Whilst I still rate tom Baker as my favourite Doctor, I think Jon Pertwee was the one that influenced me most. I came to Curse of Peladon as a nine year old and this was just the time that I was getting into the series. I had vague memories from the year before of the spitting daffodils and the gingerbread-man killer doll, but not much else - I have a feeling that Mum felt it was all to scary and stopped me watching for a while. But somehow I got back into things with Day of the Daleks and was hooked by the time of Curse, although I did have to keep asking my Dad what the name of the telephone box was.

To this day, curse remains for me one of the very best stories. There was the mixture of the highly advanced TARDIS (only barely glimpsed, but it could survive falls down mountains as well as travelling to distant planets) and the gothic citadel of Peladon. I found Peladon utterly convincing as a distant planet. The great use of shadows probably helped, and I loved the idea of the pivoted flambeaux which opened secret doors, leading into even more shadowy caves. By the second or third week as a viewer, I was privy to secrets about Peladon that many of the inhabitants didn't possess. 

The monsters were great. Arcturus in particular achieved a completely alien look. To my adult eyes, he still seems well realised, but as a nine year old I was utterly convinced by the notion of this wicked weed-like alien with his huge collar and tropical palm house container. His evil disposition was very effectively shown by the destruction of a plant pot in episode one. It's not actually an impressive moment for an adult, but at the time the fact that he could destroy every last trace of the object was quite chilling. Alpha Centuri was a great favourite, and was fairly well rounded as a character: basically good, but prone to let the Doctor down from fussy-minded obedience to rules, or from sheer cowardice. The combination of the Doctor calling it a 'chap' and it's high squeaky voice added to its alien's and charm. At 9, the phallic symbolism simply didn't register with me, although the notion of a being with just one huge eye captivated my imagination and appeared in most of my artwork at school for months afterwards.

The Ice Warriors were marvellous. I was young enough to be terrified of them, because they had the essential ingredient of most Doctor Who monsters, they were like something out of a nightmare. They might not be agile or very well armed, but what impressed me was their relentlessness, as they lumbered along, breathing heavily, just about to find Jo hiding in their room. They were that nameless something that comes after you in a dark dream. That they turned out to be friends, added to the roundness of the story.

Aggedor was another wonderful addition to the tale. Half hairy foe; half cuddly friend, again as a viewer was privy to inside information about him and generally he was rather well filmed and came over successfully to my child's eyes. It was the rounded storytelling that helped to imprint the character of the Doctor into my mind. Here was a hero who could befriend a roaring beast and tame him, just by singing him a song. He could also take the Ice Warriors on as allies, despite their past history, as a story telling device this was useful in pointing out how King Peladon could help his world; but also it was a useful lesson for a viewer, especially of school-age when friendships and enmities can run so deep.

The political overtones of the story resonated with me, because I was aware of the news stories about our status within the Common Market. I didn't understand all the nuances, but Hepesh was quite clearly carved out of the same wood as Mr Heath and Mr Wilson, who were always on the telly - either in person, or as Mike Yarwood - arguing about the future of the country.

Some people look back and regard the Pertwee Doctor as patronising and establishment. At the time, I found him reassuring and challenging. He was never prepared to put up with boorish behaviour, from friend or foe, but he knew all the social niceties, and could make his point forcibly and diplomatically. Unlike Centuri, he would never be afraid to step outside the proscribed limits - such as exploring the caves beneath the citadel; then when things went wrong and he was in terrible danger, his authority and courage gave me reassurance as a viewer that things would work out well. I like the Pertwee Doctor's moral and generally liberal stance on many issues. Looking back I can see that he was a mixture of Lett's compassion, Dicks gung-ho courage, and Pertwee's natural authority.

Jo was a marvellous companion, used very well here. The notion we are always fed that the latest Doctor Who girl will be braver than the last, would suggest that way back in 1972, the girls were terrified of everything. Jo wasn't like this at all, she spoke her mind, even to the doctor and would generally take it upon herself to have a go, even if it meant edging along a castle wall in high heels during a gale. And in the end she had the sense not to take up with the drippy Peladon. 

