Day 251 — September 8th 2021
The Androids of Tara Parts Three and Four
The Androids of Tara — Part Three
Last season I complained that Tom Baker looked like he was drowning in his costume. The addition of a darker waistcoat, wider scarf, bigger hair and the little white cravat overwhelmed him to the point that by The Invasion of Time he looked like a shadow of his former self. We opened this season with some of these elements still in place, but we’ve now come out the other side and reached a point where Tom’s entered his ‘later’ period, where he’s wearing a scruffier more casual version of his costume. And doesn’t it look brilliant? Losing any kind of neck tie and instead going open collar helps to lighten the entire outfit, and when paired with an open waistcoat like this it really works. We’ve got a thinner scarf again, too, which is a very welcome addition.
There’s a point in this episode, when Doctor Who is stood waiting to meet with Romana, where he looks to be in the perfect pose for a new addition to the Figurine Collection — I’m surprised we’ve not had a version of ‘casual’ Tom like this yet, and I think it might now become my new preferred version to have on the shelf should one ever appear. I feel like I change my mind on the favourite costume every time we get a new variation, but I’m enjoying the journey. Let’s just never bring the silk cravat back, okay?
Doctor Who continues to be a delight to watch in this one, but I’ll spare you another day of going on about how much I enjoy David Fisher’s take on the series. Suffice it to say that I enjoy the irreverence with which our hero is embracing this story, and little moments like him sticking his head back out to a firing squad simply to scold Grendel for lying about not shooting are brilliant. See also the moment towards the end when the man tried to convince Doctor Who to switch sides, only for our hero to cheerfully do the right thing.
I’m really enjoying this one, although I’ll admit that I’m not completely following the plot. I’m a little lost with all the androids and the doubles — if Grendel already had a good android duplicate of the princess, then why was it so important he find Romana? The coronation proves that androids are able to fool the people of Tara, so surely he already had everything he needed? I think the story may have been better off dropping one thread, and I’d have lot the coincidence of Romana being a doppelganger. I think it would be much simpler to follow if it were just political machinations with no coincidences like that.
This episode also suffers a little from being a ‘typical’ Part Three, especially in terms of Romana managing a daring escape from the castle dungeons only to find herself recaptured again for the cliffhanger. I think they just about get away with it, if only because everything else is so enjoyable. Little touches like the accidental death of Madame Lamia, who gets caught in the crossfire, help to raise this above average. I’m going with a 7/10.
The Androids of Tara — Part Four
I take back (most of) what I said in Part Three about finding the use of doubles confusing, because a lot of it gets explained here. Grendel was having the android made because the princess was refusing to co-operate, and Romana was just a helpful ‘Plan B’. It makes a lot of sense in hindsight, and I’m a bit baffled that I’d not worked it out, to be honest.
I’ve still got my reservations about the androids in general (‘that’s funny,’ Doctor Who would say, ‘some androids feel that way about you…’) simply because it seems odd to me that there only appear to be two on the whole planet, and no one really seems to know how to make them, but I’m happy to let that slide because it’s been an enjoyable tale.
There’s not much for me to say about this final episode without sounding like a broken record, so I’m just going to give you the basic highlights. Doctor Who continues to be great fun, and there’s something about seeing him crammed into a boat with K9 that makes me proper laugh. I don’t know why, there’s just something amusing about that image. And I think his departure from the prince’s safehouse sums up the current era quite well;
Zadek: ‘Who’s going to open the gates?’
Doctor Who: ‘Me.’
Zadek: ‘One man alone?’
Doctor Who: ‘No, no. One man and his dog. Come on, K9.’
Mary Tamm is fantastic in her dual role. I don’t feel like I’ve really given her a lot of attention in this marathon so far, but whjen I say how much I’ve warmed to the character as the stories have gone on, that’s almost entirely down to the work she’s putting in. Tamm manages to make Romana both competent and likeable, and she works so well opposite Baker.
The script continues to shine, and there’s plenty of nicely quotable lines which I’ll avoid for risk of this turning into a complete transcript. And then there’s the direction, which gets a few more chances to shine with some great night filming outside the castle.
Sadly I think it’s the direction which also lets this episode down a little — the sword fight in the middle feels very static and it’s not the most exciting example we’ve seen in the show. Heck, it’s not the most exciting sword fight we’ve seen featuring Tom Baker! It’s far better when it cuts to film, and Michael Hayes is able to use close ups more readily, but it does make me wonder how the end of the season is going to fare, when he returns to direct the studio-bound Armageddon Factor.
On the whole, though, another enjoyable one, but a little drop off from the last few episodes, rounding the story out with a 6/10.
