Day 610: Frontios Part 2

There's an absolutely hilarious moment early in this episode where Turlough picks up the TARDIS hatstand, which the inhabitants of Frontios feel is a weapon of mass destruction. Thus, for the first five minutes of the story, Turlough weilds the hatstand with a degree of menace, threatening to kill anyone who comes in his way. It's a moment of unexpected hilarity in this story, which could threaten to be rather serious. It's about mass destruction, death and chaos, and could easily be given an Earthshock-esque treatment with little humour and massive amounts of action, but instead Bidmead and Saward give the story a lightness that makes it all far more bearable. Another example can be seen when Turlough is helping Norna do some tests on the minerals of Frontios. Turlough spends much of the time wandering through the lab and commenting on how nothing really makes sense around the area, which Norna keenly remarks is just his way of getting out of work. It's not a massive moment, but it's well appreciated, and by allowing this moment of lightness, it gives the inhabitants of Frontios some character that makes the story much more enjoyable.