

Analysis:

After a promising beginning, the story becomes a silly and tedious affair. The conclusion is rushed, and a great deal goes unexplained, like who created the Movellans or where they came from. The idea of the two war machines at a logical impasse is interesting, but not really enough to sustain the story, or provide a payoff at the end for the viewer, in terms of a meaningful story. And while Genesis of the Daleks had something to say (in terms of showing us the stupid prejudice and hatred that gave birth to the Daleks), this story portrays them as incompetents who can't open a closet door, never mind conquer the universe. And the Movellans aren't any better. You wonder why the Doctor and Romana don't just leave. Fortunately, in Resurrection of the Daleks, with Peter Davision, some of the old menace would be back, and the sense of tension and danger much higher. Destiny of the Daleks remains a somewhat nonsensical and only somewhat entertaining interlude between those two stories. Oh, and it has the wrong guy as Davros.

If 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' can be said the finest example of Philip Hinchcliffe's Doctor Who, then 'City of Death' is Graham Williams' equivalent. Almost perfect in every way, it boasts a great villain, sparkling dialogue, fine acting from the regulars and the guest cast, superb location filming, magnificent sets and even nice model work. 

The plot of 'City of Death' is actually quite complicated for a four-part story. Scaroth's plan to go back in time and change history is enough in itself, but it is interwoven with the sub-plot of his grand art theft scheme, and that common storyline inDoctor Who, an alien who has influenced human development since the dawn of creation. To add an additional, imaginative twist, the alien in question is not a stranded immortal demigod, but instead has been splintered into twelve identical parts throughout history, each living out its life trying to guide human development to such a point that the splinter furthermost foreword in time might have access to time travel technology. The actual time travel plot could be criticized for being inherently flawed, since Scaroth's plan essentially comprises a Grandfather paradox on a massive scale, the actual implications of which are glossed over. The Doctor seems to believe that Scaroth's plan could succeed, thus changing history and negating the existence of life on Earth from the start, and Scaroth seems to understand the consequences of his actions but simply doesn't care. Exactly what would have happened had he succeeded is therefore left to the realms of speculation, but as is often the case with paradoxes, it remains open to debate. The fact that this is not even addressed properly might annoy me in a lesser story, as might the fact that the Doctor, Romana and Duggan can seemingly survive unprotected on Earth before life began, but in a story this good I find that I can cheerfully ignore it. 

Paradoxical or not, Scaroth's intentions, and indeed his predicament, help to make him a well motivated and memorable villain, as he is ultimately driven by a desire to save his people. Understandable, certainly, and potentially even sympathetic, but he is portrayed as such a callous and ruthless individual that any such goodwill towards him quickly evaporates. Perfectly cast as Scaroth is Julian Glover, who brings an air of ruthless charm and charisma to the role with ease. He seems entirely comfortable with the humour inherent throughout 'City of Death', but also plays the part with admirable restraint and thus succeeds in displaying both wit and menace. Whereas some villains have been seemingly baffled or enraged by the Fourth Doctor's calculated buffoonery, Scaroth not only takes it in his stride but seems to see through it; flippancy is met with a quiet smile and calm threats and whilst he often becomes deadly serious, he never once loses his temper. Glover's ability to switch from an air of amused tolerance to one of icy intimidation is so good that he seems entirely natural as Count Scarlioni, most notably when he is bullying Kerenski or threatening Romana with the destruction of Paris. Equally impressive is the fact that Scarlioni and Tancredi, despite literally being the same person, are also subtly different, serving as a reminder that these two splinters of Scaroth whilst inextricably linked have also lived in very different eras, with very different demands upon them. So whereas Scarlioni lives a life of wealthy luxury in the twentieth century and demonstrates all the courtesy and manners befitting his position in society, Captain Tancredi seems to be a rather more ruthless character, surviving in the less civilized Renaissance period. Brief glimpses in Episode Three of other splinters show them in very different times and circumstances, hinting at further need to adapt to specific challenges. It is an subtle but effective piece of story-telling that significantly adds to the character. 

