Doctor Who: "Logopolis"

"It's the End...but the Moment Has Been Prepared For."

Let me start out with saying that this single story is probably the hardest one to review so far.

Logopolis is the second story in the "Return of the Master" trilogy, which brings back The Master, the arch enemy of the Doctor ever since the Pertwee Era.  This means that the impetus of this story (the Master's revenge) is lacking if you haven't seen "The Keeper of Traken," which I have not.   Add this to a story Tom Baker himself said "wasn't funny enough" or that doesn't make the slightest bit of sense, you have Logopolis.

And it doesn't make it easier that it's Tom Baker's last episode.  The final scenes of episode four boost this story much more than it needs to be.  But the lack of a reasonable plot and the biggest example of Who pseudo-science make this very painful to sit through, just to get to the fantastic ending.

Okay, the plot:  In "The Keeper of Traken," The Doctor and Adric go to Traken and confront the Master, who is seeking the Keepership to gain power.  This power allows him to take over the body of Tremas, a leader on Traken and father to Nyssa, who will eventually become one of the Fifth Doctor's companions.  The Doctor seemingly defeats the Master, and takes off....the Master, however, is still very much alive and takes off after him.

Now, "Logopolis."

The Doctor has finally gotten sick of riding around in a busted TARDIS stuck in the shape of a police box, due to a faulty Chameleon circuit.  After baffling Adric with his depression, the Doctor decides it's time to go to Logopolis to subject the TARDIS to "Block Transfer Computation," a process which 'real time events' such as devices, machinery, and even people (as seen in the next story, Castrovalva) can be recreated.  The Doctor hopes to have the Logopolitans recreate the TARDIS in perfect working order.  But, to accomplish this, the Doctor needs a real-life police box in order measure all 38 dimensions (???) to give the Logopolitans.  Materializing in 'present-day' North England, the Doctor materializes 'around' a real-life police box and starts working.

Meanwhile, in an annoying subplot, we are introduced to Tegan, an Australian air hostess (stewardess).   This is what takes up most of Episode One's playing time:  Tegan being annoying, Tegan and her aunt having a flat tire, and Tegan blundering into the TARDIS as the Doctor and Adric fall into a space-time trap.  In fact, this is where Tegan is introduced.  In the Era of the Fifth Doctor, Tegan was supposed to be 'the' main companion but always came off to me as being very, very annoying.  As we go into the Fifth Doctor's stories more, we will see that the show's writers didn't know what to do with her as well.

Where was I?  Ah, the space-time trap!  No, wait, we forget The Watcher.

As the Doctor checks outside to look around, he sees a strange white figure in the distance.  Due to the music playing, we sense that he knows who the strange figure is.  He should, after all, it's......well, more on that later.

As the Doctor and Adric are measuring the real police box, the Doctor is alarmed by the TARDIS that a gravity bubble is inside.  Meaning, of course, that another TARDIS is inside the Doctor's TARDIS (?).  The Doctor and Adric go to investigate and end up inside a repeating puzzle:  a TARDIS within a TARDIS etc.  All this does is provide Tegan the chance to get lost inside the TARDIS and her Aunt to be killed by the Master, via the Tissue Decomposition Eliminator, which kills people by shrinking them down to the size of dolls.  This is used effectively in "Terror of the Autons."  In this story, the effects are basically Barbie dolls.

Anyway, the Doctor and Adric find that the trap isn't infinite, and they reappear outside the TARDIS.  Just in the nick of time to catch the police officers checking out Tegan's Aunt's car.  Inside are the small corpses of the Aunt and a policeman.  The Doctor realizes that the Master has escaped.  That, or someone has been using too much hot water lately.

Thanks to an escape plan of Adric's that shouldn't trick a competent officer of ANY country, the Doctor and Adric escape back to the TARDIS to find the 'real' police box gone.  Guessing that it's the Master's TARDIS and could be inside the Doctor's TARDIS, the Doctor decides that the easiest way to get rid of the Master is to materialize the Doctor's TARDIS underwater, open the doors, and flood him out (???).  Considering that the TARDIS (the Doctor's) is amazingly big, how does he figure that he will be able to drain it?  Nevertheless, the Doctor attempts so, only succeeding on landing on a boat.  Disappointed, the Doctor sees the Watcher again on an nearby bridge, signaling to him.  The Doctor leaves Adric behind, and goes to talk with the Watcher, from what the audience sees as a faraway shot.

Okay, spoiler time.  If I don't explain this scene right now, then this will be even harder to write.  To be blunt, the Watcher IS the Doctor, or rather:

    A) The Doctor's Future Self (which could be a ghost or apparition), or
    B) The Doctor's Future Self, of which the Time Lords could be responsible, or
    C) The Doctor's Future Self, who lived through this story and figured that the Doctor would need a smoother regeneration.

The story never explains, but I assume it's the first choice.  I believe the Watcher is the Doctor's Ghost.

Anyway, the Watcher explains to the Doctor that this battle with the Master will be his last.  This is one of the scenes where Tom Baker really shows his acting chops without having the benefit of words.  He relies strictly on body movement, and if you watch this story again, you will catch how subtle this is.  The Doctor returns to Adric and sets the TARDIS for Logopolis, with the cryptic statement "I've dipped into the future. We must be prepared for the worst."

And this is where Jar-Jar...er...I mean, Tegan pops out of the interior of the TARDIS, screaming to see the pilot.  Thus, near the end of Episode Two, do we get some humor.

So, as Adric tries to explain to Tegan what is going on (who is taking this FAR too well than any rational person would), the Doctor lands at Logopolis, which is a bunch of dirt houses that are shaped like fingers around this giant satellite dish.  The leader of Logopolis, Monitor, explains that Logopolis used Block Transfer Computation to recreate the dish on Logopolis for something mysterious.   Tegan recognizes it as The Pharos Project, a experiment on Earth that sends out messages to space to search for intelligent life.  I don't know if this is fact or not, so don't ask.  Anyway, Monitor completes the coordinates for the TARDIS's 'recreation' and the Doctor goes off to the TARDIS to put them in, taking Monitor aside to ask if he would look after Adric and Tegan for him.  You know, because the Doctor is going to die and all.

As the Doctor is about to recreate the TARDIS, the Watcher appears again, bringing Nyssa with him.   Then, as the Doctor puts the coordinates into the TARDIS computer, it starts to shrink....almost crushing the Doctor to death.  Luckily, the Doctor is able to escape and return the TARDIS to it's normal size.  Enter Episode Three.

The Master starts killing off Logopolitans to get at the Doctor, interrupting the vital work they are doing.  Monitor finally reveals why Logopolis has recreated the Pharos Project:  the universe has passed the limit of it's existence and is dying.  Using the Pharos Project, Monitor hopes to beam a Block Transfer Computation out into the universe to stop the decay, which is starting to take planets and galaxies.  But the Master's killings have screwed that up, so the Doctor is faced with an startling possibility:  to join forces with his hated ally in order to go to the Pharos Project on Earth, beam the BTC into the void, and save the universe.  He accepts, but travels in the Master's TARDIS so Nyssa, Tegan, and Adric can be safe on Logopolis.  But after the Master and the Doctor take off, the Watcher reappears and pilots the three back to Earth in the Doctor's TARDIS.

As soon as the Doctor and the Master land on the Pharos Project (bringing back memories of the satellite dish in "Terror of the Autons"), the Master reveals his plot:  to hold the universe for ransom in exchange for it's existence.  The Doctor refuses, and as the program is sent out into the void to cure it, the Master starts his communication and plot to take over reality itself.  Although I have NO idea how he intends to do it.  Does he have a reverse BTC to reverse the effects of this cure?  And how does he contact ALL the planets to give them his demands?  Anyway, the Doctor goes out onto the catwalk of the giant dish and disconnects some wiring, rendering the Master's plan useless.  The Master returns the favor by changing the satellite dish around, causing the catwalk to turn.  The Doctor holds on as the faces of past enemies flash before his eyes.

No, I'm not making this up.  Daleks, Cybermen, Davros all flash before his eyes.  Then, for the second time in this story, Tom Baker shows off his acting chops without using a word...and slips, falling several stories to the ground.  Tegan, Nyssa, and Adric witness this and run to the Doctor.

The Doctor is lying on the ground, on his back, looking up at the sky like a man about to die.  If you look closely, you can see the boy who plays Adric nearly break one of the cardinal rules of acting by ALMOST passing in front of the camera during the death scene.  Anyway, the Doctor utters his last line ever (see the quote above) and reaches out his hand to the Watcher.  This is when Nyssa revealed that the Watcher was "..the Doctor all along."  Okay.  I guess she would know, even through she's been in this story for TWO episodes.  Oh, well.   Thus, the Watcher joins with the Doctor, who then turns into Peter Davison, which leads us to the end of the trilogy--"Castrovalva."

Well, that was a mouthful, wasn't it?

The main problem with Logopolis is the lack of all the qualities Tom Baker brought to Doctor Who over seven years.  The humor, the comedy, and the main character roots are all ignored for a story that seems more suited to the Jon Pertwee/Katy Manning era.  It results in a very dark story that makes the Doctor second to his own death and regeneration, rather than a part of it.  Plus, I think the McGuffin that is "Block Transfer Computation" should have been explained a bit more.  Is it magic?  Mental energy?  Only a vague description is given in the form of.....

There you go.  Make of it what you will.

But I cannot fault any of the actors, save all three companions who are just learning their roles.  I can imagine it would be hard to find your character when the show is changing.  Despite the lack of humor, Tom Baker gives three of the best scenes of his time in Who History during this story.  Plus, we are finally introduced to Anthony Ainley, who gives Whodom it's finest Master next to the original Master, Roger Delgado.

But I still have the feeling this story was chosen because of it's author than Mr. Baker:  It was written by Christopher Bidmead, who just happened to be the Story Editor at that time.  Go figure.

RATING:  If you can get through the boredom and supposed suspense of Episode One, then you have a chance to get through the lot.  Granted, if you are a Tom Baker fan it's a must see for the end alone, but DO NOT SHOW THIS TO A NEWBIE AT ALL.  I mean it.  Show them "City of Death" or "Talons of Weng Chiang" instead.  Pity Tom Baker had to go out on this shit story, but he alone gives it a star, bringing this up to One Star out of Four.