PS Creativity > Reviews > Into The Vortex > Season Eighteen

Tom bows out of the show after nearly seven years with style - not since season 14 have we had a season average over 7 out of 10.
The long-delayed story State of Decay turned out to be worth waiting for, with a perfect 8. JNT must've been doing something right!

>> Season Eighteen averages 7.21 out of 10 <<

Some comments from a few members...

I've never seen such a State of Decay!

"I'd give this story 9.5 just for the scene with Tom and Lalla locked in the cell together, because it's one of the loveliest scenes in the whole of Doctor Who and it always makes me smile. Smug? No, just in love and loved up. Fortunately the rest of the story is really good too!" -- Si Hart (9.5/10)

"Another excellent story. You can tell it was written for an older era in the show’s history, having said that it still works very well plonked down in season 18. I love the story line with the vampires all being crew of a spaceship living in a castle, which is the space ship. Of course the TV show will never compete with the Tom Baker narrated version – altogether now…..”The Doctor and his two friends, Romana and K9 were lost……….It wasn’t the first time this had happened, for the Doctor’s Time And Relative Dimensions In Space Machine, the TARDIS for short, was erratic to say the least... and now Si Hart will recite the rest of the audio version without making any mistakes (let’s wait for the ducklings round their mother bit)!!!" -- Andrew Clancy (9/10)

"It nearly got 8, but Si quotes this one round the house so much that I had to give it an extra mark." -- Rob McCow (9/10)

"Moody, gorgeous, atmospheric... But it loses it somewhat partway through. Episodes 1 & particularly 2 are two of the finest ever episodes, but the rest of the story is far more pedestrian, and I always hate it when the Doctor nips back to the TARDIS to pad the story out. Plus whoever plays Aukon pitches his performance too far OTT - it doesn't work, for me, anywhere near as well as Crowden the year before. But the direction and the feel of the piece holds it together more or less."
-- Andrew Curnow (7/10)

"Uncle Terrance prove once again just why he is a true master of writing Doctor Who. It also makes a far far better stab at horror than the 'Hinchcliffe' era ever managed, it is also a nice contrast to the stories that bookend it-while still pushing a science theme." -- Raston (10/10)

"Who does vampires and does them well - a very atmospheric story - well suited to the winter transmission! Please RTD get Terrance on the new series!" -- Jonno Simmons (8/10)

"Very good story; enjoyed it. Good production values, decent direction and performances, some red hot K9 action too (I suspect Terrance liked K9, and scripted him quite well. He even ends the story in one piece and gets to shoot people and spout essential data. Result!). Adric is mildly annoying, but hey....what's new?! The bats are quite well inserted into the action, and the model ones don't look too awful (I've seen worse in Hammer films). Somenice atmosphere, although it's no where near as bloody or as scary as I would have made it (but it was family teatime fare, so I understand!) Some great ideas, like the castle being a spaceship and an all round welcome twist on the old vampire yarn. It actually feels like an odd, but welcome, combination of Philip Hinccliffe's era and Graham Williams'. Not keen on the music though- while the electronic scores are one of my fond memories of season 18 (and I still enjoy hearing them today), I do think Dudley Simpson was missed here. A more traditional score could have really added to the atmosphere. All the same" -- Carol Baynes (8/10)

"This one is quite an engaging view and is the last gasp of the Tom era." -- Ralph (7/10)

"Doctor Who does vampires. Not brilliantly either. It’s OK, but not a great tale. K-9 gets used for the very reason JN-T wanted shot of him. The Doctor goes back to the TARDIS to find the plot of the story." -- Jason Thompson (6/10)

Tell Dexeter... we've come Full Circle. Oh, and tell him to feed the cat.

