The Seeds of Doom: Part Six

Whilst most fans crave for Genesis of the Daleks as the greatest story of Doctor Who, I may say otherwise. It's great but not too great. The greatest of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) stories is this one: The Seeds of Doom.

Everything from the pre-Thing and pre-Goodfellas story structure by the legendary Robert Banks Stewart, is not to be underestimated!

Review of all 6 episodes:

The story here is that The Doctor and Sarah go to an Antarctic base where three scientists have discovered a form of unknown plant life buried in the snow. It has been there for many thousands of years but is of alien origin. The pods found turn out to be Krynoids, a plant which is carnivorous, parasitic, powerful and immensely fast growing. The Doctor knows this plant is a threat to all humanity but a pod is stolen by crazed millionaire Harrison Chase who is obsessed with plants.

Horror content was at its peak at this point in the series history and this story is one of the most horror based of all. There are some genuinely grim and macabre scenes which must have had children AND parents hiding behind the sofa. After having a lot of complaints during this time for being too adult and horrific, Doctor Who producers were forced to tone it down. The series, whilst still always continuing to have brilliant thrills, scares and adult qualities was never again to have quite the level of grown up thrills found in series 13 and 14. A scene where someone gets chewed up by a recycling machine is one example but there is a lot of quite gritty and dark content here and that only serves to make this a superb and memorable adventure.

This is another example of the brilliance of this era with Robert Holmes as script editor and Phillip Hinchcliffe as Producer. They created the best sustained quality I think the show has ever had. This story is just one of many top standard classics from this time and writer Robert Banks Stewart has provided a great story to follow his equally great Terror of the Zygons.

The dialogue of this story is intelligent and thoroughly enjoyable and it is delivered with superb acting by the whole cast while director Douglas Camfield again shows he is one of the finest directors the show had. The first 3 episodes in particular are tremendous and are at the highest possible standard. The engrossing science fiction/horror story and remote setting enriched with phenomenal characterisations and an alien threat makes this electrifying entertainment. The final 3 episodes are a bit less cerebral and more about monster attacks, confrontations and action but still have a tough, dark feel and the interesting human villain as well as the fun giant monster.

Right from the start when the story begins with the three research scientists in the Antarctic those three characters are all very convincingly written and acted. It is actually a shame that such a well acted part as Moberley (Michael McStay) only lasts one episode. The sinister villain Chase (the superb Tony Beckley) has a smooth, slimy, creepy menace which is really entertaining and perfectly played. His violent thug Scorby (played brilliantly by John Challis, 'Boycie' from comedy classic 'Only Fools and Horses') is far more than your average 'heavy', he is another effective and interesting villain. Dunbar, Thackeray, Keeler and Hargreaves are all also extremely well acted. In addition we also get the larger than life eccentric Amelia Ducat (Sylvia Coleridge) who adds a humour and lightness amongst the mostly serious characters. There are actually lots of wonderful, witty moments interspersed with all the drama and menace.

Tom Baker is magnificent as The Doctor. He delivers numerous witty lines with sparkling charisma whilst mostly is at the toughest and most stern we ever see him. He tells people off and barks orders one moment then makes a great joke the next, both with equal conviction. He is seen to be both selflessly heroic and the most actively tough the character has ever been. He engages in punch ups and even points a gun but this is all done so well that it works.

The suspense and shocks, intelligent, engaging script and the enjoyable action make this a true classic. Even the Krynoid, which at times shows up the limitations of the show's effects, has some great moments. The stop motion work with the giant monster and the house is actually impressive. This is a fantastic, gripping and entertaining pleasure from start to finish. A 10/10 classic that all 'Whovians' must see.

My ratings: All 6 Parts - 10/10.

This story finished off the awesome series 13 which is a front runner for best season ever along with Season 14 and just ahead of Season 12. This Hinchcliffe & Holmes run era is simply incredible standard. 23 out of the 26 episodes of Season 13 got the full 10/10 from me which is unbelievable standards over a season. Only Parts 2 to 4 of The Android Invasion failed to get full 10/10 with only Part 4 being a real disappointment for me. Any Doctor Who 'show-runner' now or in the future should aim to copy the qualities of this era as it is as good as TV gets.

My Season 13 Average Rating: 9.67/10!

Although I spent the first few episodes of this series waiting for the Ice Warriors to show up, it turns out this is not a follow-up to Seeds of Death but rather a new plot. That said, we do open with some sort of pod discovered in the ice of Antarctica, which infects one of the scientists who discovered it. Instead of an alien race of monsters, this is an alien plant which transforms the host, and grows rapidly. The plot of this series mixes the feeling of 1970's light horror, with the talky apocalypse of Quatermass to make for an enjoyable and surprisingly well paced serial.

I say surprising because I noticed this was a 6-parter, and assumed it would be padded out to that. Instead it does have a good flow to it, making good use of the passage of time and changes to location. So, the first few episodes play out as a sort of The Thing, then we switch back to England for the next level of the plot, then the final few episodes see the Krynoid as the main threat. This sense of gradual development across the six episodes works well, while also allowing each section to deliver rather than fill time. The design of the plant monster is pretty good, and it the narrative uses it as well as it uses the human villains, whether it be Chase or Scorby. The cast play to this well; Baker feels a bit too much like Quatermass compared to some previous serials, however he is still good, while Sladen is too. Beckley, Challis, Gilbert and others are all good in support, although none of the usual UNIT faces show up.

An enjoyable and strong finish to a generally good season.

The beanstalk is as tall as it can possibly be, as high as the tallest of very tall trees, but flower depower is now on its way, this Triffid will not see the end of the day, I wonder if it had a nice perfume or bouquet.

Seeds of Doom really is a classic, a definite fan favourite, as you watch it you soon see why, it has it all, and this concluding episode is one of the very finest. The story doesn't let up for a minute, it is incredibly well paced, there genuinely is no lull.

It is Intensely dark, with scenes so grim, we'd never get to see the like again, several people landed up in that grizzly compost maker.

The special effects and production values have been remarkable all way through, and I must say that some of the model shots, work rather well, considering the time, and budget restraints, this was impressive.

A definite political message from writer Robert Stewart Banks about man's plight on the planet.

This really is terrific in every sense. 10/10