Mindwarp

Thoros Beta.

I know this is a story that cops a lot of flack, mostly for being too over the top and camp, but seriously folks, what’s not to love about Philip Martin’s ‘Mindwarp’. In a nutshell it’s a creepy, scary and foreboding story featuring the return of Sil (Nabil Shaban), Brian Blessed and has the most dramatic, spell-binding, spine-tingling ending to any Doctor Who story EVER.

End of story. The death of Peri is so chilling, so shocking that some of the issues with parts three and four should just be overlooked for this amazing moment. The brain of Lord Kiv is transplanted into Peri. Nicola

Brian Blessed as Ycarnos.

Bryant produces one of the most evil voices I have ever heard. The Time Lords deem it’s their right to kill Peri. The Doctor is pulled out of time before he can save her. This all links up to the very start of ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’. It’s mindblowing stuff.

The wonderful Nabil Shaban returns as Sil.

The adventure starts with a beautiful use of ‘paintbox’, early computer-generated effects where the ocean is made pink and a ringed planet is hoisted into the sky above. The sets are low-lit and moody, the mentors – creatures like Sil, are very well done indeed. The show looks terrific. The first two episodes are great. It’s not a rocket-fast start but it’s a slow peeling of the environment, exploring, getting into trouble, culminating in the Doctor connected to a machine that is frying his brain.

The second episode sees a changed Doctor, a traitor, one with his own interests before others. The question is, are we seeing the truth? Remember that this is all coming from the matrix, and the Doctor starts to wonder if the matrix can lie. We, as an audience, are confronted by a very disturbing interrogation scene where the Doctor interrogates Peri on the rock of sorrows whilst the tide comes in. Is this really what happened? The Doctor said it happened, but not the way we are shown.

The third episode it gets a bit wobbly. Perhaps not quite enough story to fill four full episodes? I’m not sure but Ycarnos (Brian Blessed) is joined by Alphan rebels led by Tuza – to be honest a terrible performance by actor Gordon Warnecke, and this subplot is not as compelling as the rest of the tale to be honest. The rebels are dressed like Mexicans and despite makeup appear rather too clean for rebels living and hiding in caves desperate to overturn their oppressors.

Kiv (played by star of ‘The Young Ones’ Christopher Ryan), the Lord of the Mentors, has his brain transplanted into a different type of mentor – this one is brown. The final episode seems to have the Doctor turn back to the side of good after he eats some of Sil’s marshminnows. He rescues Ycarnos and they head to save Peri, but in the midst of confusion, they are separated and the Doctor is pulled into the TARDIS and the fate of Peri is not a good one.

Brian Blessed is simply wonderful as Ycarnos. I have seen him in a few things, including ‘The Black Adder’, and this role was simply written for him and

The stunning ending.

no-one else. I don’t find him too much, he has some wonderfully humorous turns, and some nice tender moments as well. Nicola Bryant’s performance is her best as Peri and the Lord Kiv without a doubt.

The story suffers only from Tuza, the third episode sagging a little, and the consistent and un-relenting crosses to the court room. I don’t mind the crosses, but they needed to be cut way back there are far too many in this story, as there were in the first. Philip Martin produced an amazing, chilling script, and director Ron Jones produced his best (and last work) for Doctor Who easily.

9/10

Vengeance on Varos

Peri, meet Sil!

Philip Martin, the writer of the very existential ‘Gangsters’, approached Eric Saward to write a script for Doctor Who. After a lot of wrangling and trying to convince John Nathan-Turner, Martin turned in the very interesting script for ‘Vengeance on Varos’.

Nabil Shaban as Sil.

It’s a strong story, violent at times but probably not to the same level as some other recent stories such as ‘Attack’ and ‘Caves’, and it’s the sort of story which asks a lot of questions. We find the Doctor and Peri going to the world of Varos which is ruled by television to some extent. A society which broadcasts live from the ‘punishment dome’ all that happens in there – a place where those deemed to be criminals are tortured and killed by various ‘entertaining’ methods. The ultimate in reality TV.

The Governor (Martin Jarvis) asks the populace to approve pretty much any decision he makes, and if they disapprove enough times, he eventually is killed and replaced. Philip Martin calls into question the way people watch TV and what that

Martin Jarvis, Jason Connery and Colin Baker.

might look like in the future. Considering reality TV these days and the way it’s heading, it’s not actually that far off the mark. It also, to a lesser extent, questions democracy. In some ways allowing the people to vote on every decision their Governor makes is basically mass democracy on all levels. At the same time we have the elite, people in positions of power who are living well on the work of the masses living in cubicles. It’s a very interesting society, one that we get a decent glimpse at. Martin has done well to create a world the viewer can imagine more fully than we see on the screen.

Peri gets turned into a bird creature. Thankfully, it didn't stick.

For all of that, there are plenty of faults in ‘Vengeance on Varos’. Again we have a whole lot of bickering in the TARDIS between the Doctor and Peri. It’s a long time since we had a story without a TARDIS scene or two. At times the story gets quite dull. This I put down to the director, Ron Jones, more than anyone else. I think the music is rather good, so the director needed to inject more energy at places because it does fall rather flat in places.

On the flip side of that we have the wonderful Nabil Shaban as Sil, a green slug-like creature from the

planet Thoros Beta. He is on Varos negotiating on behalf of the Galatron Mining Coporation, and despite being clearly evil he also provides a bit of comic relief with his strange laughing and calls of ‘Water me!’ It’s a magical performance perfectly cast. Actually the whole cast is well chosen.

Once we get into the story and the arguing between the Doctor and Peri dies down a bit, Colin Baker begins to come into his own. A bit more levelled-headed in this tale, it’s his best so far. Peri (Nicola Bryant) has a hair-raising time throughout nearly being turned into a bird which is… an interesting idea at the very least! Her performances are becoming more solid with each story.

So there you go. Two forty-five minute episodes which make a pretty decent story.

8/10