"I've come to enjoy this one a lot more recently - the music is lovely and Adric isn't that annoying. Yet."
-- Phillip Culley (8/10)

"Simply for the frightened marsh child on the operating table and Draith being drowned being the last moments in Doctor Who to frighten me. The Marshmen aren't too bad either." -- Stuart Wallis (8/10)

"Slightly weird and full of suspense, this was the point where season 18 really hit the ground running. A personal favourite! The cave scene with the spiders still excites and scares the kid inside. Also, you have to rate the cliffhanger to part one. Plus Tom's Doctor doesn't seem to know what's going on half the time and the other regulars end up possessed or with a head missing. A very good story, too often overlooked in favour of the convoluted season climax." -- Carol Baynes (10/10)

"Adric comes on board - the final nail in the coffin of the Golden Era." -- Ralph (5/10)

"It's just sublime. Music, plotting, direction, monsters, moments - it's one of the all-time greats, even down to three stonking cliffhangers. Tom is, as Si rightly says, at his very best. If you don't like it, fair enough, but I think it's one of Doctor Who's real gems." -- Andrew Curnow (10/10)

"Much better. The spiders are shite, but the rest is good. Nice touches like the revelation that the monster is actually a child being given to us in a throwaway aside (‘How odd, I usually get on so well with children.’), and the Doctor’s rage at the experiment on the marsh-child and the Deciders’ lack of action. Good stuff. And Adric doesn’t seem too bad here. Still, would anyone else have preferred Varsh to have joined?" -- Jason Thompson (8/10)

"I’m also devoid of a copy of this, but my memories of it are wholly positive, so I’ve given it a reasonable score which would probably be even better if I could watch it again!" -- Rob McCow (7/10)

"Tom gives one of his best ever performances in this one- ranging from the world weary early scenes, to glee and moral righteous indignation and he's a joy to watch,. Lalla is magnificent at being possessed and her screm in part 3's operation scene is one of the most gut wrenching ever. Episode 1's cliffhanger has the best ever monsters rising from the water cliffhanger and even the arrival Adric can't drag this down. One of my absolute favourite stories ever!" -- Si Hart (9.5/10)

"My favourite story since Fang Rock, this for me is where the JNT era really gets underway, complete with its lovely continuity touches. The Marshmen are a great creation, and all the cliffhangers are excellent, especially the first one. Loads of TARDIS action, good K9 stuff until he gets beheaded in an effective moment, and Tom at his best showing his empathy with the Marshchild, and his subsequent anger at the Deciders - the vivisection scene always sends a little chill down my spine."
-- Jonno Simmons (9/10)

The Keeper of Traken (aka "Old Bloke Sat In A Chair")

"Very, very dull. What a shame the momentous occasion of the return of the Master is tied in to this dross."
-- Phillip Culley (5/10)

"My least favourite of the season, but it's still pretty damn good. The Doctor and adric team works well, and it's lovely to see Ant Ainley not being the Master. The statue is a brilliant design, and is even better when we find out the Master is inside... but it just isn't as lovely as the rest of the season." -- Si Hart (7/10)

"Very underrated generally. This has so many good elements to it, including one of Roger Limb’s better scores. I particularly like the first cliffhanger too – simple but effective." -- Rob McCow (9/10)

"Its very brooding, something is up in paradise and baker manages to looking like a weary Doctor nearing the end, almost like the Doctor knows he is not long for the world, quite in keeping with the appearance of the watcher in the next episode. Nyssa shines, you can see why they added her to the TARDIS she is just wonderful. Tramas and later the master was such a clever twist, what a great bit of casting." -- Raston (10/10)

"Elegant, and delightful. The whole look and feel of Traken is beautifully designed, and there's a real sense of place to the story. It held my attention totally as a 9 year old, and I think it's terribly under-rated. And in those pre-spoiler days, those last moments were a total shock!" -- Andrew Curnow (8/10)

"What did they call Tremas when his wife died? The Weeper of Traken! Who's the laziest Consul? The Sleeper of Traken! How did they see that the Sanctum was invaded? With the Peepers of Traken! Why did Cassia ban VAT? To make it Cheaper On Traken! How did they cover up the swearing when they found out the Master had taken them for fools? With the Beeper of Traken! How did the Doctor sneak into the Consul Chamber? Using the Creeper of Traken! Who writes the most depressing poetry in the grove? The Larkin of Traken!" -- Rob McCow (8/10)

