PS Creativity > Reviews > Into The Vortex > Season Seventeen

A clear winner this time round - City of Death remains a fan favourite, putting it firmly in our overall top ten! The return of Davros and
his Daleks makes a good impression, and even the incomplete Shada beats two transmitted stories. Victoria Burgoyne is happy!

>> Season Seventeen averages 6.67 out of 10 <<

Some comments from a few members...

City Of Death (aka "What a wonderful butler, he's so violent!")

"Absolutely wonderful, with one of thosewonderfully witty scripts.. Long shots of the Doctor and Romana running through Paris should be very dull, but somehow it works, with the incidental music at it's peak." -- Phillip Culley (10/10)

"City of Death has a lot to like, the gorgeous incidental score, the Paris location filming, John Cleese's cameo, the TARDIS in the art gallery, the excellent cliffhangers (ep 2 particularly), THIS IS A FAKE in felt tip etc... fab stuff." -- Pip Madeley (9/10)

"Fantastic story, brilliantly acted with all the main cast evidently having so much fun, and the wonderful Tom Chadbon as Duggan, what a brilliant companion he'd have made - I just love his "if it moves, thump it" attitude." -- Larry (8/10)

"Well, i said it all before, really...Season 17 was Who as student comedy sci-fi, but fortunately "City" avoids the excesses of the later stories by being very intelligent and exceptionally witty. It also has one of the great Doctor and companion combinations and comes across as an odd mesh of slightly screwball comedy and movie standard epic. An anomaly perhaps, but a great one. If only it had K9 and the Tardis console room in it- then it'd be near perfect! Still not sure about the latex mask/Jagaroth head though. That gets tackier with every new viewing. But once again you do tend to over criticise the ones you love... although I do like a lot of tacky shit." -- Carol Baynes (8/10)

"Smug, up its arse and very annoying to watch. This would be a great story if it was not for all the swaggering about and 'cool' lines. A very good example of how not to make doctor who." Raston -- (1/10)

"Believe me, i've tried to see what everyone seems to see in this story; I've watched it 4 times now, But whilst it's far from being the worst Who story ever, IMO it's certainly one of the most overated. I just don't see what's so great about it. It's an average story, & it loses a further point for me because i don't care for Tom's portrayal all that much, & the Doctor & Romana are so excruciatingly smug & self-satisfied. I much prefer the slight edge between the Doctor & Romana 1 of the previous season." -- Wayne Jefferies (4/10)

"The best ever. From the location work in Paris to Dudley's superb score, this is the ONE for me. There's so much to love - the witty script, the Jagaroth ship, super model work, the iconic mask, Julian Glover being cool... I could go on all day. I'm only awarding two tens in the whole of the poll, just so you know how highly I think of it!" -- Si Hart (10/10)

""It must be 10/10 Skaroth, it must be!"
"Negative, 10/10 is too severe."
"Skaroth! Skaroth! The fate of the Jaggeroth is in your hands! 10/10!"
"But what will happen if...?!"
Boom."
-- Rob McCow (10/10)

Destiny of the Daleks (aka "Scissors beats paper, ha!")

"Very enjoyable, and Gooderson isn't as bad as he's made out to be (I prefer him to Molloy). Plus we get a new ROmoan played by the lovely Lalla - hurrah!" -- Phillip Culley (8/10)

"Nothing special. Anyone coming in and attempting to fill Michael Wisher's shoes/novelty bath chair was going to have a hard job, but David Gooderson isn't really up to it. The general atmosphere is actually pretty gritty, but the story isn't much more than a bit of a runaround." -- Stuart Wallis (4.5/10)

"I've never really been a fan of Destiny. All I could really think of at the time of it's original broadcast was how poor the show had become compared with a few years previously, and for the first time I seriously wondered about the series future. At that point, I wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest if the BBC had announced that the series was to be axed... in fact, at that time I couldn't even see them allowing Tom to regenerate into someone else, things had dropped so low imo. The story, admittedly, has grown on me a bit over the years but whenever I watch it I just can't forget that ominous feeling."
-- MacNimon (6/10)