Such an impressive and prominent villain could easily have overshadowed the other supporting characters, but the uniformly excellent guest cast proves more than capable of complementing both Glover and the regulars. Catherine Schell is excellent as the Countess, a willing accomplice in the Count's plot to steal the Mona Lisa, but so blinded by trinkets and luxuries that she has never even begun to suspect that there is more to her husband than meets the eye. This is made all the more plausible by the fact that she seems easily charmed; whilst she displays open hostility towards Romana, she is almost flirtatious with the Doctor, possibly intrigued by the amusing line "you're a beautiful woman, probably". Ultimately, her willingness to be carried along by excitement is her undoing, and for all that she is an accomplice I can't help feeling sorry for her when her beloved Count turns out to a one-eyed spaghetti-faced monster that first ridicules her and then kills her. 

Then there's Theodore Nikolai Kerensky, a stereotypical absent-minded scientist but played with such conviction by David Graham that the character works perfectly, so much so that killing him off to provide a cliffhanger successfully demonstrates just how ruthless Scaroth is, since this is a character we've been allowed to get to know. Like the Countess, Kerensky too is blinded by the Count's promises, in his case promises of great scientific and humanitarian interest. Like the Countess, his benefactor's generosity convinces him not to ask questions since he appreciates the rewards; even so, he must have some inkling of how the Count is able to provide so much money, given that the Count and Hermann discuss the sale of Gutenberg bibles long before Scarlioni resorts to threats to persuade Kerensky to complete his work. Hermann too is an effective character, little more than a henchman, but well characterised as much as is possible; in contrast to his employer, Hermann lacks charm and is just a thug, who it is implied enjoys killing just for the sake of it. His contempt for the Doctor's clowning helps to provide 'City of Death' with an air of at least some realism, unlike at least one later story in the season were virtually every single character contributes to the general silliness that Season Seventeen is renowned for. 

On the side of the Doctor we have Duggan, brought memorably to life by Tom Chadbon, whose air of constant bewilderment provides amusement on one hand and on the other gives the Doctor and Romana somebody to explain the plot to. In addition, his propensity for thumping people emphasizes the Doctor's often-hypocritical attitude to violence, in much the same way that Leela did but in a more humorous fashion (lest we forget, the Doctor knocks out Peter Halliday's guard in Episode Three). Thus, fun is poked at the Doctor's objections to violence by having him chastise Duggan for mishandling a Louis XIV chair, and later breaking a Ming vase over the Countess's head. Later, and after several angry sermons from the Doctor, Duggan gets to save humanity by punching Scaroth on prehistoric Earth, thus delivering "the most important punch in history". But for all that the guest cast is excellent the regulars are even better.

'City of Death' has a reputation for its witty script and great dialogue; it is well deserved. With writer David Agnew actually being Douglas Adams and Graham Williams, the humour is unsurprisingly prominent, but it succeeds admirably. The Count and Countess famously get an exchange in which the she says of the Doctor "I don't think he's as stupid as he seems", to which Scarlioni replies "nobody could be as stupid as he seems", and whilst this is just one example of the humour on show, by far the biggest number of great lines go to the Doctor. Lines like "What a wonderful butler, he's so violent" stand out because the Doctor pratfalls whilst Hermann glowers and the Countess looks on amused. The legendary humour of 'City of Death' ultimately works because for all the wit on display, it's focused on the Doctor and Tom Baker has become so adept at clowning that it always seems in character. His performance here is at its most wonderfully manic, as he strides around Paris with Romana, boggling at the Mona Lisa's lack of eyebrows and accidentally scaring small curators, confuses Duggan, and charms the Countess. The fact that the rest of the cast are so good and don't, generally speaking, clown around, means that this results in an amusing and entertaining performance from Baker which doesn't spread through the rest of the production and make it seem silly. As in Adams' 'The Pirate Planet', when the situation is serious, he makes it clear that the Doctor understands the fact; in the midst of wincing at the guard's cold hands and his flippant responses to Captain Tancredi's questioning, he makes grave asides to himself as he suddenly realises the significance of the explosion of the Jagaroth spaceship. In addition to all of this, the relationship between the Doctor and Romana is also at it's closest, and with K9 left behind in the TARDIS throughout, this becomes even more evident. The early scenes in Paris as the climb the Eiffel Tower and visit the Louvre are quite charming and demonstrate how much the rather antagonistic relationship between the Doctor and Mary Tamm's incarnation has settled down. Romana is also well written for by Adams, suggesting that she is as intelligent as the Doctor but far less experienced and more naпve; unlike the Doctor, she doesn't realize that the Jagaroth spaceship played a role in the genesis of life on Earth.

