| CARNIVAL OF MONSTERS by Robert Holmes |
| Story 66 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands in the cargo hold of an ocean liner, in 1926. Anxious to avoid being caught as stowaways, the Doctor and Jo sneak around, and are disturbed to see a sea monster in the water. More disturbing, they soon notice that the people on board ship are behaving oddly, repeating their words and situations, over and over. Depserate, they return to the TARDIS, only to see a giant hand appear as if from nowhere, and remove the blue box. Puzzled, they manage to find a way off the ship entirely, into a curious corridor, resembling some futuristic machinery. Another path leads them into a cave, from where they see a vast area of marsh. More disturbing still, they see some gigantic monsters rise up from the swamp. They run back to the cave, but the monsters follow. Back on the liner, the Doctor is getting frantic. He finally returns to the futuristic corridor, and finds a way to get through the wall. Free, he is soon altered to a great height, although that matches everyone else. He finds that he and Jo were in a Miniscope, belonging to two Lurmans, Vorg and Shirna. They are stuck on Inter Minor, because the native Minorans are strict about immigration. The Miniscope is faulty, and the marsh creatures, Drashigs, are now loose, and being omnivorous, they are eating it, putting all the beings inside at risk. The TARDIS is safe by. One of the Drashigs follows the Doctor's path out of the Miniscope, but Vorg uses a local machine, the Eradicator, to destroy it, and save the Minorans. The Doctor rescues Jo, and insists the machine is destroyed, and its contents returned to their proper places. |
| Review:- Firstly, compare and contrast the Miniscope with the Time Scoop. The story is pretty clever, keeping its twin storyline buzzing until part 4, where by necessity, the Doctor has to start sorting everyone out. The Lurmans are quite jolly, and worth a return. The Minorans are pretty dull, and their society must be really alien. The Drashigs are straightforward, and well-motivated. Their relentlessness makes them quite formidable. Their initial appearance in the marshlands is one of the best locations ever used, in my opinion. The connections between the differing locales inside the Miniscope reminds me of the Crystal Maze. If I had to point to anything being dull, it's the folks on the liner. OK, repetitive, but oh so tedious. On the whole, a nicely written story, with occasional spells of dullness. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book and seen the video. |