"Nothing epitomises Graham Williams and Douglas Adams combined approach quite like “Destiny of the Daleks”. The Daleks are reduced to loud robots (although that was in Nations’ script admittedly, and is never explained), there’s at least one ill-advised laugh at their expense and there are “Hitch Hikers’ guide to the galaxy” in-jokes and a whole scene that demystifies and reinvents the idea of regeneration (although it’s never been referred back to since). K9 has laryngitis too. It has battered looking Daleks, a rushed and cheap feel to many scenes and almost unforgivable goofs ruining the overall quality. Studio lamps in an abandoned Dalek city? Dalek tops that almost fall off! A race of robots who look like Boney-M, and who have a spaceship that looks like a cross between a Habitat shop and a car show room reception ! It really sounds like the biggest heap of shit that Williams foisted on our screens… but it’s not! After watching two seasons I was a young fan in 1979, and I was finally to see the Daleks on TV for the FIRST time! The impact of the first cliffhanger still sticks in my mind as the whole family jumped. The atmosphere in that first episode is enough to earn it a 10, I should say. Lalla Ward is charming and marvellous, K9 gets a nice cameo, Tom is wonderfully engaging and the whole new planet is just the best kind of mysterious…where are they? Where are the Daleks?? Who are the new arrivals?? It keeps you watching. And..and...I'm not finished yet...DO NOT REMOVE YOUR HAND FROM THE SENSOR!!!" -- Carol Baynes (10/10)

There are some awful performances here and there, and the effects sometimes look far cheaper than they probably did in ’79, but this is such an engaging and quintessentially late-period Tom story that I fell in love with it despite it’s failings. You do criticise the ones you love after all! David Gooderson is ok too and Ken Grieve’s direction is inspired.

Boosted by nostalgia perhaps, but it’s a powerful stone blunts scissors!

"A real let down as far as the Daleks are concerned (start of a big decline), and David Gooderson's Davros is a big disappointment. But like the rest of this season, it's lifted by some lovely dialogue and moments with the Doctor and Romana." -- Pip Madeley (6/10)

"By far & away the best of the season for me. It's true that Gooderson's Davros isn't that bad, but after Michael Wisher's original, it still pales somewhat..... I love the Daleks' entrance at the end of Ep.1 though. It's my fave bit of the whole season! 'SPACK OFF!" -- Wayne Jefferies (8/10)

"Nicely directed, atmospheric, intriguing, always quite liked the Movellans and even Gooderson's Davros." -- Logo Polish (10/10)

"The best story since Fang Rock. I remember it very well as it had been 5 long years since the Daleks last appeared and when you're growing up that seems like an eternity. Like Wayne I love the scene where the Daleks crash through the wall - it's a classic moment." -- Ralph (8.5/10)

"My first, and so it automatically gets a high mark! There's much to love - firstly it's astonishingly well directed - hand held stuff lends it a creepiness and the location work is well executed. Yes the Daleks look battered, but they look far worse in Resurrection, and yes there might be more "funny bits" but watch Tom, he's playing it straight for the most part. Oh, and the Movellan ship is ever so cool!" -- Si Hart (9/10)

"Lots of Jokes, shame none of them are funny. The production values are shocking, total waste of a dalek story. Davros was also very miscast in this one." -- Raston (1/10)

"All the complaints about this story would have been solved if the budget had been doubled." -- Rob McCow (8/10)

"Certainly not the best Dalek story, but it ain't the worst either. Yes, there are a few plot holes in it, like who built the Movellans. Gooderson is the only let down and and is a poor substitute for Wisher. But the Daleks crashing through the wall and Davros coming back to life are IMO among the best cliffhangers." -- Larry (8/10)

Nightmare of Eden (aka "My arms! My legs! My everything!")

