Robert Holmes rewrites a few of his old scripts, enhanced by Graeme Harper's revolutionary direction, creates something beautiful. Falling from first in the top 200 to fourth in The Fifty Years Poll, I decided that it was the right time to have another look at this classic story.
From the beginning the set up is great, an endless bitter war, a society that has been corrupted by greed so now (apart from The Doctor and Peri) there are no truly good characters. We have Sharaz Jek - a man who has been warped by the cruel treatment he received Morgus that he has been forced to isolate himself from beauty in the caves and carry the scars; we have Morgus - a greedy manipulative egocentric man who is prepared to kill in order to ensure his own prosperity; General Chellak - a man who will follow all orders, even if they go against his own opinions, and use that as an excuse for his actions (reflecting the Nazis at the Nuremburg Trials); Selateen - a man who may appear good but rejoices in Peri's misfortune as it ensures his own survival; and the gunrunners - who fire upon their own men and are just after the money. Even the secretary is evil, discrediting Morgus so she can take over the company and become more powerful. Holmes creates a hopeless world, populated by some of the most egocentric characters ever to be depicted in Doctor Who.
Along with the cast we have the revolutionary direction used by Graeme Harper. The direction here, goes against all the camera work norms enabling the story to have a fast pace which revels Douglas Campfield himself. This revolutionary directing shows how the show is evolving and foreshadows what it will become.
The tension is brought to breaking point and the only thing which could have made the situation The Doctor faced worse would of been to have had the queen bat's chamber to have been filled with the gas which The Fifth Doctor is allergic to.
In a story where only Peri survives (not even The Doctor makes it out of this one), it becomes a disaster move from the outset - not just any action adventure serial. Holmes' rich script enabled Peter Davison to really showcase his acting at it is faultless in this story. I have many problems with parts of The Fifth Doctor era but this story is truly a classic. It further highlights the benefit of having a single companion with The Fifth Doctor, this is the only story in his era to do so - possibly this inspired Big Finish later. Not forgetting Peri here who goes beyond the atypical screaming companion with Nicola Bryant's exceptional performance in the scenes with Sharaz Jek.
This story is truly a classic. The greatest Doctor Who story of all time? No. There are others which have something else, this is just a faultless story but it is just missing something to elevate it to that position in my opinion. The best regeneration story of all time? Possibly. It will always be between The Caves of Androzani and The War Games. Personally it is The War Games but that is probably because I am a Second Doctor fan. Despite all this, it is a classic. A fitting end to The Fifth Doctor's era.
10/10