Logopolis

Haunted by the reappearance of the Master, the Doctor decides to repair the faulty chameleon circuit on the TARDIS at last. When operating properly the circuit will allow the ship to change form and blend in with its surroundings, but to effect such a repair the Doctor must go to the planet of Logopolis, where pure math and logic are the guiding philosophies. Before going to Logopolis, though, the Doctor must measure a real police box, and in doing so his path crosses with air stewardess Tegan Jovanka and then with a mysterious white figure known as the Watcher, whose presence rattles the Doctor like nothing ever has before. Once on Logopolis, the Doctor realizes that the Master has followed him, and the Watcher has brought Nyssa of Traken with him. The Master's attempt to control the universe by exploting Logopolis backfires and the causal nexus itself begins to unravel; the maths of Logopolis were the only thing holding the eroding forces of entropy at bay and everything starts to crumble. Logopolis has served as the cornerstone of the universe for centuries, keeping the universe from collapsing by opening gateways to other universes like Adric's home of E-Space. The Doctor returns to Earth to stop the entroy field from expanding, but in a battle with the Master falls to what should be his death from a radio antenna, only to regenerate before the eyes of Adric, Tegan and Nyssa.

I do not think there has ever been a Doctor Who episode as complicated and downright depressing as this one. From the haunting incidental music to the gloomy archways of the TARDIS cloister room the feeling of impending doom is everywhere, heightened by Tom Baker's most grim performance ever. The Doctor cracks no jokes, snaps impatiently at his companions and resorts to an alliance with the Master. The first time I saw this back in the sixth grade I remember feeling gloomy through the whole thing, hating the Master, and then being so horribly shocked and almost moved to tears by the Doctor's sudden regeneration. I believe this was my Tenth Planet moment, much like when the fans in 1967 saw the very first regeneration; it came without warning and was in a way as if the Doctor had died right before me. In hindsight I should have been okay with it seeing as it had happened before and there was no cosmic law that Tom Baker was going to stay on the show forever, but after seeing the same face on the show for so many years, the change was a startling one.

This was also the first episode with the Master after his merge with Tremas in Keeper of Traken. With Anthony Ainley in the role the character was once more a stylish almost gentleman type with a nasty cold centre, even being so callous as to parade the stolen body of Tremas around in front of Nyssa. Sarah Sutton could have done a better job of showing anguish at seeing her dead father's body up and about and posessed, but I'm not sure Nyssa knew much about range of emotion.

Janet Fielding makes her debut appearance as Tegan Jovanka, going a little over the top some times on the Australian accent (were Aussies the "in" thing back then - I can't remember) but showing all the potential of a new companion. A bit loud, though. Like Sarah Jane Smith, Tegan is a contemporary character, meant to represent the viewers at home in this ship now filled with aliens; even though they're all humaoid, the Doctor is still a Time Lord, Nyssa is from Traken and Adric is annoying. I mean Alzarian. How does the new "family" function as a unit? It's a bit too soon to tell but Tegan bonds with Nyssa right away as the only girls in the show, but immediately seems to resent Adric as a younger boy seeming to hold his intelligence over her.

Of course, central to all of this is the Doctor's regeneration. What kind of man - indeed, WHO - will he be ...?

NEXT EPISODE : K9 AND COMPANY