Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...
Day 523: The Armageddon Factor, Episode Three
Dear diary,
I realised that Zios was being controlled by some kind of battle computer at - I think - exactly the moment you’re supposed to, when K9 first approaches the door to gain entry to the commander’s quarters. Before then, all his talk about him speaking to his own ‘kind’ had me wondering if K9 had been taken over by the Shadow’s forces, and ‘brainwashed’ in some way. As soon as it was revealed that I was right, and that everything was being controlled by that one central device, I loved it. A Cyber Planner in all but name, and a rather natty design, to boot!
That’s true for a lot of this serial, really. The design work is some of the best we’ve had since Ribos. There’s something very typically ‘late 1970s BBC science fiction’ about it (indeed, when Shapp first steps out of the transmit and draws his gun, I had an overwhelming sense that this, costumes, sets, props, and all, is exactly what I imagine Blake’s 7 to look like), but it all really works, and despite it occupying the end of season slot, it feels like some real budget has gone into this. We get the first model shots of ships in the story (and I’m surprised that they didn’t use the same model earlier in the story), and it’s an example of the programme doing a good job with them. Then you’ve got the set of that ship’s cockpit, and it might just be the best that we’ve ever been given. Shot from behind and in front, it looks great, and feels very ‘real’. I look forward to its inevitable destruction at some point in the future!
I think I’m also enjoying the fact that there’s a couple of stories going on at once in here, and they each feel like they’re being given equal weight. The first two episodes were very much focussed on the war between the two planets, and the Doctor getting caught up in it. As we move into this episode, we’re introduced to the Shadow, and there’s a great scene between him and the Doctor (more on which in a moment). It’s not long before they fade back into the shadows (me so funny!) again, and we’re back to the story of the war once again. I have no doubt that they’ll be tied together some more before the story is out, but I’m enjoying that they’re running separately for now. It feels as though the Doctor is off having his own side adventure all alone, while everyone else continues on with the main story, and I like that.
In yesterday’s episode, I praised the fact that Tom Baker seemed to be getting really into this story and giving it his all. I think, in hindsight, I may have played that card a little too early, because I want to say exactly the same for this episode, but perhaps even more so! It was during Planet of Evil that I first really saw that Tom Baker had ‘the Doctor’ in him, and it surfaces again here. I love his confrontation with the Shadow, flitting so perfectly between light and dark: it really is the best performance that Baker has given since at least The Talons of Weng-Chiang. I’m absolutely captivated by it, and that’s no bad thing!
We’ve hit the end of Baker’s fifth season with this story, and after this he officially enters into ‘longest serving Doctor’ territory. I’ve felt of late (especially throughout this Key to Time season) as though I’m tiring of the programme, and of the style it’s currently in. Stories like The Pirate Planet and The Power of Kroll are simply leaving me cold, and it feels like I’m running out of any interesting observations to make. A lot of the time, I’ve thought that Baker has been showing much of the same strain, so it’s really heartening to see him so back on form again here. I’m hoping that he carries this energy and enthusiasm with him into the next season, too, because it’s just the thing I need to reinvigorate my love for Who right now!