"The one thing that really stands out in this story is the Doctor's restrained fury when Tryst tries to justify himself him at the end, which is very out of place compared to the rest of the season. And yes, the CET machine is the same as the Miniscope, but so what?" -- Phillip Culley (9/10)

"I saw this for the first time only a couple of years or so back, & i thought it was dreadful. Suffice to say, i've never had the desire to give it a second viewing..." -- Wayne Jefferies (2/10)

"This story was good with such a strong idea behind it, the production values are lacking but can be forgiven. But Tom Baker ruins what could have been a classic-he gives the most lazy performance of any actor i have ever seen, and the eventual 'my arms, my legs, my everything' line just shows that tom needed to be taken down a peg or two." -- Raston (4/10)

"Nightmare Of Eden was the first story of the season that I actually enjoyed. Whether I had finally adjusted to the more pantomime style of the show by now, or whether it was simply a story that I enjoyed, I at least felt that the series was showing improvement." -- MacNimon (8/10)

"How appropriately named! This isn't Doctor Who this is RentaGhost!" -- Ralph (3/10)

"Shoddily made and there are moments that are pretty poor, but I love it! The concepts at play here are big ones, and the drugs plot is well treated. Yes the Mandrells look a bit poor, but at the time I was scared of them! I love the CET machine leaving holes on other planets!" -- Si Hart (9/10)

"A clever idea that largely does work. I sometimes wonder how such a serious story made it into the programme, at least within an era outside the Barry Letts period. Not sure about the Mandrels, with the series' oddest feet since the Sensorites, and certainly not sure about a certain accent, but still pretty good." -- Stuart Wallis (7.5/10)

"Nightmare of Eden is a fantastic script (I love the quite dark drugs theme) let down by an awful guest cast (Della, hammy scientist, David Daker, comedy guards in highly embarrassing uniforms etc), and the Mandrels are only marginally better than the Nimon as far as monster costumes go. Episode three's cliffhanger is marvellous, though, and once again, Tom Baker saves the day and earns it a respectable score." -- Pip Madeley (7.5/10)

"Is it so bad it's good? There are a lot of good elements to it and it certainly isn't dull. Funny, brilliant, bonkers, it's the template for the new series! The only difference is that in Nightmare of Eden, it all looks very cheap." -- Rob McCow (9/10)

Shada (aka "Shaaaaaaaaaadaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... shush!")

"Probably the weakest of the season- even unfinished it seems to meander around. Lalla looks a bit uninterested, which is unusual. It's difficult to judge whether the whole would have been good, but I do enjoy it." -- Si Hart (7/10)

"What's there is promising. Christopher Neame is a great bad guy, although a bit similar to Julian Glover (oddly). The Kraags are terrible, but they seem to play a minor role in the proceedings. I'd love to have seen how they would have staged the battle of wills on Shada in the end, with all the villains facing off against each other" -- Rob McCow (8/10)

"Shada is a real lost gem, in my opinion. I love what they filmed, and I think I'd love what they didn't film. This is how I liked Tom Baker's Doctor, and Douglas Adams' script is fun and inventive - I liked it so much I went on a location hunt in Cambridge four years ago, I think that says a lot... I was so upset when I realised it was incomplete. I cried a lot. We all cried..." -- Pip Madeley (8/10)

"They must have seen sense and stopped making it because it was so bad. Adams can write good Who and very clever enjoyable TV, but for some reason falls so very very short this entire season. Just as well he moved on!" -- Raston (1/10)

The Creature from the Pit (Lady Adrasta calls it "The Pit")

"David Brierly's first 'appearance' as K9's new camp voice is disappointing compared to Leeson's previous voice. Still, alien fellatio aside this is another enjoyable story, although probably the poorest of the completed stories this season." -- Phillip Culley (7/10)

"The fall in quality is just so marked here - it's just so awful - I don't know why they bothered?" -- Ralph (3/10)

"Creature from the Pit is again, like Destiny, rather run of the mill, with Tom Baker's performance (and Douglas Adams' influence) making it much more watchable than it should be. There's some nice TARDIS scenes though, but the giant penis-esque blob doesn't do it any favours." -- Pip Madeley (5/10)

"It's enjoyable enough despite the worst efforts of the silly hirsute men, and the awful new K9 voice - it also finishes too early in the last part and the rest is a bit of an anti-climax. Bonus point for Lady Adrasta - one of the great villainesses in the show's history." -- Jonno Simmons (6.5/10)

