PS Creativity > Reviews > Into The Vortex > Season Seven

ALL CHANGE! New Doctor, new companion, new setting, new style, longer epsodes, and colour! Season 7 was very new.
And you loved it, with all four stories averaging at least 7/10... Inferno is PS' fave story of Doctor Who's first ten years...

>> Season Seven averages 7.90 out of 10 <<

Some comments from a few members...

Inferno

"The best story of the Pertwee era. To me, this is just fantastic stuff. Not too long, with the alternate universe scenes providing both a scary premonition of what could happen, as well as showing what Britain could be like under a dictatorship. The Primords are a fantastic monster, IMO - a sort of more carnal version of man. They certainly terrified me as a child, and Professor Stahlman's transformation is very well played by Olaf Pooley. Seeing the events of the parallel universe provides an even greater level of tension when the Doctor returns to our universe - will he stop the drilling in time? Amazing stuff!"
-- Ant Williams (10/10)

"Another corker, and here it doesn't lose it around the halfway mark - far from it, with episodes 5 & 6 really tense edge-of-the-seat stuff. Episode 4's cliffhanger, the drama in the last few minutes of episode 6, "Terrible things are happening there..." All these things add up to a real classic - the Primords may not look all that in some scenes, but if you notice that while you're watching the story, then you're missing the point entirely." -- Andrew Curnow (10/10)

"Quite simply, a brilliant piece of TV in every respect - even the slightly comical Primords can't ruin it for me. I particularly like Caroline John as Liz; she really gets to put some welly into the role which she was never able to do with Liz, basically because the character was so bloody boring. So also a good swansong for her, even if it was her playing another role." -- Antony Cox (10/10)

"Lovely, a soap opera feel crossed with the harsh drama of 1984, and stuffed with characters you really care about. Greg and Petra should have had their own series, simply entitled "He's Driving Her To London In His Car". The impact of this story was felt recently when someone on TV said "who sent you" and we both boomed "WAS IT SUTTON!". You had to be there! It's one weakness is that it thinks it has to have an upbeat ending involving Caroline John laughing like a donkey."-- Si Hunt (9/10)

"Its dark and brooding, but it is hugely padded. Still a classic though." -- Raston (7/10)

"The best episode of the season, and only bettered by one other Pertwee story. I love almost everything about this story, including the way the Primords look. The scenes on the parralel Earth are excellent, and the regular UNIT actors give great performances as their darker alter egos." -- Paul Clement (10/10)

"I like it a lot, but it's always toited out as the best of the Pertwee era, but i disagree. In that sense, i find it a bit overated, & it strikes me that there's a lot more repitition of the same things happening over again than there is in 'The Silurians'. However, it's undoubtedly a good one nevertheless, but the weakest of the season, for me. " -- Inferno (8.5/10)

"Beautifully doomy and stark, again has some excellent action, although drags a bit on occasion." -- Logo Polish (7/10)

"I love this one. A couple of cracking cliffhangers, and finally a chance for some real doom and gloom when the world actually is experiencing a cataclysm with no magic solution at hand (RTD take note!). Episodes 5 and 6 are pure gold, as the characters deal with their world ending and ultimately help the Doctor because, well, what else can they do? Brilliant, and the location filming absolutely makes this story." -- Jason Thompson (10/10)

"Truly a masterpiece of the show, Jon gives a sparkling performance and the dual world storyline is totally inspired. It's thick with atmosphere with that relentless drilling...the Primord masks confirm this is Sci-fi on a BBC budget but you know thats one reason why I love the whole series.... a worthy 10/10!" -- Ralph

"Another cracker of a story. Of course it's padded, but if only padding was always as entertaining as it is here...I'm not overly keen on the Primords, though...good idea, but I'm just not totally convinced with their realisation on screen. A minor quibble in an excellent story, though." -- MacNimon (9/10)

"Wonderfully dramatic towards the end, but watch, say, episode 2 in isolation and try to remember why this is one of your favourites. It's not easy... would score a 10 if only they tarted up the HOUR before we reach the non-boring universe..." -- Ssarl (8/10)

"Probably my favourite story from the classic series, not much I can say that hasnt already been said, but the sheer tension that builds up throughout the story is amazing, and like all of season seven, theres not a bad performance to be seen." -- Martin Penny (10/10)

Spearhead from Space

"Shot entirely on film, so it looks kind of good, but the sound is abysmal so the ‘more expensive’ look is undermined entirely and it ends up like a cheap documentary style thing. The Autons are nice and scary, but the whole thing seems to lack pace when I watch it. Its one iconic moment is justifiably lauded, but the remaining 95 minutes is decidedly average." -- Jason Thompson (5/10)

"The best opening Doctor story there is, and it produced an excellent enemy in the Autons/Nestene Conciousness too. When you add the return of UNIT to the mix, it makes for a craking opening episode." -- Paul Clement (8/10)

"My favourite 'new Doctor' story, I can't find fault with it. The performances are perfect, from the creepy Channing to the paralysed with fear Ransome. Pertwee is great, not quite the miserable git he was in some of the later stories, and the Autons are truly scary monsters." -- Martin Penny (10/10)

"Second best "first" story after the glorious Power. I can trot out the usual cliches such as being shot on film and on location benefitting it, whole new cast of regulars, UNIT at their best in this season and so on, but let's add the characters of Sam and Meg Seeley and the legendary Talfryn Thomas! Rose did the shop window scene better though!" -- Jonno Simmons (8/10)

"The slight problem I have with watching this story is that (a) I've seen it so many times and (b) it's incredibly nostalgic. Thus whenever I watch it I can't really appreciate just how good it is. Saying that, after some thought about the story itself, I've given it a good score." -- Antony Cox (9/10)

