The 4th Doctor – Season 18, Serial 7 – “Logopolis” – Story is Cluttered but the Master and Doctor Relationship Works

We continue the Doctor regeneration stories in the lead up to the 13th Doctor’s regeneration with the 4th Doctor’s final serial in “Logopolis.” This is a story that suffers from a bit of a cluttered cast and a bit too much tell over show but is still an enjoyable sendup to Tom Baker’s 4th Doctor. This one is worth checking out, especially once the story takes off.

The serial was directed by Peter Grimwade and written by Christoper H. Bidmead.

The Doctor and Master must form a temporary truce when the Master’s plot on Logopolis leads to the universe unraveling and must be stopped.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

Saving the Universe – When we finally get to the Master’s plot and him showing up the story takes off as we have the Doctor, Master and Tegan as one team and Nyssa and Adric on the other team as they must work to save the universe’s destruction. It keeps the tension going and gives actions for all the characters.

The Master – Anthony Ainley does a great job as the Master as he seeks to save the universe after he nearly caused the end of the universe but also seeks to blackmail the universe and control it. He never stops being a villain so it creates another problem the Doctor must face through the serial.

The Doctor – Tom Baker’s 4th Doctor is one of my favorite Doctors and in this we see him seeking to protect his companions and save the universe while still keeping distance between his companions as he knows his death and regeneration is coming. Tom Baker gives such amazing pathos and his remembering all his companions before regenerating is a powerful scene as his last act saves the universe and stops the Master’s takeover plot.

The Doctor’s Good-bye – Adric, Nyssa and Tegan all call out the Doctor’s name as he recalls Romana, Sarah Jane Smith, K-9 and all past companions over his run. There is sadness in it but it is touching soon as he remembers those closest to him before he regenerates into the 5th Doctor.

Okay:

Logopolis – You have a civilization of white haired humanoids who compute through language and keep the universe going. They don’t get much depth than this though and mostly exist as an interesting idea. With more development the planet and people could have been a pro.

The Companions – Nyssa’s father was killed and body possessed by the Master and the Master killed Tegan’s Aunt. We get moments of sadness but not time to mourn as like Adric they are largely plot devices driving the plot. This is the problem with 3 companions as no one gets development. Still all the performances are good they just deserved time to be better explored as characters, especially Tegan as this was her introduction story.

The Cons:

The Setup and Pacing – The first 2 of 4 episodes lack focus and because of it have really slow pacing. All of it is meant to be setup of the Master causing the accidental unraveling of the universe but not enough is done to focus on that coming up or to explore Tegan and Adric as characters.

Tell Over Show – We are told what Logopolis. We are told Tegan is an airline stewardess and that is it. So much of the first 2 episodes are tell over show and it keeps the story from ever reaching the levels of good.

This was an enjoyable serial that with a bit more development could have been good or great. With less companions the story could have been more focused and with it Logopolis as a planet and people could have been better explored too. Still this was an enjoyable regeneration episode that I do recommend.

Final Score: 7.5 / 10 Boosted by the Doctor’s good-bye and seeing his past companions before regenerating.

The 7th Doctor – Season 26, Serial 4 – “Survival” – A Muddling Slow Mess

“Survival” is the last serial of “Classic Doctor Who” as the show would not return again until the film with the 8th Doctor. Honestly, this was a sad note to go out on as even greater performances by McCoy, Aldred and Ainley can’t save this awful script and the themes and pacing issues that keep it from rising to even enjoyable.

The serial was directed by Alan Wareing and written by Rona Munro.

The story follows Ace and the Doctor as they investigate why Ace’s friends have gone missing as the Master plots.

SPOILERS ahead

The Pros:

Ace – Sophie Aldred is a great actress and in this story she at least has somewhat of an arc. We see her empower her friends to fight back against the Cheetah people who kidnapped them and also Ace is faced with the dilemma to become like the Cheetah people after she befriends one and feels the freedom they feel. This is one of the stronger parts of the episode as the Cheetah people as a concept aren’t well fleshed out at all.

The Master – The Master’s back and Anthony Ainley is great in the role, even though his plot to use Ace’s friends to kill the Doctor sucks. In the end he decides that the power from the planet that is transforming him will one day make it possible to him to kill the Doctor, though you wouldn’t know based off all the times he has has the Doctor captured and does nothing with it.

The Doctor – Sylvester McCoy is wonderful as the 7th Doctor and he really deserved a better script. In this we see how he is the outcast from British society and looked at as a threat and strange. He is constantly clashing with authority figures and in the end it is his brains that get him out of the situations he is in. He’s also extremely compassionate too as when he is being consumed by the planet that turns people into the Cheetah people he resists and spares the Master’s life. This could have been a much bigger theme if the writing had made it so.

The Cons:

The Cheetah People – The Cheetah people have pretty cool designs (humanoid cat people who ride horses) but are not thought out beyond a concept. They use house cats via the Master to kidnap people to hunt and their world is dying. Apparently all they live for is the hunt and those who survive on the planet eventually become them. This is what I could gather as Ace’s friends turns back into a human at one point when she was never shown to have been human prior. The Cheetah people existed to critique aggression and fighting but it was very poorly done as it seems the show did not know what it wanted to do with them.

Ace’s Friends – Ace’s friend group is surviving on the planet (and some have died already from the Cheetah people) but we never see why they were friends. There is never any talk about their lives before being kidnapped by the Cheetah people so I didn’t get the connection that the show wanted.

The Master’s Plot – The Master initially wants to use one of the Ace’s transforming friends to warp back to Earth and at that point his plot is to kill the Doctor. It is all so poorly thought out and he never felt in control in any of the situations and was just improvising poorly thought out plans.

I can’t recommend this episode as it is only worth watching as the last story in “Doctor Who” before the film and Davies picking up the story once more with the 9th Doctor after the film failed. This is a story that could have been so much more if it had a better script and had made more of the themes it was attempting to explore. Ainley, McCoy and Aldred all deserved a better final story for their versions of the characters.

Final Score: 4 / 10