Doctor Who: Inferno

GOAT. Doctor Who really needs more Folk Horror! There's a generally creepy atmosphere throughout, save the UNIT sequences, which are incredibly "comfy" (i.e. a nice balance of humour, action and general endearment). The Master is used properly for the first time since The Mind of Evil and it's a nice change to have him feel out of his depth. It builds on his character and it adds a real fear factor to Azal (if the Master is scared, what does this mean for us?). There's a lot of interesting themes about the danger of ritual, village mentalities, fear, tradition and superstition. What's more impressive is that as a five parter, this story doesn't feel bloated or padded in the slightest, it moves at a brisk pace. Each character feels useful as well, which is a rarity for UNIT stories. If I were to criticise, it's largely to do with the context around the story. The soundtrack isn't great, although suppose that's a budget issue. It's another Master story, but to be honest it's the previous

It’s entertaining, but isn’t anything special. The problem is it feels like a repeat of what we’ve seen, even with The Doctor and The Master helping each other overcome a problem, also I feel The Master is being overused too early. The plot doesn’t really make a lot of sense, but there are interesting details within about Britain’s isolationism being a small-minded approach to global problems (rather apt in today’s climate) and the relationship between politics, the press and interest groups. The problem is these aspects aren’t fleshed out and the position of not trusting authority figures (rather than authorities themselves) has been rather obvious throughout all of the Pertwee era thus far. The set designs are good and the axos costumes are pretty impressive too. Delgardo and Pertwee are a delight to watch, even if the Master’s presence isn’t really needed in this story. I would reiterate that Jo Grant and the Doctor still haven’t quite found a balance, she seems to exist just so he

This is sort of like a rerun of The Dominators or the Krotons, but with a lot more left wing politics and as a consequence is only slightly better. It is still a lot of boring people on a quarry doing immoral things with robots (that, admittedly sounds odd). The story has too many parts, the politics is a bit on the nose (about the dangers of colonisation and the capitalist influences within). The Master didn't really need to be in this story, and it's rather tiring seeing him every story of season 8. It's the same scenes over and over again, the Master disguises himself as an authority figure and persuades the locals. The Master then asks the Doctor to join him and it's his hubris that is his undoing. Considering this is the first story that's on another planet after The War Games, it's criminally underused and dull. I did at least admire the fact this story had some political significance (even if it beats you over the head a bit) and the fact Jo is visiting another planet really add

Spectacular! Obviously there are the eco-friendly themes at the centre of the story (in particular an apparent anti-fracking message) and the standard mad scientist who values his work/money more than the safety of the people and the planet, yet it’s not tiring in the slightest. In large part, the parallel earth story is vital to this, with the key points about fascism and the irony that for a political system that prides itself on ‘efficiency’ it is the least efficient in dealing with the catastrophe at hand. It’s also clear that the cast thrived on being able to portray two different versions of their characters. It’s an uncharacteristically bleak story for this era too, which encourages a strong sense of horror and consistent tension throughout. The only major problem with this episode is that this story is an episode or two too long. You can tell this is a budgetary decision rather than an artistic one too, because many scenes are repeated (specifically the Doctor demanding the dri

It’s ok, not that great although if suffers from being the weakest story in a brilliant series. There’s some stuff to like in this, the Brigadier and the Doctor put in strong performances. Some of the sound tracking is terrific. The exterior shots are rather good and some of the action is enjoyable. Yet this story is tonally inconsistent, take the warehouse shootout in episode one for example. The Brigadier is calm collected and is pretty much a “badass”, yet there are comedy moments in the fight too. The actual plot, while including some interesting moral lessons, really drags. It’s about 2-3 parts too long. Yet with all this time Liz Shaw has very little to do as well. Some of the elements are becoming a bit familiar too (high level public servants are corrupt, scientist puts his work instead of ethics, capitalism is a corrupting influence) and they aren’t as executed as neatly as previous stories. Still some of the set design is good and this is the first story to properly use colou

Honestly surprised this story isn’t mentioned more, I thought it was rather terrific. The plot is essentially a mixture of James Bond, Quatermass and A Clockwork Orange, but oddly enough it works. The central mystery is gripping, the action is solid and the political aspects are intriguing (even if it’s needlessly complex and rather nonsensical towards the end). I do feel this story is one of the best uses of the Master, as he starts off in the background pulling the strings before becoming a integral part to the story, which seems more fitting to his character rather than being a full blown moustache twirling villain. Delgado is great once again, as is the wider ensemble of prisoners and UNIT soldiers (although Nicholas Courtney’s cockney accent is dreadful). As a smaller detail, I did admire the way in which the Doctor’s approach to the Chinese characters is contrasted to the British, where he’s represented as far more respectful compared to the pompous British establishment. I do fe

This is a very comfortable story. Roger Delgado steals pretty much every scene he’s in and is perfect casting to play the master. He has that rather collected and endearing charm that Pertwee has, but more of a sinister edge. I rather like the way the Autons are expanded upon in this story too, where they are no longer shop window dummies, but toys, phones and daffodils. It’s a terrifying concept, in fact the sequence where Jo is being suffocated by plastic is horrific by today’s standards, never mind that of 1971, that’s even before we get into Autons disguised as policemen. The plot isn’t particularly coherent though, as it is largely a means of just showcasing the Master, which I’m perfectly happy with. The set pieces are thrilling and the chemistry between Delgado and Pertwee is prevalent from the get go. I just wish that the Doctor’s and Jo’s relationship is stronger, in this episode it’s pretty much the Doctor patronising her as she fumbles around and makes mistakes.

A very enjoyable story. The BBC strikes oddly improved this episode as the entire thing is shot on film, this allows for higher quality images and for more dynamic cinematography. Factor in the fact this is the first colour episode and this becomes a visual feast. The negative of the strikes though is the sound quality is rather bad and you can a lot of scenes are all filmed in the same location. As a story it's quick paced, got sharp dialogue, strong themes about capitalism, a menacing villain in the form of the autons and a gripping tension both in narrative stakes and for revealing the Doctor... well it's Bob Holmes, so quality is expected. Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney bring a comforting and reassuring presence to their respective roles. Soundtrack is rather impressive too. To be negative, I feel the pace is a bit too fast, more effort in the sets/mise-en-scene was needed and the sound recording could have been better. But definitely a classic episode! Worth it just for the del