PS Creativity > Reviews > Into The Vortex > Season Fifteen

He thought he'd locked the enemy out. Instead, he'd locked the enemy in... with us. Ah well, could happen to anyone! Hinchliffe's
gone, Holmes is on his way, and season fifteen is significantly below the averages of the past three seasons. WE'RE DOOOOMED!

>> Season Fifteen averages 6.3 out of 10 <<

Some comments from a few members...

Horror of Fang Rock (aka the one with that slap)

"The last real classic of the Tom Baker era, imo. There are a few excellent stories still to come, but none quite reaches the heights of this. Great claustrophobic atmosphere here, and it 'feels' more like a Hinchcliffe story than it does a Williams story, at least compared to what was to come. The best story of the season." -- MacNimon (9/10)

"Uncle Terrance proves just how good a writer he is. Full of tension and a wonderful cast, it also proves just how wonderful a 'base under seige' story is. Baker is moody and Leela is very well used, a great start to a season." -- Raston (10/10)

"Like a hangover from the previous regime, this one just sets out to scare and does it with some panache. Tom's foul mood helps the atmosphere no end. Good story. " -- Si Hart (8/10)

"Only the glowing cabbage lets this down, and even then I’m always so engrossed in the atmosphere of the story that I hardly notice. Other than that, every aspect of the story is superb, and is one of the rare occasions when every character other than the Doctor & his companion die…" -- Ant Cox (9/10)

"Excellent - things were looking up for the new season with a story thick with atmosphere and mist. The "thing" as Ruben was far more effective than the thing itself though" -- Ralph (10/10)

"You couldn't ask for a better start to the season really. I'm very aware of how the story could have been better; sadly the realisation of the Rutan is the weak element in an otherwise sublime story. Paddy Russel and Tom Baker kicking off with each other must be a pre-requisite for good Who (see "Pyramids") as something certainly comes together. The lighthouse sets are exceptionally good (the fact they are not in a real Victorian lighthouse still astounds).For a studio bound production "Horror" manages to do some remarkable things, due to great sets, subtle lighting and marvellous direction. Tom is dark, moody and mesmerising and Leela just as captivating (this stoy belongs to Tom and Louise, as good as the supporting cast are). Robert Holmes is still script editor here, and it shows. One of my first full memories of Dr. Who too!" -- Carol Baynes (9/10)

"One of my all-time faves, probably Top 3, this is definitive Who for me - base under siege, historical setting, Leela and the 4th Doctor at their best, the latter all alien and moody. Let's get Terrance on the new series please! From Robots to Fang Rock, the greatest hat-trick of them all!" -- Jonno Simmons (10/10)

Image of the Fendahl (aka "Mankind Has Been Uuuuuuuuused!")

"Probably the last example of Philip Hinchliffe’s influence, and it’s all the better for it." -- Ant Cox (8/10)

"There's an uneasy jokiness about some of it, but the dramatic stuff is very tight indeed - Fendahlman's realisation and Stael's suicide in particular." -- Andrew Curnow (7/10)

"The last of the scary ones for me, though it was also the last complete new story I'd see until Leisure Hive, which felt like a totally different programme anyway! Good actors, good monsters (don't know why they often get rubbished actually) and a realistic Earthbound setting always goes down well with me." -- Jonno Simmons (8/10)

"Cows go moo. There were pats a pleanty, and they make a good metaphor for this steeming pile of it. Its boring, boring boring. Shame because Chris B was normally a decent interesting writer. " -- Raston (2/10)

"It must have got 10/10 through pure energy while the skull was restructuring Thea's brain." -- Rob McCow (10/10)

The Sun Makers (aka "The Taxman Cometh")

"Social commentry works well if it is clever and not too obvious. This fails on both those counts, it really deserves 3 points, but a corridor called P45, and the inner retunue lose it 2 of them. Holmes writes good action adventures, but fails at subtle stories every time through over use cliches or poor comedy-this has both in bucket loads." -- Raston (1/10)

"This is where it all starts to go wrong, as far as I'm concerned. One sub-standard story like this could be accepted, given the overall quality of the series since Tom Baker took over the role. But... " -- MacNimon (4/10)

"Drab. the set design suddenly nosedives, and everything looks cheap. The humour is ok, but its not quite as clever as people think it is. It feels like bad Blakes 7!" -- Si Hart (6/10)

"It should be perfectly good, but there's an air of crappiness about it. I did enjoy the good steaming, just not that much."
-- Rob McCow (6/10)

The Invisible Enemy (aka "The Invizible NME")