"I love this story. The design is fabulous, the plot good. The performances vary. I can see, for instance, why the production team wanted Sarah Sutton back, but Sheila Ruskin is very poor. It’s a shame the ending relies on so much meaningless technobabble, however. I think this story shows nicely how the humour should be done, not coming from pratfalls and silly lines, but here it just seems to fit better. A nice story." -- Jason Thompson (9/10)

Logopolis (aka "The one with the crap plan to flush the Master out")

"If this wasn't Tom Baker's last story, I can't help but think public opinion of it would sink. It wants to be epic (with the threat of the destruction of the universe), but this isn't really realised on screen." -- Phillip Culley (7/10)

"Best story of the season by far. There is a real sense of impending doom throughout Tom's thoughtful and brooding performance - a marked contrast to his manic season 12. Adric also had a pretty decent story just a shame about .Tegan"
-- Larry (8/10)

"I love Logopolis, but it’s really not all that interesting, is it? Christopher Bidmead had some ideas that interested him, but couldn’t seem to find a coherent plot to write around them so just shoehorned them in. All that stuff about the TARDIS within a TARDIS was just something he thought was interesting. Makes no sense, advances the plot not one bit, and he can’t think of a good way to get out of it so one set of doors just leads out the back of the TARDIS. If the Master so wanted to find out what was going on on Logopolis why didn’t he just go there? Why all that faffing around hitching a lift? And Logopolis itself is a huge disappointment. Tom Baker was leaving. Couldn’t they allocate some cash for the grand finale? Nope, we get a very cheap looking set indeed. But something makes it work for me when I watch it. The first toll of the cloister bell. The eerie music when the Watcher appears. The final moments on the scaffold. Shame Tom’s last line is bollocks though. But this is also not one I would ever show to a non-fan as an example of a great story, however much I love it." -- Jason Thompson (9/10)

"This will never look as good as it did to my younger eyes. It now looks cheap and bland and the science is confusing and fails to drive the story and is ironically mixed with very illogical and silly ideas. But still it captivates…some decent direction from peter Grimwade (wasn’t it?) and any dodgy performances are offset by Tom Baker’s final performance, which deserves a bit of extra praise…Basically, cometh the hour, cometh the man, and in 1981 the hour had finally dawned. After a season of uncertainty and my fear of losing a hero, in his dying days Tom Baker gave, in my opinion, some of the performances of his Dr. Who career. But my worry about Tom leaving aside, there was much to enjoy in 1981. It would have been so easy in those last serials to sleep walk through the scripts, but Tom looked fresh and invigorated, giving a performance that is interested and interesting. He plays a flawed Doctor who has, in The Master’s words, “been cut down to size”. His greatest enemy was never the Daleks for me, it was the dark reflection of himself, and The Master is that face in the mirror. I know how poorly the character has been portrayed from time to time, but in the closing serials of season 18 he is revealed as the ultimate evil- in control and charming when in the right body but utterly chaotic, mad and merciless when put under scrutiny (and without any pretence in “The Keeper of Traken”, stripped of a pleasing veneer and presented as a decaying husk).
The Doctor fears him, but more than that- he hates him. Only the Daleks get that reaction, and rarely quite the way Tom Baker gives in “Logopolis”. Our hero looks tired and physically sick when he has to shake his nemesis’ hand in reluctant allegiance, and will not tolerate being condescended by this “creature” later, in the radar dish control room, swiftly pulling aside from the Master’s provoking offer of a second handshake. He wants this man nowhere near him, if indeed he truly is a man of any kind. An heroic ending to an heroic reign." -- Carol Baynes (9/10)

"I did once say that The Myth Makers was the only Who story I couldn't find anything nice to say about. Now I think of it I'm hard-pressed to say much about Logopolis. A very tedious story, I don't feel the same sadness as most people do about Tom's farewell at the end. The regeneration is ho-hum, and only John Frazer and Anthony Ainley's performances stick out."
-- Stuart Wallis (1/10)

"It's cheap, but there's a magic in this for anyone of a certain age. Doomy atmosphere, wonderful music and the best ever regeneration. For a whole generation of fans, this is the end... but the moment has been prepared for." -- Si Hart (9.5/10)

