The Nightmare of Eden

Another distress call brings the TARDIS to the scene of a hyperspace collision between two spaceships over the planet Azure. The larger ship, a passenger liner named Empress, came out of its warp drive and partly materialized around a smaller ship, creating matter interface overlap zones throughout its decks. The Doctor has ideas about how to separate the ships but once he finds out that there are deadly drugs being smuggled on board Empress he finds his attentions are divided. To add to everyone's troubles, a prominent zoologist named Tryst has brought on board a machine he uses to capture and display rare animals and environments in a computerized dimensional matrix, and with the unstable matter zones all over the ship people can now walk into the projections, and monsters from the planet Eden can now walk out.

Fun. Many steps up from the previous adventure. And in a setting where K9 does not have to be left behind in the TARDIS until he is called for as a handy plot device. The captain of Empress is entirely believeable as a blue collar guy realizing he's in deep shit for this accident, and the merchant ship's captain, Dymond, also credible as the outraged independent guy being literally crushed by a big corporation. The shining star of the supporting cast has to be Tryst though, with his little glasses and German accent.

Effects wise we're not talking anything exceptional here but they crew did the best they can. The monsters, called Mandrels, aren't what I would call fierce, especially when the backs of some of the costumes can be seen unzipping as the actors shamble about the sets. They roar real good though. But if we want to talk about a stellar special effect look no further than the big honkin snot wad dribbling out of Tom Baker's nose just towards the end of part three (it's okay he snorts it back up) followed closely by Lalla Ward's dress making her arms disappear like a war amp when standing with them behind her back. I hated that dress. She's so fair that slate grey does nothing for her. Other visual giggle this time include the sequence where K9 cuts a hole in a wall "Big as you can" as the Doctor says, and it's hardly big enough to climb though. And the cutaway chunk wobbles dangerously as a set worker holds it in place before it is pulled away by the Doctor. Oh and K9 has a blue ray now! How about that!

So this is Doctor Who and its anti-drug message. The drug in question, vraxoin, is taken orally even though it is a powder. At least that's how we see it taken, even if by accident. It could immediately be likened to cociane or heroin but the effect of the drug is more alog the lines of what happens to people on E. Or was it called X back then? Either way, drugs bad. "There's always a choice," the Doctor says sombrely, so you know he's not going to exactly feel for you when you overdose. Of course the irony of this is that friends of mine have watched this one on 'shrooms. It's like eating a double quarter pounder with cheese while watching Super Size Me. I've done the latter.

Drugs bad. Doctor Who good.

NEXT EPISODE : THE HORNS OF NIMON