TV Review: Doctor Who: Shada (1979)

Doctor Who: Shada (1979) written by Douglas Adams and directed by Pennant Roberts

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) are summoned to Cambridge by Professor Chronotis (Denis Carey), who is a retired Time Lord posing as a Cambridge don. The only problem is Chronotis can't remember why he summoned them. A bit of the professorial senility has set in, which is probably why he loaned out an important Gallifrean book to one of the undergraduates. It's an ancient text with enormous power. Another time and space traveler has shown up and is looking for the book as well. He has a creepy grey sphere that he uses to steal other people's memories. What better device to set up end of episode cliffhangers?

This story is a bit legendary because the production was shut down half-way through making it. Strikes caused a lockdown at the BBC. A bit of the content was used in The Five Doctors but otherwise it had remained unseen for a long time. For the thirtieth anniversary of Doctor Who in 1993, they edited together what they had and Tom Baker filled in the gaps with descriptions of the missing action. Having Baker in a Doctor Who museum exhibit telling bits of the story makes for interesting viewing. The plot is good and the performances are a lot of fun. The special effects are the usual mishmash of good sound effects and dubious visual effects. The Cambridge location shooting is nice, especially if you've been there before.

Recommended, well worth putting up with the shortcomings. Beware--there is a more recent version of this with the choppy animations of other Doctor Who restorations that is generally poorly reviewed.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet (1978)

Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet (1978) written by Douglas Adams and directed by Pennant Roberts

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Time Lady Romana (Mary Tamm) continue their hunt for the components of the Key to Time started in The Ribos Operation. They travel to the planet Calufrax only to find it not there. The TARDIS had trouble landing, which they initially assumed was just tempramental machinery (though Romana wants to fly the TARDIS by the instruction manual, which the Doctor disregards). They discover the planet is called Zanak. The planet's society goes through periods of prosperity which are heralded by a change in the stars in the sky. That is, the pattern of the stars completely changes. The Doctor and Romana investigate, finding out that the planet jumps around the galaxy, landing on smaller planets to mine them for valuable resources. Such a plan must be stopped and they get to work.

The show has a fairly interesting plot with some surprises along the way. The writer is the same fellow who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so humor abounds. The captain of Zanak is a bit like a Vogon captain, all shouty and threatening death to those who disobey. His cartoonishness has a better explanation than uncreative writing. Baker and Tamm make a good team and work well as individuals.

Recommended.