"One of those stories which never has, and never will, lose its magic. Tom holds the attention throughout, and his riveting performance drives the story, keeping us on the edge of our seats as the universe literally falls apart around him. Knowing that the Doctor won't survive adds an extra edge to the story, and I don't really buy these arguments that the plot makes no sense. It's a lot more cogent than a lot of others, and why wouldn't flushing the Master out be a sensible option? It'll bring him out of hiding without killing him (unless the Master can't swim of course) and is something his enemy would never predict. If that's not a textbook description of a plan of the Doctor's then I don't know what is. The music, the performances, the dialogue, the feel, the sense of occasion, the real deal. It's a great moment for Who, whether 5 million or 50 million watched it, and, like Tom himself, it's absolutely adored here!" -- Andrew Curnow (10/10)

"My favourite ever Doctor Who story. I love the music, I love Tom Baker in this, I love the whole concept of CVEs and keeping entropy at bay. The idea of mathematics equalling structure (or whatever it is) it’s great. It really makes you think. OK I know some of the story looks pretty naff, but I can look past this as the performances are so good. As other have said the feeling of dread that runs through this is so real. It leads up to very good regeneration. The incidental music at the end matches the key of the theme music (mind you Paddy K uses the same trick at the start of Curnowvalva too – and it’s a different piece of music). All this plus Aunty Vanessa – what more could you want??" -- Andrew Clancy (10/10)

"I just can't get past what an utterly dull dull story this is to end Tom's tenure as the Doctor and when he finally regenerates it comes as a welcome relief. You need nostalgia big time to like this. It loses an extra couple of points because it was such a poor ending for the second best Doctor ever." -- Ralph (2/10)

Warriors' Gate (aka "What the bloody hell is this one all about?")

"Great! Weird, difficult perhaps, but ever so stylish. Peter Howell's eerie score matches the visuals wonderfully. We say goodbye to K9 and Romana and it's the end of an era for me and my favourite TARDIS crew. Nothing will ever be the same again." -- Si Hart (8/10)

"I applaud JN-T wanting to push the envelope, but this story is just so dull. It has such a slim plot, that you can sum it up by the fact that the Doctor spends episode 3 walking from A to B. It is a deceptive triumph of style over substance, and, on screen at least, lacks any real sense of tension, or threat, or direction. Plus I'm sure the director has missed the 'put your hands up' gag in part one, with Romana's signal to Adric. Take any moment in isolation and it looks beautiful - but as a whole, it's just a disappointment." -- Andrew Curnow (5/10)

"Sheer, sheer beauty and genius from start to finish. An intelligent and demanding script combines with sexy direction and quality acting to make something really special. Of course it was doomed to fail!" -- Rob McCow (10/10)

"Some marvellous ideas mixed with some genuinely surreal scary moments. This always sticks in my mind because it was very much the end of an era (I could go even further and say it coincided with the end of my childhood in a way, which would be very profound wouldn’t it!). The series had changed so much in a year and my favourite aspects were disappearing one by one. Goodbye Romana and K9!A very good story to see them off too. Utterly baffling and very odd of course, but I quite like that in ‘Doctor Who’ from time to time. A nice n ‘Wonderland’ type story in a way. Really need to see it again soon, as it’s been years." -- Carol Baynes (8/10)

"Doctor Who stories really do not come much better than this, its very clever, we see Time used very well and we have some very touching scenes and its a great way to see of one of the shows greatest ever companions, K9." -- Raston (10/10)

"Just couldn't take to this one at all - just found it dull I'm afraid." -- Ralph (4/10)

The Leisure Hive (aka "Kayyyy Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!")