"I love Terrance Dicks' novelisation of this, and read it over and over as a kid. The book jogged my memories of seeing it a few years previously and I was convinced this was the golden age of Dr. Who. Sadly, I was out by a season or two. Eventually seeing it again in 2002 was a sobering experience, because it's ambition is never fully realised. Perhaps this was a learning curve for Graham Williams in his first year as producer, because several stories in season 15 have the same problem. The model work is very good, but is let down by ill advised shots of 'things on strings'. Some good shoot out battles, but they are let down by obviously pre-cut section sin walls being blown off. All very tacky and cheap really. It's all a lot of fun though, and the performances are generally excellent. Fred Jaeger is great as always (as Prof. Marunus). Michael Sheard was always an assett to any production, and it's no different here. K9 is a wlecome addition, although he's very much a sign of the times; I can't even imagine his involvement in the previous story (but diversity is one of Who's reason d'etres). Also, I found the idea of the 'possession' of the Nucleus quite disturbing as a child. the metallic rash doesn't look anywhere near as scary as it did back then, and the "Contact has been made!" exclamation is a little cornier to mature ears, but it's a good idea all round. The Nucleus is a prawn though, and the story could have been far more effective if it truly was an invisible enemy! Still good fun, with an odd mixture of mild scares and stinking cheese." -- Carol Baynes (6/10)

"Bad, bad, bad. Everything that usually misinformaed critics of the show say the whole series is: wobbly sets, dodgy effects, poor performances and a truly dire monster costume. Yuck. Only score more than 1 for Tom." -- Jason Thompson (2/10)

"I don't care about the dodgy production values, I really enjoy this story. It has Michael Sheard - great as both a good guy and a bad guy. It has K9. And it has Leela again well written for. It even has TARDIS scenes, and a new console room - a bit of a rarity at the time." -- Jonno Simmons (7.5/10)

The Invasion of Time (aka "When The Budget Ran Out")

"Utterly pointless runaround. Cheapens the impact of Gallifrey, and is just daft all round. The Sontarans were underused and then over used, and they manage to look awful in every scene. Leela and her stupid romance story just does not work!" -- Raston (1/10)

"I really like this one - mainly for the great performance by Tom, Borusa and his relationship with the Doctor, Leela's resourcefulness (love the scene where the Doctor locks her out of the TARDIS and even K9's head droops down) and plenty of K9 action - just a shame he's so noisy! Rodan's great too - I would have preferred to see her next season instead of Romana I. I don't even mind the runaround the TARDIS at the end!" -- Jonno Simmons (7.5/10)

"Apart from the cliff hanger to episode 4 - Invasion of Time is just bloody abysmal, the acting is awful, the sets especialy the TARDIS interior were cheap, and tacky looking and the Vardens as an enemy were just laughable and the tin foil embarrassing. Even Tom, apart from spending the whole story shouting at every body looks thoroughly bored with the whole thing." -- Larry (1/10)

"Love it. The last two episodes are a silly runaround, but the whole story is quite enjoyable. Tom turns in a truly great performace, and the cliffhanger to part 4 was never better decribed than by the DWM feature on cliffhangers back in the 90s, wherein they called it 'Doctor Who's definitive 'drop me bacon sandwich' moment'." -- Jason Thompson (8/10)

"The basic idea of the Doctor pretending to betray the Time Lords as a double cross is very good, and Tom Baker plays the role with aplomb. Add to that the twist of the Sontarans appearing when everyone thought the story was over is perfect. It's just a shame that the story doesn't live up to what we could have got." -- Phillip Culley (7/10)

"The first four episodes were reasonable, but it was a shame that the tale had to carry on after that; it would have got more otherwise. A lot of these two episodes, namely the running about in the TARDIS, was just the writers treading water due to being forced to write six episodes in a hurry." -- Stuart Wallis (4.5/10)

Underworld (aka "The Quest is the Quest!")

"Dire - easily the worst Tom for me. Actually, it gets the points for the first episode, which is fine, but the rest of it bores me silly. I can't watch it in one go, and even split in two it's a real chore. Totally forgettable - next! -- Jonno Simmons (2/10)

"Better than the Phantom Menace pound for pound. And what's with all the topping?" -- Rob McCow (6/10)

"Really dull! After that 8 weeks of dullness, we really needed something really gripping and exciting to grab our attention again. And what did we get?" -- MacNimon (3/10)

"Oh there are some sublime classical jokes in this, as well is an interesting take on the myths to tell a story. I also gave this some bonus points for being so very very creative and CSOing the sets-this is 'doctor who' doing what it does best pushing the boundaries-well done to all involved. K9 is well used, and Leela is on top form and even Tom looks like he is in a better mood." -- Raston (10/10)

"Interesting first episode but the rest is just awful - truly Tom's first real disaster of a story." -- Ralph Mitchell (2/10)

"Some bold conceptual work &the CSO's not that bad, but it's visually drab & often comes over as rushed or confused (hang on - a planet forming around some alien beings? Is this what really inspired The Runaway Bride?) -- Logo Polish (6/10)

"Well they tried and you can't fault the ambition if nothing else. A dull story that's badly made overall and commits the crime of being forgettable over anything else." -- Si Hart (5/10)

"Oh dear. I cannot watch this, it is so awful. Bravo for the experiment in CSO, but that doesn't alter the fact that the story is crap, and the performances are all pretty poor. I'll not be watching this one for years." -- Jason Thompson (1/10)

last updated 10th March 2007
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