Sorry if some of my recent comments about recent stories I’ve watched have come across negative. I will say that for Series 8 I’ve mostly enjoyed myself. There may be three episodes I’ve not liked really but one of them was still fine to watch (Robot of Sherwood). I say this because I decided to go back into the mid-80s today with The Two Doctors and I really did not like it but I don’t want to come across as being overly negative. I’ve just hit a few whammies in a row when it comes to TV stories I suppose.
The worst part is that it’s actually kind of alright for the first two parts. The overarching plot of Dastari and Chessene using the Second Doctor (who is wonderful in this one, when he gets to be himself that is…) to gain access to unlimited time travel is great. Six and Peri (and later Jamie too) picking up a trail from the space station and later to the antagonists’ base in Spain, pretty fun to watch. There’s the flaws of the bickering between Six and Peri which goes a bit overboard, but I’m fine with it so far. Chessene is a solid villain and as much as the Sontarans are a little bit shoe-horned in, I found it really interesting and fun to watch this triumvirate of villains work together while scheming for their own agendas in the background. The setting of Spain is interesting too and Six’s outfit there is wonderful.
But then come my negatives and it’s mainly to do with part three. Before that, I’ll just say that I have some smaller issues that I’ll fire off. First, Two is kinda rude to Jamie in the first episode, not even playfully teasing more just straight up harsh. I get he’s angry but it felt wrong. Then the Sontarans being tall, even though they’re supposed to be short because of the gravity of Sontar. The masks also look worse than both Linx and Styre’s from previous stories. And the biggest issue of all: Shockeye. I ■■■■■■■ HATE Shockeye. He’s annoying, one-note, gross, takes up far too much screentime and why is he even there after the villains go to Spain? Chessene is a manipulator as she later explains how she has no more use of the Sontarans so why is she bringing along this useless blob? I have nothing against John Stratton, I’m sure he was a decent guy but I hate this character so much. He seems tonally inconsistent as it feels like he’s supposed to be comedic but also a scary cannibal man and it doesn’t work for me at all.
I will rant more about him but it’ll be as part of my discussion on part three. Part three really just ruins the story for me. There’s Shockeye stealing away Peri and making me feel like I’m watching The Texas… or I guess in this case The Andalusian Chainsaw Massacre, which I don’t like because this is Doctor Who. Then Chessene turns around and wants to turn Two into an Androgum instead of the original plan for some reason that makes no sense whatsoever. This then leads into a pointless and annoying sidetracking of the story into all the other characters chasing Shockeye and Androgum Two down to Seville, I really hated having to watch Troughton be this stupid silly character instead of being more of his actual character. And then they are just brought back to the hacienda anyway…
We get back there and Six and Two work together to free themselves and to save Jamie, good, enjoyed that scene. Dastari stops Peri and Two to kill them. Then when the others get down there, he has from nowhere turned a page. WHAT? So now he’s the misunderstood scientist led astray by his own creation? Yeah no, I’m not buying it for a second, bad. He dies, Chessene dies and it’s the end after Six and Two exchange a few quips.
I’ll comment on the violence too. Attack of the Cybermen’s crushed hands were a little bit out there but not too bad in my opinion. Vengeance on Varos wasn’t that bad either in my opinion, minus the acid bath. This one really goes too far though. I don’t need to see a Sontaran’s blown-off leg in Doctor Who and the murder of Oscar was just way too dark and out of the blue, just mean-spirited. I thought Oscar and Anita were nothing special at first but did grow to like them. The cyanide suffocation is also definitely grim, but honestly since Shockeye was such a monster he deserved it and I didn’t have to deal with him in the story anymore so I can look past it. The whole idea that the Androgums are complete savages by nature and that even “fixing” them won’t stop their instincts also doesn’t sit right with me.
In my head for the first two episodes I was thinking that this could still be a decent story overall, but this third part really did not work for me at all and it feels like it really adds too much to the runtime. It’s around 2 hours and 15 minutes but feels longer than a traditional 6-parter (which is about 2 hours and 30 minutes).
Now, Colin does his best and he has some good moments, so does Nicola Bryant as well despite the bickering. Patrick and Frazer do their best too and are quite enjoyable. Two is great when he’s strapped to the wheelchair in the basement, trying desperately to get free and worrying that Jamie might be dead. Unfortunately it doesn’t save this story which ends up as a bit of a trainwreck.
As negative as I have been, it doesn’t go as low or lower than The Web Planet, which got a 2/10. The first two episodes being enjoyable saves it by a little. It’s still a pretty grisly 3/10 though. Sorry.
