Arnold
Tash Jayasinghe
CibbuanoInferno
September 21st 2006 11:13
Inferno (1970)
This Doctor Who story can be found on DVD out and about at the moment, I think it was released just in the last month or three.
VITAL STATISTICS
MAIN CHARACTERS: The 3rd Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Liz Shaw (Caroline John).
RECURRING CHARACTERS: The Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) and Sergeant Benton (John Levene)
SETTING: Contemporary Earth (1970s), in a complex built for an experimental drilling project. Also, a parallel universe version of the same place.
HOW DOES IT FAIR BY TODAY’S STANDARDS
Pretty good. Like the other three stories in Season 7 of Doctor Who, 'Inferno' stands up fairly well some thirty odd years after it was made, probably due to the serious treatment of it's subject matter. Unfortunately, the subsequent four seasons of Third Doctor stories would be a bit more frivolous and less-based on writers putting effort into what they were writing, so 'Inferno' and the three stories that precede stand out as a bit of an anomoly in the Third Doctor era.
BITS I LIKE
There's a lot in this story that I absolutely love. It's easily one of my Top 10 Doctor Who stories of all time. The parallel universe episodes are great... we get to see a fascist version of Britain in all it's militaristic glory. There's even the obligatory evil alternate-universe version of a main character (the Brigadier - sans-moustache plus eyepatch). Also, the Primords make for a frightening threat... men reduced to primieval savagery. The end of the world in fascist Britain is suitably grim and scary too.
BITS I DON’T LIKE
The dog noses on the Primords look a bit silly. That's about it though.
HOW MANY TIMES I’VE SEEN THIS NOW
At least four times.
DISTRACTABILITY SCALE
Seven episodes is a lot to watch. This probably could've been a six parter, or even a five parter, but I don't mind the length of this one... it never seems too stretched thin, the parallel universe element ensures that it's length doesn't go to waste.
THE ACTING
The Brigadier, Liz Shaw and Benton are all great in the parallel universe... a chance for the regulars to do something different with their characters. It's a shame we didn't get to see an alternate version of the Doctor, but it's probably just as well Jon Pertwee wasn't given the chance to ham it up (shudder).
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