I have always regarded Curse as one of the best Who stories. It had just about the right amount of continuity in it, with a brief TARDIS scene, and even briefer reference to the Time Lords. It had an array of imaginative monsters, very atmospheric design, and a mysterious, heroic Doctor. I wonder if I would remain a fan if Curse hadn't caught my attention all those years ago.

This is one of the last of three throwbacks to season seven (the other two being The Sea Devils and Invasion of the Dinosaurs) and in my book it is the most successful in capturing what was so gripping about that first year for Pertwee. For a start it is filmed and performed with total conviction, you never doubt any of the material because it is treated in such a serious and dramatic fashion. It is blessed with a fantastic budget, which allows for some breathless action sequences. And it contains a genuine threat and one that that manages to scare effectively without resorting to rubber masks and messy deaths. Oh yes this is a powerful story all right. 

There is one scene in Mind of Evil that guts me every time I watch it. It takes place at the end of episode three; the Doctor is re-captured by the Master is tied into the Keller machine by Mailer. It is a combination of the imagery and the ideas. The Keller machine has already been demonstrated as a mock electric chair torture device and seeing the Doctor manhandled by such a thug with a bloody great shotgun is terrifying. The clinical setting and the Master’s casual enjoyment of the situation added to Dudley Simpson’s forceful musical score combines to create a truly chilling moment and one that sticks in the mind. 

I have always been a firm believer that the ‘real’ world has no place in Doctor Who (my disgusted reaction to rape/abortion/bestiality in Warlock) or if it must be involved it should be used only as a backdrop to highlight the fantastical elements. In my book Doctor Who is escapist fiction and helps provide a release from the terrors of the real world. Watching it is like hugging a comfy blanket when you are ill. Who wants to be reminded about terrorists/rapists/incest, the sick underbelly of society that festers out of control? Not me. But then a story like The Mind of Evil comes along which deals with nuclear weapons, prison riots and evils of the mind and it reminds me that the real world can be utilised effectively, it can push terrors to the surface that we would like to forget about. It is great television, scary and thoughtful and it almost makes you ache to think what other dramatic stories there are to be told in the hellish land we live in. Doctor Who with little imagination sounds a dire prospect but when illicit elements can be used this well I am willing to forgive. 

There is a hell of a lot of gunplay in the story, the action quota being much higher than your average Doctor Who. Given the era it is set in you can be sure that the stunts will be successful and several sequences, the raid on the missile and the attack on the prison are breathtaking. Doctor Who violence never feels that real to me but this, criminals and soldgiers gunning each other down, strangling, punching, shooting at point blank range, it is painfully realistic. UNIT is still being treated as a vicious organisation, gone is the “we don’t actually arrest people” from The Invasion and now they are taking control of deadly missiles, protecting peace conferences and killing anybody that prevents them upholding the Queens peace. They scare me frankly, despite idiots like Henderson and Yates (both seem right nancy boys) because they have the right to take lives if necessary. Even Lethbridge Stewart takes a few of them out, posing as a provisions driver and storming into the prison grounds, he shoots somebody right in the chest on top of a building. I get that this is kill or be killed but it is still frightening. 

Brr…that damn Keller room, could they have designed it any scarier? It’s like some high tech dentist room, cold white tiles everywhere. When Barnham is strapped to the chair and the camera zooms down from above as the machine throbs into life you cannot fail to see the death penalty similarities. The Keller machine itself is a brilliant idea, an evil intelligence that feeds on the evils of mind and uses your fears against you…now there is a chance to get inside your characters head and see what makes them tick. During one of several heart racing attacks by the machine the Doctor is confronted by the parallel world he saw destroyed last year in Inferno and it is touching to see it stills play heavy on his mind. Even better is the Master’s fear, a truly surreal moment where the Doctor appears as some laughing phantom, taunting the Master and suggesting his deep fear of losing to his foe. Once the machine becomes mobile it really takes on a life of its own, eating up brains aplenty and turning the screen a horrible crackly white colour that, combined with the victim’s deathly screams makes quite an impact. Maybe it was a mistake to make the machine so phallic looking but the ideas are what count and the performances, especially Jon Pertwee’s make the thing far more frightening than it really deserves to be. 

Ahh yes Pertwee, the least impressive actor of the lot you say? I say rubbish and watch this story as an example of what he was capable of. His turn as the terrified Doctor is unforgettable, for the usually arrogant and insulting Time Lord to be so helpless and petrified and yet still maintain his dignity was not an easy job but Pertwee is superb, his achingly tired, almost drugged reaction to the Master’s abuse is haunting. To know that one of his hearts stopped suddenly makes the threat very real, even the Doctor cannot fight against this monster and it will never stop coming. I realise Pertwee enjoyed playing the dashing dilettante and he certainly impresses in his action sequences in other stories but this is his star turn, showing the Doctor at his all time weakest and yet still managing to fight. When he says, “How on Earth am I going to stop (the machine) now?” you know that things are bad. 

The story even compromises the Master who made his debut in the previous story as a intergalactic showman, deadly certainly but with a knowing smile that informs us he will always be beaten in the end. Here there are no such pretences and when he infiltrates the prison with bombs and guns to release the inmates all that cuddly villainy drops away. Suddenly he is torturing the Doctor in the most perverse manner and stealing missiles to fire at a peace conference. In these post 9/11 days his plans seem more terrifying than ever, this may be elaborate fiction but there are some shocking reminders of some of the worst atrocities humanity has seen. There is a sinister edge to the Master in this story that we never saw very often (The Deadly Assassin, the end of the Keeper of Traken, Survival) but should have been exploited far more. Brought to such a deadly serious level the Master is quite the gripping villain, one you never doubt when he threatens, “I’ll put a bullet through both your hearts”. 

If all people can rant on about is the co-incidence of the Keller machine and the Thunderbolt being dealt with in the same story then we should consider ourselves lucky. Come on Doctor Who thrives on bloody co-incidences like this all the time! The only trouble I have with the plotting is the repetitive nature of some of the events; the cliffhangers do feel very samey when there were some ripe moments to choose from (driving off with the missile for one!). But even these faults can be looked on as strengths when you realise how much more striking each machine attack is to the last, the way the familiar events build in tension ensure that the climax is very potent indeed. 

Timothy Coome is a much-undervalued director and his work here maintains his flawless track record that began with the equally impressive Silurians. He manages to capture a scene as vividly as possible and create an atmosphere of terror as good as any of the celebrated Who directors. Touches like the cage rattling inmates during each Keller process, the ‘phantom’ Doctor looming over the Master, the close up of the bubbling creature with Summers disgusted reaction in the background, prove he is milking the story for every nightmare. He somehow manages to make the machine disappearing from a room the most alarming of moments, some fast zooms, drunken angles and fades he convinces the machine is bloody well pissed off and wants out! He handles the action with a nice touch of realism, laying off on the music so we can hear the men screaming their last screams. 

This sort of thing would have put me off ever watching the show again when I was a kid so I can only imagine what the youth of then had to say. How Terror of the Autons managed to escape the 70’s as the biggest scare fest when this shocker was nestled next door is beyond me. 

It remains one of my favourite Pertwee’s to this day mainly due to its clinical realism and unflattering glimpse at the real world. There is a remarkably polished feel about the show aided by the fact that it only exists in black and white helps immeasurably (no gaudy colours to get in the way of the scares!). I cannot reconcile how this is compared to James Bond as not one of those camp classics comes close to capturing the cold flavour of this story, yes they both enjoy plenty of action but in terms of atmosphere and terror the Mind of Evil wins hands down.

“I couldn’t bear the thought of being tied, to one plant and one time”

Having being exiled to 20th Century Earth by the Time Lords, the next time we meet the Doctor he has changed yet again. This time it is Jon Pertwee who plays the time traveller. His version of the Doctor is very different to the approach of his predecessor. After the rather muddling second incarnation of Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee brings back the authoritative figure that the Doctor once was. Once again he is a man who speaks his mind.

In Spearhead from Space Jon Pertwee puts in a performance that sets the tone for the rest of the season. He is truly brilliant as the Doctor and gets lost in the role. His sense of urgency towards the Nesten Invasion draws the viewer in. His sharpness to brand a lesser intellect an idiot, is a perfect example of the authoritative figure that Jon Pertwee was. He brings a refreshing approach to the role and it is only the shadow of a fantastic era to come. 

The Earth bound Doctor’s first companion is Liz Shaw (Caroline John). At first Liz is very sceptical of the Brigadier’s stories about little blue men with three heads. (Who wouldn’t be?) As the story progresses she learns to trust and respect the Brigadier and the Doctor. Caroline John puts in a great performance as Liz Shaw which continues into the season.

Spearhead from space is the return of UNIT. It is once more lead by Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. Nicholas Courtney’s approach to the character is at its best here. He is respected and highly regarded by all members of UNIT. However it is unfortunate that this does not last for the entire era. In this story Courtney really does shine.

The Nestenes are a fantastic foe for the new Doctor. Hugh Burdens Channing is very creepy and naturally looks like an alien. The faceless Autons with their concealed guns makes an extremely convincing and spooky effect. 

Of course due to this story being the only Doctor Who episode made entirely on film, it gives a unique and realistic feel.

In conclusion it is a beautifully constructed episode. It makes a fantastic debut for Jon Pertwee and a great start for the season to come!

‘The Mutants’ is the penultimate story of season nine, coming directly after ‘The Sea Devils’ - a story which is engraved on many fan hearts as being a classic. In my humble opinion, ‘The Mutants’, sadly, is not.

I shall begin by discussing the plot which, although superficially fairly sound (with an obvious anti-colonial message), has two major problems working against it:

1) The story tells of the Doctor and Jo being sent by the Time Lords to deliver a sealed message pod to an unknown person aboard a Skybase orbiting the planet Solos. At the beginning of the first episode, the message pod materialises in front of the Doctor. This begs a hugely important question that pretty much renders the story so convoluted as to be immediately dismissed: why did the Time Lords not simply materialise this pod in front of the unknown person in the first place’ Hmm’

2) It is stretched out over six episodes. This is far too long. By episode four it is really beginning to drag and, by episode 6, I was in serious doubt of how much I cared. Indeed, episodes three and four are almost entirely padding consisting of the Doctor and co. flitting fractiously between Skybase and fannying around in the caves on Solos.

There elements of the plot that are enjoyable, however. The life-cycle of the Solonians is interesting - and the idea that they mutate every 500 years is particularly quirky. The quest for the crystal is also well handled, and leads to some very bizarre sequences in the caves. The transformation of Ky into an ethereal super-being is also quite fascinating - and it’s realisation on screen suitably weird. Having said this, the story’s solution is completely unsatisfactory: the Marshal is killed and everyone just packs up and goes home. What a damp squib of an ending!

Episode one begins promisingly enough. The delightfully abstract opening titles that so define the Pertwee era fade into a wonderfully atmospheric sequence involving a Mutt being hunted across the swirling mists of the planet Solos. This is followed the group of Skybase guards in pursuit standing victoriously over it’s limp body as it lies broken on the ground. Very good, I thought.

And then Rick James (Cotton) opened his mouth to speak.

Now, let’s not beat around the bush. Rick James is quite the worst actor ever to have graced Doctor Who. He’s so atrociously dreadful that I’m surprised our beloved John Nathan-Turner didn’t later cast him as a certain Alzariun boy genius. Yes, Rick James is SO horrendous that he makes Matthew Waterhouse seem like Lawrence Olivier. Destroying every scene that he’s in, Rick has the expressional repertoire of Pinnochio and delivers his lines like a Dalek. He really is that bad. I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry when he uttered his first line, a description of Solos: ‘It-is-a-rot-ten-stin-king-hole-of-a-planet.’

I could decide, however, when it came to Paul Whitsun-Jones as the Marshal. Needless to say, I laughed. Like a strange cross between Arthur Lowe and Windsor Davies, Whitsun-Jones spends most of ‘The Mutants’ delivering his lines with such an air of malicious flippancy and untamed pomposity that almost everything he says or does is unintentionally amusing. At times - even when talking of such weighty matters as genocide - I half expected him to shout out ‘Don’t tell him, Pike!’ Whitsun-Jones is, quite frankly, highly entertaining as the Marshal. But, in a story charting the barbarity of oppression and colonialism, he’s highly entertaining for all the wrong reasons. 

James Mellor is okay as Varan - his performance is rather OTT but actually quite entertaining, if not a tad cringing, and rather suitable for the character. Christopher Cole is reasonably convincing as Stubbs. Unfortunately, his performance is detracted from by his character being, for the most part, paired with Rick James’ Cotton. Even a competent actor like Cole is not going to give his best when spending five episodes interacting with a cardboard cut-out. That said, he’s bound to be marginally better than when spending five episodes interacting with Rick James!

Of the rest of the supporting cast, I thought that most of them were rather good. John Hollis as Professor Sondergaard is excellent - very entertaining during the sequences in the caves, he steals every scene he’s in. Quirky and weird, it’s a shame Sondergaard only appears in the second half of the story - he’s certainly an interesting diversion, serving well to lighten up the flagging action. Garrick Hagon is also excellent. Reminding me slightly of Richard Beckinsale, he gives a really convincing performance as Ky - the most interesting character in the story.

Before I continue, I’d better mention Geoffrey Palmer. He’s an extremely talented actor and, as one would expect, is totally convincing as the short-lived Administrator, even managing to die (something which can easily look very false) quite well.

I shall now turn my attention to the regulars. The Third Doctor seems to be going down a bit of a blind ally by the time of ‘The Mutants.’ For me, he becomes remarkably less likable for a short period around this point in the series history. The character just seems to know ABSOLUTELY everything and seems utterly infallible. If he’s attacked, he performs a bit of venusian karate; if he’s trapped, he whips out his sonic screwdriver and escapes; if Jo asks him a question, he snaps back irritably; in short, he’s arrogant and un-likable. And his is not the arrogance that I find so amusing in the Sixth Doctor, where it is constantly and persistently pricked (and garnished with a liberal dose of fallibility), but an arrogance unchecked to an extent that the impression is given of the Doctor’s head being forced too far up his own proverbial chute. In short, the Third Doctor of late season nine is not particularly attractive, desperately in need of character development and a rethink - a shot across the bows that begins him back to reality (if there is any such thing as reality in ‘Doctor Who’!). This shot, thankfully, comes at the beginning of Season Ten, when he is forced through the humiliation of teaming up with his other selves in ‘The Three Doctors’.

Pertwee’s performance in ‘The Mutants’ is lazy. Most of it is spent fluffing his lines and delivering self-righteous speeches with absolutely no conviction at all. In short, he seems bored by the script and, perhaps, by the role.

Katy Manning is much better as Jo. Apart from coming across as a little stupid - at one point, the Doctor gives her a perfectly reasonable explanation of events and she still claims that she doesn’t understand - she remains likable and constantly bubbles with enthusiasm. Who cares if she’s not the best actress in the world’ I don’t - she’s got a nice bottom.

The Mutts are well realised on screen - looking like weird (and handily man-sized, when it comes to the costumes) ants. Their various stages of metamorphosis are also well done - all credit to visual effects for some superb looking creatures.

When it comes to incidental music, ‘The Mutants’ possesses the most dreadful I have ever heard in ‘Doctor Who’. Bizarre, yes, and, some would say, perfectly suited to the story but, in truth, it’s just darn right irritating. As with tropical skin diseases, one wishes a simple lotion could be bought to get rid of it forever.

All in all, ‘The Mutants’ is one of the most disappointing stories that ‘Doctor Who’ has ever turned out. Despite some good special effects and acceptable direction, the plot is hole-ridden, the incidental music is horrendous and the acting (in most cases) is well below par. Despite that, it is, in places, vaguely entertaining and, quite frankly, you can’t despise it. You can’t want it banished forever into the darkest caves of Solos. You can’t want to put a sword to its neck and scream, in true Varan style, ‘Die, Overlord!’ And do you know why? Because ‘The Mutants’ is six of the shoddiest episodes from the finest science fiction series ever made. And, as such, it’s far, far better than any of the trash that you’ll find on TV today.

I'd venture to suggest that 'The Three Doctors' is worse than in its immediate predecessor, except that I might get lynched; certainly, I find 'The Time Monster' easier to sit through. I was going to start by describing what I like about this story, but I couldn't really think of anything. So I'll start with the least negative thing I can think of.

