Doctor Who: The Mutants (Story 63)

Very underrated 6-parter, on the evils of empires
Upon seeing the old bearded man running towards the screen through the mist and bushes at the onset of the story, no, it isn't the "It's..." man from Monty Python's first season. Rather, it's a mutant native of Solos, derogatorily called "Mutts" by the Marshal of Solos.

The appearance of a small sphere resembling a cross between a basketball and a coconut is a three-line whip from the Time Lords to the Doctor, a task that's an emergency. The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Jo to a Skybase hovering over Solos in the 30th century Earth Empire. "Once [Earth] sacked the solar system, they moved on to pastures new. Solos is one of them, one of the last [to gain independence]. Did you ever read Gibbons' Decline and Fall?... Empires rise and empires fall."

They instantly fall in trouble. The Marshal, the blustering, stout colonial ruler of Solos with piggish eyes and expression, is stunned to hear that Earth is finally giving Solos its independence...

"MUUUTT!!!!!!!"
This is one of the Third Doctor's best episodes!

It is an action-packed 6-parter from Pertwee's golden period.

An empire is in decay and a world is left ravaged by the evils of colonialism. The Doctor goes against the ruthless Marshal of the planet Solos and works to uncover the mystery behind the monstrous mutation of the Solonian people. The Marshall rules Solos from his orbiting Skybase and will stop at nothing to prevent the weary Earth Empire from retracting and granting Solos its independence.

Those who liked Colony in Space and Frontier in Space will enjoy this epic Doctor Who socio-political thriller.

Un-people Doing Un-things Un-together
This is an enjoyable story from the middle of the Pertwee era. While it is not highly regarded by many fans, I have always liked this story. The story basics are the Doctor receives an odd object, and tells Jo that it is an important message that must be delivered. Jo follows the Doctor into the TARDIS and they end up on an Earth Sky Base orbiting the planet Solos quite far in the future. The Earth Empire is declining - they can no longer afford to keep far-flung colonies such as Solos going, so control of Solos is being returned to native populations. Mucking things up are warring factions among the native populations, apparent mutations among the native population, the murder of an Earth government official, members of the Earth force that don't want to give up control of Solos, and atmospheric experiments to make the atmosphere breathable by humans.

This was done in the middle of Pertwee's 5-year stay in the role, and it shows. John Pertwee is very comfortable and...

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Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom (Story 85)

My second favorite from the Tom Baker Years
I have to admit that I'm partial to the Seeds of Doom because the fifth segment was the first episode of Dr. Who that I ever saw. I was only seven or eight at the time and the sight of evil, intergalactic plants taking over unwitting human beings was one of the most terrifying that I had ever seen. Well years later, the image isn't quite as scary but the story and the performances still hold up remarkably well as the Doctor (played here by Tom Baker) and Sarah Jane Smith (one of my favorite companions -- an opinion that is apparently shared by many fans) confront insane, plant-obsessed millionaire Harrison Chase (played to cold perfection -- and with an admirably serious air -- by Tony Beckley) and the evil alien fungus that he has unwittingly brought back to life. This seriel was written by a veteran of the Avengers and, as such, doesn't play so much as a traditional installment of Dr. Who but instead as an especially elaborate Avengers episode in which Patrick McNee has been...

As good as it gets
Is this the best episode of Baker's seven-year run as the Doctor? Quite possibly. Certainly it is up there with "Horror of Fang Rock" and "The Talons of Weng Chiang" on my list of personal favorites. All of the elements which made the series so good are here -- terrific chemistry, Gothic horror, campy dialogue, over the top villainy, and of course that all-purpose English manor, which appeared in about 17 episodes and which I think actually belonged to Mick Jagger (it gets blown up at the end, but that doesn't mean we've seen the last of it).

I have to say the criticisms of this episode that I've read seem silly to me. Bad special effects? When were the effects in this series ever good? In my view it has only two flaws -- it's too long to watch comfortably in one sitting and there are way too many escapes and recaptures, the Doctor & Sarah spend half the episode getting tied up and the other half escaping, and there is a ridiculous Dr. Evil moment where the...

"I could play all day in my green cathedral..."
Two alien plant plods are found frozen in the Antartic, and examining the pods might lead to the extinction of all animal life on earth. Like "Terror of the Zygons", Robert Banks Stewart dishes us out another masterpiece! There is an extreme urgency in this story to quell the problem, and keeps you the on edge throughout ALL six parts, an element missing in a majority of six-parters. Baker and Sladen are brilliant, Baker giving a dramaticperformance with hints of his own absurdity. Harrison Chase is an unforgettable character and is quite chilling! All actors involved give it their best. Some interesting video viuals are used for the Antartica location, really quite effective. Not only was the story influenced by "Day of Triffids", "Quatermass Experiment" and many others, it also echoes "Night of the Living Dead" as our heroes and outcasts nail and hammer themselves in Chase's mansion. A great way to end the season!

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