"No matter what the brilliant RTD does in the new series, somebody has always done it first. Spearhead is the first 'reinvention' of the show, and its done with style, confidence, wit, style, excitement, and did I mention style. Bob Holmes almost lazily reboots the show for its new format, and if ever a BBC strike did the show a favour it was here when it forced the first Pertwee story to be an all-film spectacular. Pertwee is in fine form, and rewatching it recently reminded me just how much I loved this one when I first got it on video - the Delphon nonsense, and his apparent genius when talking about polymer chains are a delight." -- Andrew Curnow (10/10)

"The Autons are great, Pertwee is on fine form and the 'crashing out of show windows' scene is wonderfully done. It's just a shame the rest of the story is disappointing...." -- Phillip Culley (7/10)

The Ambassadors of Death

"It's so brilliantly insane. It's paddelicious, but this time around this ENHANCES the story. The picture format changes constantly, there's lots of great action sequences that don't strictly need to be there, it has Liz in a Hat, lots of completely bonkers sideplots like the humans being convinced they're watching football in space, and Cyril Shaps meeting a truly eeevil demise. And UNIT only occassionally looks blatantly incompetent, mostly it's actually about the skill behind the conspiracy launched against them. " -- Ssarl (10/10)

"Overpadded to the extreme, it has a fantastic first episode with the warehouse fight and the Doctor parading around the base while whatshisface with no emotions looks mildly shocked. Plus it has Cyril Shaps as a nervous scientist, and some great villains and an outrageous hat. But it's far too long, and with all those episodes, it's still not all over by the end!"
-- Martin Penny (6/10)

"With most of this only existing in b&w, combined with the mystery of what's happened to the Mars Probe, this is the Doctor Who story which most feels like a Quatermass story, to me. Not that that's a bad thing! It wouldn't bother me to always watch this story in b&w! I love the title sequence here as well!" -- MacNimon (9/10)

"Best of the 70's who tales. Action and an intelligent story with lots of good set pieces and interesting interchanges. I loves it." -- Raston (10/10)

"This one is a real drag. There's an average four parter hiding in here somewhere, but the padding really gets on my nerves leaving me feeling cold to the whole story." -- Paul Clement (5/10)

"The only 7-parter here that is padded & obviously suffered from having too many rewrites/different writers. All a bit confusing to follow, but has some nice moments, especially the Liz cliffhanger. And it has Cyril Shaps too!"
-- Jonno Simmons (6/10)

"Perhaps a little bit of War Games syndrome iwith the middle of capture,escape, recapture but still enjoy it nonetheless. Isn't that UNIT battle amazing, the Brig looks like he's in an episode of the Sweeney. What struck me in watching it in 2004 was the adult style of the show and I love the incidental music, which is a joy to behold in itself." -- Ralph (8/10)

"A great story and one of the most adult Who stories the original series ever produced. It is a little padded in the middle but I don't feel it actually detracts from the story, more that it heightens the tension." -- Antony Cox (8/10)

Doctor Who and the Silurians

"Similar to above, & this is actually my favourite of the season, & i strongly disagree with Ant when he says that 'there's not really enough there to draw it out to 7 episodes'. IMO, it's an excellent story which builds & actually goes somewhere with plenty happening along the way. The accusations of padding that are thrown at some of the longer stories is true in some cases, but certainly not of The Silurians. There's nothing that happens for no good reason in this story infact, if you take note,it cuts from scene to scene quite fast. Yes it's a long story, but it's perfectly executed with no protracted scenes. First there's the mystery of power losses, & Quinn & the caves. Then there's the Silurian (although we don't know at that point exactly what it is), on the loose in the countryside. We are kept in suspense for a while before actually see a Silurian, & then after the Doctor 'discovers' them, there is infighting between the old leader & young upstart, who eventually unleashes a deadly virus onto humanity. Before you know it you're five episodes in, & there's still more to come after the Doctor thwarts the young Silurians plan, & they have to invade the base themselves in a bid to destroy the Van Allen Belt. To me, the whole thing happens at a fairly fast pace for 7 episodes. I personally don't find this one padded at all. 'Inferno' seems more padded to me than 'Silurians'." -- Wayne Jefferies (10/10)

"The dullest doctor who story ever made, is it 7 episodes long or seven months?" -- Raston (2/10)

"Would have been 8, but for the length. That said, one of the last stories where the plot benefits from being told at a gentle pace. Cleverly thought-out monsters." -- Stuart Wallis (7/10)

"Another one of my favourite stories, but it loses a point from me as well for being just a little bit long. 6 episodes would probably have been perfect." -- MacNimon (7/10)

"I first saw this properly in 2004 and I really loved, the atmosphere builds up nicely and what a fabulous ending. I don't have an issue with padding on any of these stories as they were intended to be viewed on an episodic basis and in that format I think they're a joy to watch. Great stuff and am I correct to assume this was Bessie's first outing?" -- Ralph (9.5/10)

"It is too long, but at least it is well-constructed with it. All the guest cast are excellent, and this is one of the few attempts to portray an alien race rather than a bunch of identical monsters who all have the same goal, and as such deserves recognition for that alone. The friction between the Doctor and the Brigadier is a stroke of genius, and it’s a shame the Brig was rather too quickly demoted to the Doctor’s sidekick, completely at a loss until the Doctor tells him how to proceed. The ending is a nice concept but falls a bit flat in delivery if you ask me." -- Jason Thompson (7/10)

last updated 10th March 2007
return to the Into The Vortex Index