| ARC OF INFINITY by Johnny Byrne |
| Story 123 Synopsis: A mysterious figure is trying to enter the Universe, and he has help from a Time Lord. The Doctor is attacked in the TARDIS by the creature, which he finds is made of anti-matter. The Time Lords summon the Doctor to Gallifrey, and he deduces they are going to stop the anti-matter creature by doing away with him. As he evades capture, he is stunned by a guard, Maxil. At a session of the High Council, his fears are confirmed, and Lord President Borusa orders his execution. The Doctor counters that his bio-data extract must have been transmitted to the anti-matter creature. Since the only people able to do that would be members of the High Council, Borusa refuses to listen. The Doctor's only ally seems to be Hedin. The Doctor is terminated. The anti-matter creature makes it look like the Doctor has been killed, but it's a ruse. Maxil and the Castellan realise that the Doctor's biodata extract was transmitted, but the Castellan thinks it's all a conspiracy. The evidence points to the Lord President, but the Castellan thinks the Doctor is behind it. Hedin turns out to be the traitor, working for the creature, who is Omega. The Lord President stops the Castellan shooting the Doctor. Omega takes control of the Matrix, and readies himself for transfer. Omega has Tegan hostage, and through her, the Doctor learns to head for Amsterdam. He tracks down a crypt, and makes his way into Omega's TARDIS. Omega completes transfer, into a body resembling the Doctor. He leaves, but starts to decay back into anti-matter. The Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa pursue him, finally cornering him near water. The Doctor offers the choice of expulsion or death, and Omega tries to destroy himself, and the Universe with him. The Doctor shoots him with an Anti-Matter Converter. Tegan inveigles herself back onto the TARDIS. |
| Review:- This is a troubled story with a bad reputation. What quite goes wrong with it is hard to pinpoint, so let's take each major element one-by-one to see where the fuss comes. First, Amsterdam. This was the 2nd-ever overseas location trip for Doctor Who, but whereas City Of Death is enhanced by being in Paris, Arc of Infinity suffers from the connection. Chiefly, there is nothing that Amsterdam gives to the story, and hence it might as well be set anywhere. Any drama and irony that comes from the last stand of a legendary Gallifreyan is wasted by running him around somewhere strange. The rationale is to show that aliens do sometimes invade other parts of the world. But here, it's just a total waste. Second, Gallifrey. In the 4-5 years since its last appearance in The Invasion Of Time, Gallifrey has had some redecoration. But to no avail. Also, we get a High Council meeting, despite the last visit featuring the Lord President and 1 or 2 officials. Now you could argue that this is merely fleshing out the scant details we've had before. As if The Deadly Assassin was abstemious with its work. What this story gives us is "casual Gallifrey", which perhaps better fits in with the decadent ideas - Gallifrey is stagnating, and much of the people in the Capitol just stand around doing little. Quite why the super-powerful Time Lords need so many guards seems a valid query. Maxil isn't even able to appear a brutal thug. He's the Castellan's intellectual equal, and gets to shoot the Doctor. Wow. Add to this a duff Lord President, the fact that the High Council appear to be closet psychopaths, and the Doctor suddenly finds he has some friends on Gallifrey (Hedin, Damon), and it all seems very weak. That Hedin is the only person to vote against the Doctor's execution doesn't seem a colossal clue to anyone is just another flaw. Third, oh yes, the return of Tegan. Sadly, the recent Big Finish plays and many fiction pieces over the years that give us the Doctor & Nyssa partnership are only endorsed by this terribly handled return. As if, of all the places the Doctor and Nyssa could have gone, they bump into the person they just left in London. Her return is about as well as could perhaps be expected, although neither her cousin, nor his friend seem to have much acting ability. Throw in a wonky Ergon, and the Amsterdam jaunt seems a total fiasco. Is there anything good to say about it? Yes, two things, actually. The Doctor struggles, but just about turns in a decent effort, given the wonkiness of either the other actors or their plot motivations (the Castellan is the biggest loon in a long list), and Peter Davison excels when playing the newly-formed Omega. Albeit surely a borderline-psychopath would more likely start killing people, I'd have thought. Still, it makes for a silly pt 4 chase, as the barking dogs help save the entire Universe. Could AoI have been saved by being rescehduled? Yes, I think so. Following my comments that Time-Flight should have started Season 20, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put Arc... at the end of Season 20. Then the season builds up to the knock-them-dead return to Gallifrey, instead of starting the season off on a wrong note. Equally, it would keep Tegan out of the middle of the season, making her return that much more astounding. But no... On the whole, it has its moments. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |