Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...
Day 651: The Twin Dilemma, Episode One
Dear diary,
I feel the need to open today’s post with a confession. I love The Twin Dilemma. I really do. When it first came out on DVD about five years ago, I dutifully picked it up on day of release, took it home and tried to prepare myself for what has consistently been voted the worst Doctor Who story of all time. It’s just a fact that we all know is true. They don’t come any worse than this. But then, the story played out, and I really enjoyed it! It’s bright, and bold, and colourful. It’s bombastic, and loud. Colin Baker hits the ground running just as well as Tom Baker did in Robot, and watching these four episode the first time round is one of the most enjoyable Doctor Who viewing experiences that I’ve ever had. That said, I’m not blind to the story’s faults (and there are many), but I think it’s probably key, in the ‘worst story of all time’, to look on the positive.
In today’s episode, the positive is almost certainly Colin Baker. I’ve already said how well he hits the ground running, and it’s worth repeating, because he’s fantastic in this one! Over the years, a reputation has built up to suggest that he was a rubbish actor, and thus the series went downhill when he appeared. No, sorry, that’s simply not true! He’s great, and I love the way that he’s playing the part here! There’s one moment in the episode where his performance does get incredibly hammy, but then it’s instantly cut through by Peri, and it’s supposed to have been so awful! It’s this exchange;
DOCTOR
Titan Three. Thou craggy knob, which swims upon the oceans of the firmament. Receive this weary penitent.
PERI
I think I'm going to be sick.
That’s just one of the moments that left me hooting loudly in front of the screen today. Having the Doctor and Peri trapped alone in the TARDIS for most of the episode means that we get plenty of time to watch them scope each other out post-regenration. Which brings me to the defining moment from today… the strangling incident. On the one hand, it’s probably not the best idea to show your new Doctor trying to strangle his companion in their first episode together. It’s not exactly the best way to endear the man to the audience. On the other hand, though, it does make a kind of narrative sense!
The Doctor’s fairly stable here, but he occasionally lapses into moments of insanity. During one of these, presumably, he remembers that of his last two companions, one was put aboard the TARDIS by the Black Guardian with a plan to kill the Doctor, and the other was in constant contact with his arch nemesis all along! No wonder the Doctor suddenly suspects that Peri could well be an alien spy - and with the Master’s penchant for disguises, anagrams, and games at this point, calling the spy ‘Peri’ as a nod to Persian mythology is just the kind of thing he would do!
I think where this starts to fall apart is that it’s over with almost instantly. The Doctor snaps, and tries to strangle his companion. She manages to repel him with his own reflection. The berates him briefly for trying to kill her… and then things just carry on as normal! Oh, sure, she’s not really very happy with him, but it’s as though we’re suddenly supposed to just think that they’re past that little misdemeanour. I think it’s something lacking in the scripting department - in the same way that it bothers me how quickly the Doctor decides to go and get changed. That could be fixed so easily, too: He asks Peri about his appearance, and then adds that the clothes are easily changed. All we need then is a line of the effect of ‘in fact, I’ll do so now!’
I’ll talk about the actual story of The Twin Dilemma, and the guest cast, over the next few days, because I fear I’ll not be able to be as glowing with praise as I am about other things in this episode, but I’d like to point out two things in this episode that are very well done, and might not crop up later in the tale. For a start, the model shots of the Freighter and the Police… vehicle, are fantastic. They’re some of the best models that we’ve had in the show. The surface of Titan 3 doesn’t look too shabby in model form, either! Then you’ve got the wreckage of the crashed spaceship, and it’s brilliant. I mean, really brilliant. By far, it’s the best thing they’ve created for this episode - it’s huge, and set in that landscape, I’m really impressed with it. I think it’s great that even a story which gets consistently voted the worst the programme has ever produced can have so many things to love about it - there’s something about Doctor Who that truly is special.
