Day 479: The Invasion of Time Part 6

There's several things to dislike about The Invasion of Time. This episode spends much of its time in TARDIS corridors, which look suspiciously like disused hospital corridors and not the futuristic setting that we could only previously imagine about. The Sontarans aren't that good as villains, generally wandering through the corridors and not doing much to threaten our protagonists. And that's to say nothing of the infamous scene where a Sontaran attempts to engage in pursuit, but ends up tripping over a chair and almost falling into a pool. There's also the fact that Leela leafes at the end of this story. There's virtually no build-up to this event, and there's virtually no time spent on it as she leaves. Oen second the Doctor's leaving, the next we discover that Leela's staying. It's hardly the heartfelt goodbyes that we've experience for Jo Grant or Sarah Jane Smith. All in all, this story isn't that great.

And yet I absolutely love this story. The scope is impressive, dealing with two separate invasions of Gallifrey. We discover more history of the Time Lords, and their inner workings, making the story feel like a peep behind the curtain of the series' history. Take, for instance, the De-Mat gun at the end of the story, where we discover one of the greatest weapons in the history of Gallifrey, something so dangerous that it is kept hidden from every single member of the Gallifreyan race, even the President. This depiction of Borusa is fantastic as well, being a wry member of Gallifreyan society who respects the Doctor but still thinks that he's a bit of an idiot. And above everything else, this story is fun. It's an incredibly easy story to enjoy, and actually makes me look forward to the next couple of stories, because Doctor Who is going to be a relentlessly fun series from now on. And tomorrow, we reach a moment that I've been waiting for for around 500 days...