(No pictures this week…forgot to take them!)
This week’s I received and watched, The Keeper Of Traken and Logopolis, the final two serials for The Forth Doctor.
I really enjoyed The Keeper Of Traken. The opening banter between The Doctor and Adric is hilarious. Tom Baker is especially good in this scene. This serials also introduces Nyssa as a new companion. Nyssa is smart and, while she does fall into peril, keeps up with and challenges The Doctor. Oh, and you cannot forget the big surprise of the serial’s villain being The Master in disguise. Actually, it is not that big of a surprise, at least to me, and is significantly downplayed surprisingly. The bonus documentary confirms that The Master’s appearance was added late in the script writing process and would serve to introduce his newest incarnation. His possession of the body of Nyssa’s father so he could regenerate seems to be the main reason for his being in the script at all. Nyssa looking for her absent father is a well done, and pretty sad, way to finish the serial.
Overall, this is one of the better Forth Doctor serials in the later years. Anthony Ainley is wonderful as The Master and is my favorite incarnation of him until the most recent at the end of the 2007 series. Something cool in the extras: At one point the actors are discussing Tom Baker’s leaving the series and a news clip is shown on the screen announcing a rumor that the next incarnation of The Doctor would be played by a woman! How cool would that have been? I remember rumors when Billie Piper left a few years back that she has desires on becoming an incarnation of The Doctor (which I think could be amazing…or pretty horrible…but I do see a lot of potential) but I had never heard anything going back that far. I think it is about time for a female Doctor.
As an aside, speaking of The Master, and female Time Lords, I don’t think The Doctor and The Master are the only Time Lords to survive the Time War. There have to be more Chameleon Arches out there…perhaps Romana? Some have speculated The Rani was the woman who picked up the remains of The Master at the end of Last Of The Time Lords. Since the new series seems to have a lot of focus on Forth Doctor serials and companions (although the Children In Need special for this year with The Fifth Doctor was quite lovely) it would make sense for Romana to appear someday.
Anyway.
Immediately following the events of The Keeper Of Traken comes Logopolis, which becomes the final serial for Tom Baker as The Forth Doctor and introduces yet another new companion, Tegan Jovanka. I have not seen many serials with Tegan but she has never impressed me that much. Anthony Ainley’s Master returns in this serial and does quite well, as does Tom Baker in his send off. The story is fine, but perhaps a little slow. It is quite amusing that years and years later The Doctor still has not fixed his Chameleon Circuit.
The Forth Doctor is done, but we move onto Peter Davison’s portrayal of The Fifth Doctor next. I will get to that soon. In fact, it may be a short while because the freshly released Forth Doctor, with the lovely Romana II, serial Destiny Of The Daleks came in the mail from Netflix today. Stay tuned.