Overall, 'City of Death' is a marvellous story and a highlight of the era. The Parisian location work is gorgeous, and the astonishingly good sets complement it perfectly; the chateau interiors seldom look like studio sets. The model shots of the Jagaroth spaceship are highly impressive, the incidental score by Dudley Simpson is highly effective, and Michael Hayes' splendid direction brings everything together beautifully. And as if all that weren't enough, we even get amusing cameo by John Cleese. And now for something completely different…

'The Creature From the Pit' has a poor reputation. Notorious for its poor realization of the eponymous creature, its dodgy grasp of the laws of physics and its daft humour, it is often derided and dismissed by fans as being an example of the worst excesses of the Williams era. In fact, it's very entertaining and, depending of course on the viewer's sense of humour, highly amusing. But it is very, very silly. 

After his sublimely witty performance in 'City of Death', Tom Baker continues in much the same vein for 'The Creature From the Pit', getting a large number of humorous lines and generally clowning about. This is evident from the very start, as he readsPeter Rabbit with K9 during a particularly flippant TARDIS scene, and it continues throughout from his glib response to Karela's grave warning that he has been found in the "place of death" onwards. Perhaps most notorious is the scene in which he hangs in the pit from a crampon and fishes out a book entitled Everest in Easy Stages, only to discover that it is written in Tibetan - whereupon he produces a book on learning Tibetan. Daft yes, but also rather funny if the viewer is in the right mood. And so it continues, with the Doctor bursting through Erato's metal barrier in Episode Three, his constant ribbing of Organon, and so on. As in 'City of Death', it works because Baker is seemingly eccentric enough to carry it off without it seeming too unnatural and because of his sense of timing. Also as in 'City of Death', Lalla Ward is called upon to play Romana relatively straight, the only intentionally silly scenes she gets depending on the responses of others (such as when she calls Torvin "hirsute", which I'll come back to later…). This has the benefit of contrasting the different response that Adrasta has to the two of them; she tolerates the Doctor's impudence in Episode One, but slaps Romana when she answers back in Episode Two. The main difference in tone between 'City of Death' and 'The Creature From the Pit' however is that whereas in the former the overtly humorous dialogue was confined largely to the Doctor, here it permeates further, with at least two other characters seemingly intended to provide comic relief. And this has rather mixed results.

There are various examples of humour scattered throughout 'The Creature From the Pit', including former Director Morris Barry's Engineer Tollund's attempt to hide inside his cowl, but most of it falls to Geoffrey Bayldon's Organon and John Bryans' Torvin. Organon is a hugely entertaining character, and serves several purposes, the most obvious of which is to act as a foil for the Doctor; he gets some great lines, most notably "Astrologer extraordinary. Seer to princes and emperors. The future foretold, the past explained, the present… apologized for", and he alternates between worry and indignation beautifully. He also gets to round off the story in suitably daft style by sneaking a look over the Huntsman's shoulder at the trading agreement provided by Erato and then pretending to know what it is due to his skills as an astrologer, which says a great deal about where his real talents lie! Bayldon plays the part well, and in particular I love his indignant reaction to the Doctor's apparent willingness to let Adrasta kill him instead of allowing himself to be blackmailed into ordering K9 to kill Erato. In story terms, he serves another purpose, which is to provide some background detail; he tells the Doctor something of Adrasta's past and reputation, but more importantly he also provides hints of a world more complex than that seen on screen by talking of courts all over Chloris. I noted when I lambasted 'The Armageddon Factor' that making an effort to elaborate on a world's society and history can add much needed depth, and whilst I'm not about to pretend that Chloris comes across as a deep and distinctive society, the token effort made on David Fisher's part is nevertheless appreciated. Further detail is provided by references to Chloris's astrological signs, again adding a light smattering of background detail. In summary, Organon is an entertaining character who is well acted (or at least, acted in a manner suited to the overall tone of the production), and he makes a nice addition. 

