Day 288 — October 15th 2021
Kinda Parts Three and Four
Kinda — Part Three
I remembered from watching this story last time that I thought Nerys Hughes’ Todd was a perfect companion for Davison’s Doctor Who and that I was surprised Big Finish hadn’t gone back to do anything with her. That still seems to be the case — although a quick search tells me she’s worked with them recently, so perhaps it’s an issue with K̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶B̶u̶s̶h̶ Christopher Bailey which is preventing them? Whatever the weather, I watched the two episodes yesterday surprised to find that they didn’t have quite the electric connection I’d remembered, and I was a bit saddened by that.
But it turns out that was because it’s all stuffed into this episode! God, though, how brilliant are Davison and Hughes together here? I was searching for a way to describe it, and then it struck me; they’re written like Doctor Who and his companions. Almost any of them. The way they banter reminds me of Doctor Who and Romana, or Leela, or Sarah Jane or Jo. It’s two people sparking off each other and having fun in the heat of an adventure. I’m especially fond of the way they tease each other, just falling short of full-on flirting;
Doctor Who: ‘Has anyone ever told you you ask a lot of questions?’
Todd: ‘It’s my training. I’m a scientist.’
Doctor Who: ‘Yes, so you are.’
Taken in conjunction with Doctor Who stressing the difference between scientific interest and meddling yesterday, you’d almost think they were setting Todd up as a new companion to replace Adric. The flirting gets even more prominent in the next scene when Doctor Who flips a coin to decide which direction to head in, and Todd deliberately walks off in the other direction leaving him to follow in her wake. God, what I wouldn’t give to watch a whole series with this pair, as well-written as this is!
There’s a downside to just how good these two are, though. It’s made me realise just how little I’m enjoying the current line-up of companions. I’ve been suspecting as much for a few days now — all I seem to do is complain about them, after all — but this puts it in really stark contrast. The relationship between Davison and all three of his companions is sort of absent. If he’s not telling them off then he’s rolling his eyes at them, and none of the trio really want to be there. Tegan’s desperate to get back to her job, Adric’s become a spare wheel, and Nyssa has so little character that I’ve not missed her for a single second in this episode. Watching Davison’s Doctor Who interact with someone the way I’d expect him to behave with a companion — like they actually like each other for a start — puts everything else into sharp contrast.
Elsewhere in the episode, Simon Rouse goes from strength to strength. I can’t tell if I’ve gotten used to his choices or if he’s dialled it back a bit, but this has to be one of the best performances we’ve ever seen in the programme. I totally buy him as someone having a nervous breakdown, and I find him genuinely scary. Watching him here is far more powerful than any number of rubber monsters could hope to be.
And he’s not the only brilliant performance in this one; I’m loving Mary Morris as Panna. Her dismissive attitude towards Doctor Who, and her insistence on referring to him simply as ‘idiot’ throughout their scenes together, is welcome levity in what could be a fairly heavy few sequences. I’ll confess that I don’t understand the sequence with the ticking clocks in the slightest, but it looks brilliant, and she’s a great guide to have along on the trip.
This episode manages to balance levity and tension perfectly — probably more so than any episode we’ve seen in a very long time, perhaps as far back as Baker’s early seasons. I wish I’d watched Parts Two and Three back to back, because the building tension in the cliffhanger leading up to Todd’s scream being undercut by a funny jack in the box popping out is such a perfectly-executed switch in tone. It never risks undermining the story, though, and within moments we’re back to having the tension build. Elsewhere, comedy is used to really flesh out the Kinda, and I love the cultural exchange in which Doctor Who gets to show them a magic trick.
When I gave a perfect score of ten to Part One of City of Death, a cynical friend told me it was probably the last one I’d see in this marathon as it was ‘all downhill from here’. I’ve worried about that a little over recent weeks when things haven’t been as much to my tastes as expected, but I’m pleased to see that it’s not the case. This is about as perfect an episode of Doctor Who as they’ve ever made. A definite 10/10.
Kinda — Part Four
I was a bit worried going into this one. Our Blu-ray player has broken down, so that meant not watching the ‘new’ CGI effects for the final confrontation with the Mara. This story is often thought of as being three good episodes let down by a poor effect at the end, and I was worried that it might spoil it for me at the final hurdle.
But you know what? I don’t think it has. Let’s be honest, the inflatable snake used in studio doesn’t look great. It’s a great idea which is clearly ever so slightly beyond the means of the production team at the time. It looks artificial and it’s not especially scary. But all the same, I don’t think it looks bad. Crucially, it fits in well with the overall feel of this story — it’s quite theatrical. I’ve praised the sets for the jungle and I’ll continue to do so, but it has to be said that the flat studio floors give just as much an impression of artifice as the snake prop does here. It didn’t spoil the ending for me in the way I feared it might.
Having finished the episode I had a look at the replacement effects on YouTube. So impressed were they with them at the time that the official 2|Entertain page uploaded the entire sequence in full alongside a comparison to the original. The CGI snake is very good, and I think if I were to watch this story again that’s the version I’d go with. The snake from 1982 might not spoil things, but I’m always happy to go with a revised version which makes a good story even better.
Elsewhere I’ve very little to say about this one which I haven’t already said in the first three episodes. The performances continue to be excellent, the tension is running on high throughout, and Davison continues to put in his strongest performance yet. The one thing which really stands out here is how disappointed Doctor Who seems to be that he’s got to go back to his regular companions at the end, rather than travelling on with Nerys Hughes.
He snaps at Adric again (the poor boy can’t catch a break) and bickers with Tegan. When Nyssa shows up absolutely fine outside the TARDIS he looks genuinely crestfallen to see her. And I can’t say I blame him. I always thought of this as a TARDIS team I had a lot of time for, but I’m finding them massively underwhelming this time around.
Finding things to enjoy about the companions is made even more difficult by the way they behave with each other. Adric points out to Tegan that this is all her fault, and they bicker with each other in a way which makes it clear there’s no love lost in the slightest. If these people are all so miserable in each other’s company, how am I supposed to enjoy spending time with them?
It’s an 8/10 to round this one off, making it the strongest story of the 1980s so far.
