Four to Doomsday

Tegan wants to go home. She's been saying so since she walked into the TARDIS. Now that he's regenerated and well, the Doctor tries to take her back but the TARDIS is drawn instead to a space ship that is approaching Earth. The ship is operated by the benevolant Monarch, leader of the frog-like Urbankan race, and his two ministers, Enlightenment and Persuasion. Monarch's mission is one of peace, to find a new home for his people and live side by side with the human race, and to this end he has researched the cultures of the Earth on many of his visits to ensure all goes well. Naturally this is not his plan at all, and with a host of android servants and a supply of deadly poison Monarch intends to wipe out humanity and settle his people on Earth.

Well, it's not like we haven't heard this one before. The recycled plot of invasion under the guise of friendship has been going on for a long time, long enough to ensure that should any friendly aliens ever come to Earth we'll shoot them down in a second. Jay joined me for this viewing, and we set about enjoying the show as only we can; which is to say we talked through it.

"They don't look like frogs," Jay said when we finally met the Urbankans perched on their thrones. And he's right. They're just fat and green. And who knew that Tegan was such an artist when she draws pictures of fashionable clothes for Enlightenment to look at.

Here's a bit of continuity that puzzles me; exactly how many types of oxygen mask does the TARDIS have on board? Back in The Web Planet the Doctor and Ian ventured out onto Vortis using jackets that had oxygen compensators attached to the front. In The Moosbase the Doctor and company have full space suits and helmets and goggles. Now we have everyone kitted out in cumbersome helmets, as areas of Monarch's ship do not have life support. Pick one, I say. Just one.

Monarch's collection of humans on his ship failed to impress us, really. Well, okay we both noticed that two of the Roman gladiator types were hot but the rest.... not so believeable. The Greek guy who looked like Zeus was funny, especially when he casually swatted Nyssa aside. Oh and Adric, what a man how he stood up to him... and was ignored. Bigon has a lazy eye, we noticed that too, right when that interesting almost-sloppy wipe was done when he removed his own face to show that he was an andoid copy of himself with all of his personality downloaded and stored on a microchip. Which is, of course, what Monarch is after in his invasion. Because there is no silicon anywhere else in the universe. And notice how the Australian Aboriginie speaks his native tongue but only Tegan understands him... so much for the TARDIS' powers of translation.

Bottom line is I wasn't too keen on this one. We've seen all of this before in one place or another, and now we have the added burden of having a thin plot's dialogue stretched even thinner across four lead characters. Someone's gotta go.

NEXT EPISODE : KINDA