I was never a fan of season sixteen. I enjoyed The Ribos Operation and The Pirate Planet but I felt the others were a bit to slow and dull for me. I rewatched The Power of Kroll recently and my opinion of this story changed dramatically. I think the pacing is slightly off, it is fine but it could be a little bit more pacey.
The acting in this story is top notch. Mary Tamm is phenomenal as Romana, Tom Baker's performance has clearly been toned down and therefore this story is not another Tom Baker comedy half hour which some of this season could be accused of. The other performances are strong including Phillip Madoc's latest classic performance. The Kroll effects are brilliant in this story. To me this rivals some of the effects they were doing in Season Twenty Six with The Destroyer.
The rest of the production is brilliant. The location shots add another dimension to the show. The sets seems of a much higher standard than what they were the season before. I do not normally comment on this but I found the costumes in this very good. Mary Tamm's costume is very good and I am impressed by the outfits worn by the Swampies.
Robert Holmes produces another strong story, enhanced by very strong production values, just a little more pace would have made this a great story.
8/10