TV Review: Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (1979)

Doctor Who: The Creature from the Pit (1979) written by David Fisher and directed by Christopher Barry

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) has unintentionally landed (actually, the TARDIS auto-answered a distress call) on Chloris, a planet with a lot of vegetation and some strange, gigantic eggshell fragments near where they landed. The locals have a shortage of metals, except for Lady Adrasta (Myra Francis) who has control of the only mine. The mine has played out and is now used for dumping her enemies because there's a creature in the pit. The Doctor is intrigued about what is really going on, so he and Romana (Lalla Ward) investigate, which means the typical running around, getting into trouble, and saving the day.

The story has a lot of humor (it's from the period where Douglas Adams was script editor) and has some interesting mysteries. The pacing is a little faster than usual and Romana is very sharp and in control of her part of the story. She's much more of an equal to the Doctor than a damsel in distress. The creature is a big fake blobby thing, though they gave it an appendage in the first episode that looks ridiculously phallic. They toned that down for the subsequent three episodes of this four-parter. The final episode had some extra drama thrown in after the main baddie was vanquished.

Recommended for fans of the old Doctor Who--the comedy is pretty good, except for the unintentional comedy.

TV Review: Doctor Who: City of Death (1979)

Doctor Who: City of Death (1979) directed by Michael Hayes and co-written by David Fisher, Douglas Adams, and Graham Williams under the pseudonym David Agnew

Fourth Doctor Tom Baker and companion Romana (Lalla Ward), who is also from Gallifrey, visit Paris circa 1979 for some relaxation. Their fun times are interrupted by two things. First, minor time loops start happening, indicated someone mucking about with technology far in advance of Earth 1979 A.D. Second, thieves are planning to steal the Mona Lisa, again using technology far in advance of what the locals have. Naturally, the two are related. The Doctor does his usual bit of running around, getting captured, and saying witty things.

The episode is a little slow in parts. It does feature actual Paris locations and the filming has lots of interesting angles and camera movements. The dialog does have the fingerprints of Douglas Adams (he of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame) all over it. Adams, in addition to being a co-writer, was also script editor for the show at this point. He definitely gave a lighthearted touch to the story, though the story itself is pretty standard Doctor Who fare. I enjoyed it but it is not great by any stretch. Tom Baker is charming as always.

Recommended.