The interaction between the different incarnations of the Doctor is of course the main selling point of 'The Three Doctors'. It is unfortunate that William Hartnell was in such poor health by this time that he has a very minor role, appearing only on the TARDIS scanner. I'm certainly not churlish enough to criticize Hartnell for being terminally ill, and I'm glad that he got the opportunity to play a role in a story celebrating the anniversary of the series the success of which he was instrumental in establishing. Whilst Hartnell's health means that the First Doctor is a mere shadow of his former self, there are brief glimpses of the indomitable old character from his era, and this is probably my favourite aspect of 'The Three Doctors'.

The other two Doctors however, are rather less entertaining than they should be. Troughton seems incapable of putting in a bad performance, so I suspect the problems with his performance here stem from the script, which reduce his Doctor to a caricature. Try and recall the Doctor who appeared in 'The Evil of the Daleks', 'The Tomb of the Cybermen', 'The Seeds of Death', or 'The War Games' and compare him with the Second Doctor here; the Second Doctor's fierce intelligence and palpable sense of urgency during times of danger are played down here so that his clown-like characteristics can be brought to the fore. Possibly Baker and Martin feel the need to pigeonhole him into the description ascribed to him by the First Doctor in their script, but the result is a Second Doctor who is in most ways watered down, and in one or two others grossly exaggerated. His constant prattling about his recorder annoys me just as much as it annoys Omega. 

Unfortunately, Pertwee isn't much better here either. As in 'The Time Monster', he seems to be on autopilot, and for the second story in a row this results in a threat to the entire universe being woefully underplayed. A good example is during the Third Doctor's scenes with Omega before his previous incarnation turns up; presumably, the Doctor is both humouring Omega and also suffering slightly from the fact that he is overawed at meeting a legend. Sadly, Pertwee fails to convey this and instead the Doctor just gives the impression that he's wondering when Omega will get around to offering him a cup of tea. As with 'The Time Monster', compare this with the Doctor's sense of urgency in 'The Dжmons', which despite being another story of which I'm none to fond, does demonstrate how well Pertwee can portray urgency and a sense of impending doom. The actual interaction between the Doctors has some merit, but personally I only find it interesting when they are cooperating; the bickering between the Second and Third Doctors seems to give Troughton and Pertwee their cue to start hamming their parts up. 

So that's the Doctor's out of the way; let's move onto the villain. Omega is potentially a rather sympathetic villain, who is clearly shown by the script to have been driven insane by millennia of solitude. In practice however, he's an over-the-top pantomime villain, thanks to Stephen Thorne's painfully unsubtle performance. Especially cringe-worthy is his bellowing cry of "Whaaaaaaat?!" when he discovers that the Doctors have escaped. When Omega is in jovial mood, Thorne sounds as though he's reading his lines for the first time and has had time to practice. When he's angry, he just sounds melodramatic without actually being convincing. I noticed on this occasion in particular just how stagy the scenes set in Omega's palace actually are, due partly to the sets (the rather tacky walls contrast unpleasantly with a bare studio floor), and the fact that Thorne gives the impression throughout that he is concentrating very hard on spotting his next cue. 

Then we have the Time Lords. There are two ways to demystify the all-powerful Time Lords first seen in 'The War Games'. The first is to present them as a thoroughly corrupt race of politicians as Robert Holmes does later in 'The Deadly Assassin'. The second is to have them portrayed by wooden actors spouting stilted dialogue in a day-glow nightmare of a set. Roy Purcell is especially dire as the President. And there's very little else to say about them.

What of the other regulars? Katy Manning is as good as ever, but Jo is present purely so that the presence of two Doctors can be explained in very laboured fashion. She does very little else here. She also plays a role in another cringe-worthy moment, after the Doctors have conjured up a door in the cell in Omega's palace. Again demonstrating the complete lack of anything approaching dramatic tension in this story, she and Benton are the last to leave after the Doctors and Tyler. Rather than rushing quickly out of their prison, they laugh about the others having all the fun and jog casually through the door. Nice to know they aren't worried about the prospect of universal Armageddon then… Benton is generally OK here, and I'm extremely grateful that with all the rubbish present here we are spared the addition of Mike Yates. However, Benton gets another terrible moment, in the TARDIS in episode one; the Second Doctor appears, the two Doctors start arguing and trying to explain the situation to Jo. Benton remains silent for a couple of minutes and then suddenly exclaims "Doctor! Where did you spring from?", as he greets the Second Doctor. This is again an example of bad scripting and sloppy direction, as it rather makes it appear that he has been waiting for his cue and has missed it because he hasn't been paying attention. And then there's the Brigadier…