"Oh dear... Cut-price Fagins, a monster that would justifiably make Mrs. Whitehouse faint, an ending that would make Jason throw a brick at the telly (Impossible Planet snr.!), the illogical ending to episode one... A clever idea, and a point for Geoffrey Bayldon, but there's so much that doesn't work." -- Stuart Wallis (3/10)

"Poor but had an interesting idea behind it, erato was stupid and the ending was a bit of a let down. There are also some very miscast actors in this story. It drags a bit as well." -- Raston (2/10)

"Bit self-indulgent in places, and the story doesn't quite last the distance but mostly enjoyable, and I don't even mind Erato - it's meant to look like a blob, so works for me." -- Logo Polish (7/10)

"As a friend of mine remarked 'It's complete b***ocks, but I'm really enjoying it!'" -- Rob McCow (9/10)

The Horns of Nimon (aka "You are dooooomed... DOOOOOOOOOOMED!")

"The most embarrassing and worst doctor who story made in any media. This is exactly the stort of thing people talk about when they 'remember' classic who as being rubbish. Nothing going for it-the comedy is so forced and never remotely funny, a bit of canned laughter might have saved it at least it could be classed as experimental or something! The sets are pathetic, the performances are dreadful at best and the dialogue is worse than the most anal fanboys 'masterpeice'. This story is probably the worst 100 minutes of TV i have ever seen." -- Raston (0.1/10)

"Horns Of Nimon saw the series take a turn for the worse again. It brought all those feelings of dread back again, and I was glad to find that this season finished surprisingly early. I didn't know about Shada at the time..." -- MacNimon (6/10)

"Horns of Nimon is very similar to Eden - it'd get a 4 or a 5 normally, but I love the Fourth Doctor when he's this eccentric, and there's much enjoyment to be had from Graham Crowden's Soldeed - "LORD NIIIIIIIMOOOOOOOON!". Also, more TARDIS fun." -- Pip Madeley (6/10)

"By this point I'd just had enough!" -- Ralph (3/10)

"A pantomime episode shown during the pantomime season. And I love it to pieces. Romana gets one of her best outfits, and Soldeed is one of the most over the top villians. " -- Phillip Culley (9/10)

"I don't get fandom, sometimes. If there's one story that universally gets fun poked at it, it's this one. Yet it's far from the worst story of this era, if you ask me. Yes, Graham Crowden's silly, OTT Soldeed is well deserved as a prime example of sheer naffness, but otherwise i don't mind it, & i actually think the Nimon themselves are rather good!" -- Wayne (6.5/10)

"Reasonably straightforward plot, but often tacky & overplayed, although Lalla Ward is fab in this one." -- Logo Polish (6/10)

"Perhaps the epitome of the season's approach to Doctor Who- people love it or hate and personally I find it makes me smile every time. Silly, funny, and enjoyable Doctor Who. I don't see why the show has to always take itself seriously."
-- Si Hart (9/10)

"I really do struggle to find something good to say about this one. I like the Nimon voices, and the scenes with Sezom and Romana, but the acting is so OTT or non-existant, depending on who's on-screen... Shame, because again there's a good idea gone to waste again." -- Stuart Wallis (2/10)

"This is a very, very special story."
"How many Nimons out of ten do you think this story will average?!"
"Threeeeeeeeeee!""
-- Rob McCow (10/10)

"Mainly notable for a great performance by Lalla, with her, as most reviewers point out, effectively being the Doctor in this story. I think the Nimon look fine, and never understand why they tend to get slated. But overall it's never going to be a particular favourite." -- Jonno Simmons (5.5/10)

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join in and have an absolutely fun time?! Flawed in all the right places- the abysmal acting of the guest cast is actually quite entertaining, and capped by a monster race that are equally inspired and dissapointing. Tom is all over the place with lunacy, K9 is camp and sarcastic and Lalla is marvellous (again). It generally looks fine too, and thres some nice effects work here and there. Fondly remembered from it's first transmission, it entertained by a couple of years ago, and you can't say fairer than that!" -- Carol Baynes (7/10)

last updated 6th April 2007
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