Planet of Evil: Part Four

Across the 13 seasons thus far of Doctor Who there have been different creative forces, different Doctors, and different styles and lengths of serials, however generally speaking there is a certain structure to the majority of them. This is Doctor and his +1 arrive into a dangerous situation, get drawn in somehow (mistaken for the problem, find themselves trapped with the oppressed etc), some drama, a few cliffhangers, they get it sorted then leave. Essentially this is what Planet of Evil does as the Doctor and Sarah-Jane find themselves on a planet where a scientific mission appears to have disturbed some sort of force, and the military who are responding think that the Doctor is the force killing their men, even though he is not. Although the serial plays along familiar lines, it is a solidly good example of the show doing what it does.

Coming in a 4 episodes (as most of them seem to be doing now), there is not too much slack time to fill, so mostly it has a good pace which it can speed up a little at key moments, but never dips too slow or feels like it is killing time as it goes. The monsters of the piece are more of a force rather than a talking villain; this gives a nice change as we don't have 'monsters' per se, and all the talking is done within the humans, offering some nice plots and characters there. The design department have put in some work on the planet too. The jungle is colorful and with lots of nice touches and aspects, so although not a location shoot, it doesn't feel like a Blue Peter job. Shame the same cannot be said of the anti-matter portal thingy – Theo Robertson said it best, it looks like something in a department store display, and it certainly doesn't have the presence that you would want from the link to another universe.

The cast are solid across the board. Baker and Sladen are both on good form. Not sure if this serial was a test to see if anyone missed Marter's Harry, but for sure it was better with him still on the train back to London. Generally the production is good on this one, with good supporting cast, effective use of limited effects, and a strong sense of tension and danger throughout. Generally speaking the continuation of a good start to the season.

Review of all 4 episodes:

This story has The Doctor and Sarah arriving on a planet which is the meeting of our universe with the universe of antimatter. A scientist, Sorenson, is dangerously trying to use antimatter as a limitless power source and the planet has forces within it that manifest as an antimatter monster to try to stop the two universes being brought together into destruction. The crew of a rescue ship are caught up in this and are being killed one by one as The Doctor gets involved and becomes the figure of blame (as usual).

There is great action and dialogue along the way and a thoroughly entertaining adventure. It has strong horror themes of a monster attacking people and the killings themselves are properly horrific with gruesome corpses left behind. This is fantastic and effective. There are also other horror themes similar to Jekyll & Hyde as a human is transformed back and forth into a monster. This again is a powerful idea that works well. We also get the addition of big science fiction ideas with anti-matter, scientific exploration and space travel and whilst this is baffling it is fascinating and satisfying too. There are some similarities with Forbidden Planet and because it is done so well here the comparison is a good one. The technology we see in this futuristic setting is pretty well done, the planet itself is very well realised on screen and the effects are decent. The dynamics of the crew add further qualities as Salamar and Vishinsky clash.

The plot involves complex science which sometimes leaves you scratching your head but is also just really good fun in terms of menacing monsters and character interplay. The script also has intelligent dialogue which is delivered well. Writer Louis Marks and director David Maloney have delivered really well, not for the first time.

The acting is excellent throughout with Ewen Solon and Frederick Jaeger particularly good as Vishinsky and Sorenson. Tom Baker is on his usual electrifying form for this era, lighting up the screen at every moment. Lis Sladen is wonderful as Sarah Jane and it is again noticeable what a strong female character she is compared to the usual screaming damsel in distress. Sarah Jane is brave, intelligent and independent. When the Doctor falls into a pit she does not scream or react hysterically, she just exclaims "Doctor!" then goes to rescue him herself when nobody else does.

This is top class sci-fi mixed with a Hammer-Horror style story. It is engrossing, thrilling and has very high standards in all departments.

My ratings: All 4 episodes 10/10.

The Doctor has to deal with Sorensen, the problem the crew faced has now multiplied.

It's good, it's enjoyable, if I'm being totally honest, I feel like it's a little bit on an anti climax, the opening episodes are so sinister, so dark, and so full of menace. The solution perhaps needed to be a little more complex, it was perhaps a little too easy.

Salamar was a bit disappointing here, he had been a much more measured adversary, I think Sorensen was altogether more interesting.

It's always a joy to see Doctor number four and Sarah Jane, and the pair of course are a delight together, their closing scene is fun.

Was.this perhaps influenced by The Three Doctors? Sometimes I feel like it was.

Solid, 7/10.

... but not such a big rhyming hit, although better the devil you know Mr Hyde, or you'll just make us cry (with anguish), probably more appropriately titled 'Planet', or 'Occupation' or 'Stealing' or 'Renewables' - we knew about them here too but chose to ignore, until it was too late, and now we're in the Satan Pit!