By 'The Three Doctors' the Brigadier's character has reached an all time low. The intelligent military leader of Season Seven is long gone and has been replaced by an imbecile. The exaggerated coziness of the "UNIT family" has become so absurd here that Lethbridge-Stewart is reduced to a comic foil. Benton, one of the Brigadier's subordinates, has no problem understanding the events taking place around him, accepting two Doctors and the transportation of UNIT headquarters with ease. The Brigadier on the other hand understands nothing, presumably because Baker and Martin mistakenly think that this makes for a witty time for the viewer. In short, the Brigadier seems far less intelligent than his sergeant, which cheapens his character enormously. He's also lost the considerable air of authority that he once had, now seeming petulant rather than commanding when he orders Benton to search for Tyler for example. 

I've mentioned this briefly already, but the script is diabolical. It is almost inconceivable that a story a mere four episodes long and featuring three Doctors could feel padded, and yet this is the case here. In episode four, as the various humans captured by Omega return home, we get a very tedious few minutes as they step one by one into the column of smoke. They could have been transported by a wave of Omega's hand, or stepped into the column as a group, but instead we get unnecessary prevarication in order to pad out the episode. In episode one, the explanation of how there are suddenly two Doctors present is both laboured and strangely over-complicated. This is not a complex issue at its most basic level, and based on the model of time travel adopted by the series; if you could travel in time, you could meet your younger self. Explaining regeneration is perhaps more difficult, but the Brigadier seemed to cope with it well enough in 'Spearhead from Space'. Here, we get a very tiresome and drawn-out interchange as the Doctors try and explain things to Jo, and therefore the viewers. It feels extremely patronizing and contributes to the feeling that 'The Three Doctors' is padded. Episode Two is even more padded, achieving little except to offer a cliffhanger very similar to that of Episode One, but on a slightly larger scale. And speaking of cliffhangers, the fight scene at the end of Episode Three is one of the worst in the series to date. 

There are only two supporting characters of note; Ollis and Tyler. Ollis is utterly superfluous beyond the opening scenes of episode one, suggesting that Baker and Martin suddenly realized that they were stuck with him and decided to have him tag along with the Brigadier and the others. Tyler is present simply to ask scientific questions to the Doctors, which results in the Doctor explaining things to the audience through Tyler rather than Jo. The entire story is a self-indulgent mess and a poor excuse for a celebration.

Carnival of Monsters is such an entertaining, imaginative story that somehow it is very hard to review. There are problems with the production, but I am prepared to be lenient on these issues because on the whole this is so enjoyable. 

The basic premise, of a machine in which whole worlds can be stored and played for the viewer's amusement, is on it's own rather clever, but Robert Holmes doesn't stop there, parodying 1920s fiction, the entertainment industry, and adding in a little politics. What would you expect from a man who most consistently deserved the accolade of best writer on the show out of all those who wrote for it?

The performances are all commendable. Jon Pertwee gets a chance to stretch his acting talents a little more than usual, now that the Third Doctor is no longer confined to Earth. It's a surprisingly varied performance and goes some way to trouncing the view that he was a somewhat one note Doctor. Michael Wisher is the best of the rest of the small but strong cast.

The production design is a tad tacky, but I won't hear a bad word said about the dinosaur who appears at the end of episode 1. Well, actually I've heard a lot of bad words said about it, but at least it makes only a minimal appearance, so no major damage is done. The Drashigs work marvellously thanks to the Radiophonic Workshop, who supply them with horrifying, eerie screams.

Carnival of Monsters will probably not worry The Caves of Androzani or The Talons of Weng-Chiang in the story polls, but I defy anyone to watch it and not get caught up in the sheer fun of it all. Good stuff!