Doctor Who Season Seven: Meet the new Doctor, not at all like the old Doctor (and in color, too)

This is as close to a reboot as you will find in the original run of Doctor Who. The entire cast has turned over. A new production team would be in place by midseason. The Doctor is stuck on Earth with mostly unfamiliar characters. And it is in full living color (well, early 1970s full color at the very least).

But what about the stories? This is a bit of a messy season. The previous producers had decided that, as a way to save money on each storyline, that they would stretch out to seven episodes. The results were… well, not the best. None of the stories are complete losses, but they could have done with some (or a lot of) trimming to make them better.

Spearhead from Space

The new era gets off to a strong start with a cracking four-parter that introduces the Autons – the plastic people with guns in their hands that would make a couple of notable returns in the “new” series, first in the premiere episode and then with the whole plastic Rory storyline.

As is typical, it takes a bit for the new Doctor to settle into the character. Jon Pertwee came into the show best known as a comedy actor, and he puts it to good use in the early scenes as the confused Doctor makes his escape from the hospital, including a raid of the doctors’ wardrobe (shades of the 11^th Doctor’s first episode as well). We also get a sense of the dramatic flair he’d bring to the character as well (not to mention getting a look at proto-Bessie, the antique car that defined the Third Doctor far much more than the Tardis). Oh, and there's a terrific Robert Holmes script to hold it all together.

The Silurians

Now things start to get stretched out. There is good material within this story, especially the core idea that the Silurians are not alien invaders but actually the original sentient race on Earth. There are also good supporting characters throughout – including a youngish Geoffrey Palmer, who meets an untimely end due to an ancient plague – and the deepening of the relationship between The Doctor and short-term companion Liz Shaw. The alien costumes are a bit daft, but the political fighting among the Silurians gave them an extra bit of depth. The same goes for the end, which has the Brigadier – with some justification – blowing up the cave entrances to cut off the creatures and keep them off the show until the 1980s.

The Ambassadors… OF DEATH

While The Silurians could have used an episode or two trim, this series is a complete mess. There may be enough material for a four-episode storyline, but stretched out over seven episodes breaks the poor story’s back. Again, we have an interesting twist on the expected tale – as the titular ambassadors really are that – alien visitors who are being manipulated by a mad astronaut bent on destruction. However, there is no real drive to the story, which includes what seems like a million captures and escapes on the part of Liz and what feels like real-time rocket launches. On the upside, the series did introduce a landmark change in the theme – the familiar “scream” that now leads us into and out of every episode made its debut here, being used to introduce the show’s title and at the cliffhanger.

Inferno

While searching the library database for a copy of the DVD of this, the only show called “Inferno” I could find was an episode of Steven Moffat’s Coupling, which – while having some tangential connection to Doctor Who, and a very funny episode to boot – really wasn’t going to help. Thankfully, I have alternative ways to watch any of the series, via some crusty old video copies, which was good. This may be my favorite of the Third Doctor adventures. There are mutated humans affected by a poison from deep in the Earth’s crust; a drilling project that could end the world; and some parallel dimension hopping that features Liz Shaw in a black uniform and the Brigadier with an eye patch.

Fascist Britain aside, the story actually delves into the concept of free will and affecting change. The Doctor has to think quickly on the side-Earth, knowing that it is doomed, but with the sacrifices of the alternative characters he may be able to save his home Earth. It also features the less-than-ideal sending off of Liz, with the last view of Caroline John is her laughing at the Doctor’s expense. Alas, a cerebral modern woman who was an intellectual rival for the main character wasn’t in the cards in 1970. Goodbye Liz, and hello somewhat ditzy (but eventually a very good character) in Katy Manning’s Jo Grant.