Torvin however, is another matter entirely. Bryans' cringe worthy performance is a blatant and thoroughly unsubtle Fagin pastiche and turns the character into a one-dimensional clichй. The role of his group of thieves is presumably to illustrate the social unrest caused both by Adrasta's tyranny and the lack of metal on Chloris, but they are played entirely for laughs, which dilutes this role and is also entirely inappropriate for a band of cut-throats who are seemingly happy to kill people (Romana for example) on a whim. Romana's ability to easily escape from her silly captors does admittedly make her look capable, but she would benefit even more if they actually seemed dangerous; whilst much of the humour in 'The Creature From the Pit' appeals to me, Torvin's baffled question of what "hirsute" means really is just stupid. 

Fortunately however, 'The Creature From the Pit' benefits from a decent villain, who doesn't really need the presence of disgruntled outlaws to emphasize her role. Myra Frances plays Adrasta (one of the series rare female villains and the second to appear in a script by David Fisher) very straight and she comes across as a nasty piece of work. Her motivation, whilst modest (or as the Doctor puts it, petty) is believable; she doesn't want a trading agreement with Tythonus because her current monopoly on Chloris's scant resources of metal is the key to her power. Ruthless, and generally nasty, she is totally unpleasant and as such her rapidly diminishing grip on her power in Episodes Three and Four is hugely satisfying, as the Doctor outwits her and then the Huntsman turns against her before Erato crushes her to death. She also gets a memorably nasty henchwoman in the shape of Karela, played by Eileen Way (previously Old Mother in '100,000BC'), whose equally selfish desire for power brings Chloris closer to destruction in Episode Four. Karela's obsession with power is such that she is entirely willing to face destruction before surrendering, until the Doctor renders her ambitions futile in Episode Four by literally demolishing the basis of her power. 

All of which brings me to the eponymous creature. I love the concept of Erato; having a massive green blob that crushes people turn out to be relatively friendly and misunderstood is a nice idea and is clearly designed to confound the expectations of at least some viewers. Indeed, Erato is generally a very novel idea, from his ability to synthesize metal from his own body, to his need to borrow a larynx to communicate, an unusual idea for the series. Unfortunately, discussion of Erato brings to the story's real weak points. Firstly, a note about the realization of Erato; the model shots of Erato skulking about at the end of a cavern is actually quite good, and complements the generally impressive production values of 'The Creature From the Pit', which include good cave sets and arguably the most convincing jungle set ever to appear in the series (as in 'Planet of Evil', shooting the jungle scenes on film helps). Unfortunately, attempts to show Erato interacting with actual actors results in extremely dodgy realization of the creature as a rubber inflatable, which at one point looks hilariously like a set of knackers. As usually, such poor effects work fails to detract from my enjoyment of the story, but I can't help thinking that the production team should have foreseen the effects of budgetary limitations at the scripting stage. What does detract from my overall enjoyment of the story however is the crass stupidity of the last fifteen or so minutes. For starters, the script initially portrays the Tythonians as intelligent and civilized beings; this being the case, it beggars the question of why, on receiving a distress signal from one of their own, they don't send a rescue party, but instead decide to blow up the entire solar system from which the signal originates. This subplot seems to have been crow barred into the story at the last minute in order to raise the stakes and show the Doctor saving an entire planet rather than just righting a comparatively minor injustice. Secondly, the entire sequence at the end in which the TARDIS holds a neutron star steady whilst Erato spins an aluminium shell around it is just utter bollocks in every respect. Even somebody with the most rudimentary understanding of such things must realize how insanely ludicrous this is; IT'S A NEUTRON STAR!! How could Erato possibly get near enough to it without being crushed, with or without sub-Star Trek tractor beam in place? How can the TARDIS possibly make an object of that mass change direction? Why wrap it in aluminium, which clearly isn't going to reduce its density or mass? Aargh! Suspension of disbelief goes out the window…

Finally, I should just mention K9. Blasphemous thought this might be, I actually prefer David Brierley's vocal performance to John Leeson's, since his haughtier tones are more appropriate to my perception of the often smug robot than Leeson's are. Having said that, he gets K9's voice close enough to Leeson's version so that it isn't hugely noticeable (and for those who do notice, there's always the silly laryngitis issue from 'Destiny of the Daleks' to explain why he sounds different). Having been sidelined for the previous two stories, K9 also gets plenty to do, and as in 'The Pirate Planet' he gets his own opponent in the form of the Wolf Weeds, mobile green tumbleweeds who manage to incapacitate him. The Wolf Weeds are also quite silly, but then that sums up 'The Creature From the Pit'; it is very silly. It's also, for the most part, tremendous fun.