For the first review for Vampire Weekends (Some reviews will be posted before the weekend initially since started event later into October then I wanted) I was curious to see what other ways “Doctor Who” had done vampires as there is always the sci. fi. twist in the supernatural in the show. I had already reviewed “The Vampires of Venice” during the 11th Doctor’s run so it was fun to go to Classic Who and find “State of Decay.” This is a more classic vampire tale in some ways but also stays true to the sci. fi. nature of “Doctor Who” and is part of what makes the show so fun. Without getting into spoilers I do recommend this serial as it is a good story even if I wish it didn’t have Adric and that they’d expanded on some story elements further.
The serial was directed by Peter Moffat and written by Terrance Dicks.
Trapped in E-Space the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Lalla Ward) investigate a mysterious medieval planet ruled by three ancient mysterious beings who have repressed all knowledge on the planet as they discover their origins and who they serve.
SPOILERS ahead
The Pros:
The Vampire Planet and the Mysteries of E-Space – The TARDIS is trapped in E-Space and the Doctor and Romana having to find a way out back to their universe is a good base challenge. Add onto that a mysterious medieval planet run by vampires that has advanced but old technology as a part of it and you have a compelling premise.
The Rebels – Among the rebels you have Tarak who drives the fight and helps the Doctor and Romana and is killed for it, the old leader Kalmar who is convinced by seeing the King Vampire in the technology the Doctor helped fix and Ivo the village leader who joins the rebels after his son is eaten by the Three Who Rule. These are the most compelling of the rebels and work as support characters.
The Three Who Rule – The Three Who Rule were originally human astronauts called into E-Space by the King Vampire so they could help him return and conquer the galaxy. They are fascinating though we never see their path to corruption only them as having ruled for 1000 years over the humans already on the Vampire Planet. Camilla and Zargo were the face of the rulers as King and Queen but Aukon was the true ruler as he was in contact with the Ancient King Vampire who had given them their psychic powers, super strength and had mutated them. He was able to shut them both down even when they were in a bloodlust and ready to kill Romana and Adric. They are all such fun villains and I wish we could have learned more about who they were before before they were mutated as Zargo and Camilla love one another so I was curious if it predated their mutation and if it existed when they were still humans.
The Idea of the Ancient Vampires – The idea of ancient alien vampires who ruled the universe is cool the Time Lords being the ones to stop them works too as well as their reach being so vast all alien cultures had vampire myths. It is a shame the vampire leader’s portrayal wasn’t better.
K-9 – K-9 is funny and great as leads the storming of the castle and we get emotion from him too as he hates failing the Doctor. Easily the most underrated hero of the episode and even saves the rebels in the end.
Romana – Lalla Ward is wonderful as the Romana. She has just as much sass as the Doctor and only got captured because Adric was hypnotized. She also is on par with problem solving as the Doctor. I can’t wait to see more stories with her. She’s one of the best companions.
The Doctor – Tom Baker is amazing as the Doctor. He is funny and had some great sarcastic jokes to the Vampire Lords and also has moments of empathy too as we see him compliment Romana for helping him find the answer to stop the King Vampire and we see his leadership when he rouses the rebels to fight and attack the tower. This story really showed why he is one of my favorite Doctors.
The Cons:
Adric – Adric is a stowaway on the TARDIS and his doing so just causes problems. Romana only got captured because Adric was captured and she was trying to save him and he is just arrogant and mean in every interaction with her and the Doctor. What an awful companion.
The Missing Corruption Story Behind the Three Who Rule – Why did the Three Who Rule give into the power offer of the King Vampire? I get the immortality draw but beyond that why did they give up their humanity to enslave their fellow human beings? There was a missing step that we never see and was never explained in their path to corruption from scientists and explorers to monsters.
The King Vampire Presentation – We get what looks like a giant bat on the scanner in the rebel camp and giant hand in the summoning area of the planet. There isn’t any scare factor and the prop for the King Vampire looked like a toy. It was a shame as I could see they wanted to go for a monster that Time Lords feared the execution was just awful though.
If we had learned more about the corruption of the astronauts and seen how they lost their humanity the story would have been stronger. They were once scientists so why did they give that up for power? If that had been answered the serial would have been great, even with how annoying and unnecessary Adric is to the story. The serial is still good though and the 4th Doctor and Romana are fantastic together.
Final Score: 8 / 10 A solidly good Classic Doctor Who story.
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