Dragonfire: Part Two

The second episode was a mixture of good and bad. The Doctor's literal cliffhanger was poorly realised.

I am still confused as to why he felt the need to climb down the ice and then there is the sudden appearance of a ledge.

Much better was the dragon monster who jolted Ace and Mel with fright. The Doctor discovers the creature is not all bad and he has some hidden surprises.

The Dragon design was good although it was very much influenced by Alien. As the sequel Aliens was released in 1986, the movie was a bit of an inspiration.

Just note how Kane despatches two of his guards to deal with the monster. The BBC budget could not stretch to a squadron of marines as in Aliens

Unfortunately the set design looked cheap, the ice world effects were a bit sorry looking.

There was a clever touch with the Doctor having an intellectual philosophical conversation with a guard.

I hate when people describe Doctor Who as a cheap show made with wonky sets, cheap costumes and bad acting. It pains me to say but when one considers Dagonfire, those claims are true. The second episode is virtually indefensible, if ever there was a story for the knacker's yard, this is it.

Where to begin, the set looks cheap and nasty, and does indeed wobble when McCoy battles with the 2 foot catastrophic drop. The Dragon looks like it was designed by a group of School kids, it is very much a young mind's design of a monster, it's cuddly looking. The frosty atmosphere that had been created, to some small effect in the first part has all but gone, this one is devoid of any atmosphere, a shame as they seemed almost to be on the right track. I don't like the character of Glitz, and Selby's performance is poor. Ace and Mel make a dire duo, and are intensely irritating, one screaming, one saying the most stupid, irritating things ever, like 'Go for it doghnut' and 'Well brill' Ace becomes a good companion, but poor Sophie is battling a pathetic script.

The great Tony Osoba, from legendary sitcom Porridge is shamefully underused, wasn't even worth him being there. I can though dig out two positives, those frozen zombies were a damn good idea, the realisation though not great, was OK, but I must give credit to Patricia Quinn, who I thought was very good, Belazs the only interesting character on offer, she offers some interest with her age, and reason for being in the world, she is the only saving grace.

It saddens me that the show was allowed to become this, even the poorest stories from the Baker (Tom) and Pertwee years were utterly superior to this. It's no wonder people switched it off.

Crap 2/10