Day 264 — September 21st 2021
Nightmare of Eden Parts Three and Four
Nightmare of Eden — Part Three
This episode is the big one for monster hunters — it’s our first real look at the Mandrels in all their glory. They’re often used as an example of silly Doctor Who monsters, but I have to admit that I really like them!
I think the design is brilliant — there’s something suitably alien about them, which is about all I could ask when discussing an alien monster. The mix of scales and fur works well, and the ‘beak’ is such a bizarre addition to the overall look that it can’t help but work. Figures of the Mandrels have been made by both the Figurine Collection and the high end Robert Harrops range and I think that’s testament to just what a great design they are. I’ll confess I don’t own either, but I’m sorely tempted by one to add to the shelf.
Okay, so there’s some caveats. The long arms are great from a design point of view, but in practice they don’t quite work. When the creatures are asked to do any sort of actual movement the arms are just too long to work with, and it leads to slightly naff moments like the cliffhanger to Part One, where a Mandrel is forced to dangle out of a hole in the wall.
They’re also not well served by any set with bright lighting — so basically any of the scenes set aboard the spaceship. Because they are such a bizarre design, seeing them in all their glory makes it obvious that it’s a bloke milling around in a costume, and that somewhat destroys the effect.
But then you get a sequence like Doctor Who and Romana encountering one in the jungle of Eden and it’s fantastic. I’d totally forgotten that the costumes had big glowing eyes — another thing which is lost under harsh lighting — and it looks fantastic to see one stalking through the vegetation. It’s often shot in close up, too, so you just get flashes of fur and scales and claws looming from the darkness. I sort of wish we hadn’t seen them earlier in the story, so they’d have even more impact in this moment.
Unfortunately the jungle sequence isn’t entirely perfect. Having stalked our heroes menacingly for a few minutes we’re treated to one of the Mandrels literally ‘popping’ up in front of them in what can only be a comedy moment, and it doesn’t work in the slightest. They’re played for laughs later on, too, when one takes a swing at an oblivious Doctor Who, who then gives us a comedy reaction direct to camera. Moments like this totally undermine the effectiveness of the creatures, and I think that’s a real shame.
The jungle sequences aren’t only good for making the Mandrels seem scarier — they’re also the best part of the story so far. I’m a bit surprised to get another jungle planet so soon after the last one, but as ever it’s where this era really excels in the set department. The lighting is fantastic, and when Doctor Who finds himself nearly eaten by a carnivorous plant it’s the best example of this kind of thing the series has ever done — and it’s a tradition which dates right back to The Keys of Marinus.
Romana even explains a little about how they’re able to step into the projection, and I almost follow the logic of what’s going on… but not quite. The illusion is shattered a little later on when they reveal that you can emerge from the projection pretty much anywhere on the ship, and you’re able to get back in the same way. I’m afraid I’m completely lost by that notion.
This episode gives us the most McCoy-era moment in the series so far, when Doctor Who complains about the officers chasing him;
Romana: ‘I’ve never met such idiots as those customs men.’
Doctor Who: ‘Idiots? They’re worse than idiots, they’re bureaucrats. They just exist to tangle people up, wrap them round and round in red tape until they
can’t move.’
Now tell me you can’t just imagine McCoy delivering a speech like that?!
One last thing which really stood out in this one for me — the scariest part of the episode isn’t the Mandrels, even in the low lighting. It’s Captain Rigg on his comedown from the high of Vraxoin. David Daker has given a fantastic performance throughout (it’s been a tonic to some of the other performances on display…) but he’s genuinely terrifying when he’s threatening Romana. I can quite believe in the worlds tearing themselves apart over the drug when I watch him here. It’s surprisingly hard-hitting for Doctor Who, and all the better as a result.
5/10
Nightmare of Eden — Part Four
This has been a really frustrating story. On the one hand it’s filled with some really good drama — Doctor Who and Romana getting caught up in drug trafficking feels like it should be totally out of place for the series, but somehow they make it work. All the material with Rigg was brilliant, and I genuinely love watching our heroes trying to solve the mystery of who’s behind it all.
At times even the monsters work well. I can’t say my write up for Part Three was a complete love-in for the Mandrels but I certainly think i like them more than a lot of people do, and I stand by that here when we get several of them on screen at once.
On the other hand it’s been a disappointing let down, where you really see the benefit of New testament episodes having specific tone meetings in place to make sure everyone sings from the same hymn sheet. I think if the sets had been designed (and lit) with the same care as the ones in City of Death — or even the ones in Creature from the Pit — it would go a long way to making this more watchable. See also having someone in charge to tell the actors where to pitch their performances. I’ll admit that I didn’t see the reveal coming with Tryst being the one smuggling drugs, but only because it feels so outlandish.
My biggest issue with this final episode is that it’s filled to the brim with the kind of science fiction nonsense that I’ve not been a big fan of in any of Bob Baker’s stories. They’re great ideas, certainly. Two spaceships which have collided and fused together? Brilliant! A machine which allows you to capture and preserve environments, with the ability to go in and out of them at will? Fantastic! The problem is that the ideas are communicated with so much technobabble nonsense that I totally fail to understand them. You get the sense that they’re dressing them up to seem more complex than they are, but that’s to their detriment.
I suspect there’s a pretty decent story in here somewhere, but it needs a few more drafts to really hone in on it, and it needs a firmer grip on the rudder to make sure that it all comes together properly. Tom Baker is on fine form throughout — and I love his bitter dismissal of Tryst at the end. It feels like he realises the seriousness at the heart of this script and is going with it, but it’s a shame that the same can’t be said for everyone else on the team.
It’s a 4/10 for this one, which brings the final score to an even five. That feels about right. Some good, some bad, the end result being totally average.
