Hindscan - Season 25

Remembrance of the Daleks

Finally. The classic that everyone raved over gets an airing. Overall this story is by far the best of the season if only for the amount of time and effort that went into its making. However, the plot is a bit comic-bookish to start with, such as when the Doctor manages to get a couple of anti-tank rockets simply by signing for them instead of some clever ruse.

A few other things took a while to be explained, i.e. the little girl battle computer who I thought to start with was Davros from behind. Of course Davros was not part of the original story but is included anyway and naturally escapes again. I'm all for a poll to see whether he should be disposed of for good as he's outlived his potential.

From Part Three things really get going with some great special effects, especially the heavy weapons Dalek. So, a well written script along with a great deal of technical production helped lift the programme out of the mire of self-parody that it had slipped into in the seasons before.

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Stephen Murray once again delivers another offbeat story with a curious mix of characters that could have just come from having dinner at Milliways. Most, on the whole, work well though some, like the Stalls Lady, are irrelevant while the Captain and Whizzkid are insufferable and the only joy they bring is when they are destroyed.

There is a nice sinister edge to the facade of the circus, particularly the nice B-grade horror movie touch of clowns dressed as undertakers driving round in a hearse.

The tent settings worked quite well except for the ring, which was limiting to the action due to its size. What was never really explained properly was the Ragnarok mysticism involving the amulet and its power over them.

Silver Nemesis

Worth a mention if only for the two and a half people who missed it the first time around (not to mention the fact that I never said what I thought). Really not a bad effort as far as chase stories go though I can almost hear JNT saying "Quick, Cartmel, Clarke's story isn't cluttered enough so let's get him to put in the umm, err.. Cybermen because they're silver. Oh yeah and you'd better say that gold kills them."

What follows is what I like to call 'Michael Hill Overkill' against Cybermen with missing ventilator grills, though David Banks gets all the good lines: "She is mad!"

Fiona Walker over-acts her head off, while everyone chases a comet that looks like an over-baked potato. And as Public Enemy say: "Don't believe the hype!!" as far as revelations about the Doctor go. Disregard as a valid Cyber story

The Happiness Patrol

I've always thought that political satire should be left to people who know how to use it effectively, such as Robert Holmes in The Sun Makers and The Caves of Androzani.

I'll admit that here some interesting points about emotional psychology are raised but they don't fit the scope of Doctor Who.

McCoy and Aldred are great as far as their performances go though I felt they were strapped in a story that was just plain silly.

Apart from them, the only other good points were the incidental music by Dominic Glynn and some nice blues harmonica. As with a lot of stories, reading the book will give you infinitely more satisfaction.