Day 533: Meglos Part 4

This episode comes in at around 19 minutes in length. The reason that I mention this is because it means that this story comes across as wanting to get the story done in as quick a time as possible without any need for depth of what the story is actually about or who the characters are. I'll give a quick example. Meglos has set up a scheme to destroy Tigella. The Doctor, Romana, K9 and two other characters from Tigella get in the TARDIS to pursue him. The reason I didn't name the other two characters is because I actually don't know their names. They have possibly been mentioned, but we aren't given any reason to remember them, because we don't remember them as characters. More than that, there is literally no reason for them to be with the Doctor and co. at the conclusion of the story. The Doctor, Romana and K9 are the only characters to make any discernable difference to the conclusion of the story, and all they do is stand around and watch. It's essentially the heart of why this story is not very good: we're given absolutely no reason to care for any of the characters, and so we forget them almost immediately. It's a disappointing note to end on, but hopefully things will pick up again tomorrow.

Day 532: Meglos Part 3

It's difficult to talk about this episode. Not because of anything controversial that happens within it, but more because nothing actually happens within it. Essentially, the villain retains his prize of the Tigellan energy source, and begins the final stage of his escape with it. Aside from that, the Doctor gets put to death (something that we had been suspecting since Part 2) and Romana begins an effort to try and rescue him. This sounds like a lot, but none of it really works, in part because we aren't given any opportunities to fully invest in the story which leaves us with no real ability to talk about the characters and what they feel, beyond being devices that allow the plot to continue. It's little wonder, then, that this is the sole script from the writing duo of John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch if they aren't able to take a story where Tom Baker dresses up as a cactus and make it feel utterly forgettable.

Day 531: Meglos Part 2

The most striking part of this story is the use of Tom Baker. He plays a dual role in this story, being both the Doctor and the villain, who is currently able to impersonate other people to near perfection. This villain also happens to be a cactus, and as the impersonation goes on, the image of the person being impersonated becomes more and more cactus-like. But that's not the key point that I want to mention. Instead, I want to touch briefly on the way in which Tom Baker plays the role of the villain. It's a very muted and underplayed performance, hinting that there's something not right with this character, but not pointing it out for the audience completely. It's not what we'd expect from Tom Baker, who we'd expect to overplay it dramatically and have a great deal of fun with the part (cf Soldeed in The Horns of Nimon). So this serves as an indicator that things are perhaps slowing down on the Tom Baker front, and that his departure from the serie may be imminent...

Day 530: Meglos Part 1

What's curious about this story is its beginning. When Part 1 comes to a conclusion, the Doctor, Romana and K9 have still not left the confines of the TARDIS control room. Events have still been occurring without them, as people argue and plot various schemes without the presence of the main characters. The plot also makes up for this by making the main thrust of Part 1 be about trying to get the Doctor to visit a certain planet, Tigella, but the story still feels conspicuous by the absence of the TARDIS crew, as we realise just how important the process of the Doctor and co. interacting with other characters in the story is to our level of engagement. But this little experiment does provide a nice change in the way we expect stories to run for the series, and some days we just need a little bit of change to spice things up in our lives.