This is a game of two halves.
P 1 and 2 are set in the TARDIS and show the initial escape from the Master.
P 3 and 4 are set within the world of Castrovalva.
The direction is very imaginative from first time director Fiona Cumming (at this point she was sorta famous for B7 Rumours of Death).
The Castrovalva eps are pretty good. The level of inventive use of abstract geometric concepts is ambitious and presented in a way that still interests viewers nearly 40 years on. *Recursion, space time traps, 4 pharmacies in a little place like this, Shardovan, can you see what I'm talking about? Not in my mind no, but in my philosophy.
Cast is still developing but Ainley as the Master is peaking. The cackling is starting to work. Later it gets ridiculous but at this stage it remains in the credible zone. The Castrovalvans, Sheard, Waring, Wylie as Mergrave, Shardovan, Ruther are very good.
Janet and Sarah are developing well. Waterhouse is... Waterhouse.
Peter is fond of reminding the fans that this was not his first go in the role. As far as the viewer is concerned, this is his debut. And it's good. Basically the only thing he was obliged to do was not be anything like Tom Baker. Gone is the arrogance, the over confidence, the anger. Present instead is lack of certainty, exasperation, crap jokes. For Doctor Who in general, not just Tom, that stuff is actually new. It's not for nothing that Peter is regarded as one of the top3 most technically adept actors to be DW.
This is an intellectual and pleasingly abstract beginning to a new era of DW. Peter Davison is credited as the Doctor now (previously the credits said "Dr Who").
Even at the time it was conceded that Doctor 5 as always gonna suffer in comparison to the much more famous Tom Baker. The 4 decades since have done little to allay that problem.
The fifth Doctor rushes out of the gate here and for various problematic reasons goes where it goes.
ABM Rating 3.48/4.00
LJM Rating 3.81/5.00
SPJ Rating 7.50/10
Link to Cumulative Rankings
No. 39 (out of 116)
Rankings Scoreboard
Really well created Castrovalva sets with a fabulous colour palette. The dialogue of the Castrovalvans is lovely too. The first two episodes don't work as well. There should have been more Castrovalva in it. Pity they rescued Adric. It would have been more fun to have him as the Master's "companion".
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