"Not to everyone's taste, of coruse, but I love this story. The visuals are lovely and flashy and everything is shiney, colourful and new. The score is fantastic and episode 1 has my all time favourite cliffhanger. We're off to a great start! Oh and the sailor suit is the best costume a companion ever had!" -- Si Hart (9/10)

"No question, it looks very glossy, and I like it more than I used to. And David Fisher's part 3 cliffhanger is another great one. But so much of it is going too far in the direction of 'show not tell' so that we get absurdities like the scarf round the statue, and the scribbling on the TARDIS. Plus part 1's cliffhanger is deservedly well-remembered but just makes no sense. At the time I absolutely hated the fact that they'd changed the old titles and style, but I stuck with this story because the cliffhangers really did leave you wondering what would happen next. So I'm torn on this one - I don't hate it any more, but I can never quite love it." -- Andrew Curnow (6/10)

"So much has already been said about this landmark story, both positive and negative, that it’s difficult to add anything fresh. As with many Who stories, I tend not to notice plot holes, contradictions and anomalies if I’m enjoying the story, and this is certainly the case with TLH. It may well be style over substance, but if it is, then that’s how (and maybe even why) it works for me. I just love the glossy feel to it, and actually rather enjoy what’s going on too!" -- Jonno Simmons (8/10)

"Surely the ultimate Who example of style over substance? I do like the incidental music, reminiscent of Mars - Bringer of War as it is, and yes the first cliffhanger is excellent, but I'm afraid the story as a whole bores me and I find most of it incomprehensible. Even with the reduced episode lengths, it drags." -- Jonno Simmons (4/10)

"It is a clever script, some of it is not very well realised, but Tom and Lalla are both great. A real step up in Quality for Who, and a big chance from the very childish season 17." -- Raston (8/10)

"I only saw this when the DVD came out and I was very impressed indeed. Great production values and a great bit of entertainment." -- Ralph (8/10)

"If the previous season opener (“Destiny of the Daleks”) had the production values (and presumably budget) on display here, I think it’d be generally considered a classic. As it is, a far less exciting story is given a real sense of style. The thing is, it doesn’t engage me very much and I don’t find it much fun to watch. Some nice ideas in there and as a piece of science fiction it’s not bad. As a piece of television entertainment I find it lacking. Great new title sequence and theme music arrangement though. It was the beginning of a new era! Still, it bugs me how one of my favourite seasons starts with a serial I'm not too fond of (although bear in mind it doesn't have additional nostalgic appeal as I missed it on it's first transmission, as I was watching "Buck Rogers in the 25th century" on ITV! Beautifully directed though." -- Carol Baynes (5/10)

Meglos (aka "All praise be to Jacqueline Hill! ")

"Disregarding the silly idea that a cactus would take over the universe, this is enjoyable. And the accidentally tweaked version of the theme tune on Part Four works very well." -- Phillip Culley (7/10)

"Hmm. Distinctly uninteresting. Tom turns in a fine performance as Meglos. Other than that, I can’t see much to recommend here. " -- Jason Thompson (4/10)

"Who wants to disregard a cactus taking over the universe? It;s such a Doctor Who-ey idea and when Tom is Possessed by The Power of Meglos! it's brilliant make up. Lexa's Hat is Iconic... where did she get it from? IT DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENS of course!" -- Si Hart (8/10)

"Where did Lexa's hat come from? IT DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENS!!! Or have we had that joke? A hangover from Season 17, but without the conviction in the jokes. Takes itself too seriously. " -- Rob McCow (6/10)

"I think this is unfairly slated - I much prefer it to its predecessor, and if it had been in S17 I'm sure it would be praised more than it is here! I think it suffers from being an older-style story immediately after the brand new slick style. Great performance by Tom as Meglos, and more great incidental music." -- Jonno Simmons (6/10)

"Not quite as bad as some people think, but a bit of a stock standard story nevertheless, with similar acting from the Savants." -- Stuart Wallis (6.5/10)

"Its the weak story of the season, which is a shame because it probably would be better regarded if it had been in a normal season, rather than a great one." -- Raston (6/10)

"Part 2 was the first, and last, time I wilfully missed an episode of Who (watching Buck & Wilma instead). There's little nostalgia in this one, save for me and bruv being sure a Gallifrey story was up next at the end of part 4, and rewatching it on UK Gold showed it as actually a perfectly-adequate story, but with a rushed and scrappy final episode. Lalla looks lovely (why do we see so few photos of her buccanneer outfit?) and there are certain scenes (the 'struggle' between man and cactus, the scene where Meglos opens his hand) which are top-notch. Another tough one to call." -- Andrew Curnow (6/10)

last updated 6th April 2007
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