| THE TWO DOCTORS by Robert Holmes |
| Story 140 Synopsis: On Space Station Camera, the Doctor and Jamie are investigating the experiments of Joinson Dastari, at the Time Lords' instigation. To their horror, the Sontarans attack, kidnapping the Doctor, and travelling with Dastari to Earth. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Peri arrive on Camera, and find Jamie. Sensing himself in trouble, the Doctor takes Peri and Jamie, tracking himself down to Seville, in Spain. Dastari is enhancing the mental abilities of some Androgums, a vicious race. The Sontarans want the Rassilon Imprimature from the Doctor - it is a code which every Time Lord has, and which enables them to travel in time safely. Shockeye, one of the two Androgums menaces Peri, but the Doctor kills him with cyanide. The other Androgum, Chessene, manages to get the other Doctor injected with Androgum DNA. The leading Sontaran, Stike, attempts to travel in a specially-built pod (designed to transport its users through time), with the Rassilon Imprimature, but he is destroyed instead. Chessene reverts to her non-enhanced Androgum savagery. The other Doctor is cured, and the Doctor decides to become a vegetarian. |
| Review:- Firstly, I apologise for the less than accurate synopsis. The main points are there. One of Robert Holmes' last Dr Who scripts, and like Attack Of The Cybermen, there is plenty of space to introduce new aliens as well as re-introduce old aliens, traverse vast distances, and provide some moments of violence and horror. Both Doctors are given good characterisation, and this sets a good precedent for multi-Doctor stories, and manages not to seem too convenient, or deliberate. Peri and Jamie manage to convince, which is admirable in the latter case for someone in their 1st adventure in 16 years (not counting the Five Doctors cameo). On a personal note, it is noticeable that Peri looks, er, very beautiful in Spain. Moving swiftly on, the Androgums are a nice creation, with their voracious appetites being an almost comic-book depth, but there are only 2, so it doesn't need to be dwelled on. Shockeye is, for me, more dramatic and scary than Chessene. But both make Dastari look like a plank. As a Sontaran fan, I am glad to see them in any story, and written by their creator, they manage to seem consistent, even if the Rutans are not apparently as important as the Time Lords. The subplot with the RI (if you think I'm typing that out in full again, then you've got another think coming) is an interesting advancement of Time Lord mythos, and an interesting story about Time Lords which doesn't rely on Gallifreyan treachery. It really does feel like the Doctors are outnumbered and unable to call on any support at all. Threatening the Doctor with turning into an Androgum could be a hollow threat - but it happens! This then moves to the next stage - how is this going to be saved? Perhaps the meat-eating subplot is a bit extreme, but then the Androgums make a useful point about the meat we do eat. Most people (and I include myself in this group) see no harm in eating chickens, cows, ducks, sheep, pigs and so on (no, I don't eat them all). The Androgums merely show the next step - seeing humans as food. Quite revolting, and the Doctor's end-of-story decision to become a vegetarian is a natural conclusion. Would there be many others who watched and were put off eating meat? Well, who knows? I like this story. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |