| INFERNO by Don Houghton |
| Story 54 Synopsis: Professor Eric Stahlman's project, "Inferno", is attempting to penetrate the Earth's crust, in the search for new energy. Sir Keith Gold has brought in Greg Sutton, a drilling expert, and the Doctor, all-round scientist. The Doctor is trying to use the power from Inferno for experiments into getting the TARDIS working. UNIT are called in, after a maintenance man goes rogue and kills a guard. He is found, consumed by tremendous heat energy. Stahlman refuses to give in to pleas to shut the drill down, and becomes infected by the same goo leaking from an output drilling pipe. He also refuses the Doctor power for his experiments. The Doctor steals the energy anyway, but when Stahlman cuts it off, he is flung into a parallel dimension, where Britain is a Republican fascist state. He is condemned as a spy, and sentenced to be shot. Their Inferno project is closer to completion, and things start to go wrong. Greg Sutton becomes convinced that the Doctor is knowledgeable, and he gets to repair the computer. The Doctor escapes a cell, but ends up back in the control room. He attempts to stop the countdown, but it happens, and all Hell starts breaking loose. Stahlman and others mutate inside the reactor, and the Doctor, Greg, Liz and Lethbridge-Stewart have to face being abandoned. The Doctor says the world will end, but there is a chance he could make it back to his Earth. Benton is infected, and mutates. The Brigade Leader wants the Doctor to take him too, but Liz shoots him. With help from Dr Williams, the Doctor is able to use power from the nuclear reactor to boost the console and return to Earth. He finds Sir Keith still alive, and determines he must prevent a repeat of the tragedy of the other Earth. Stahlman mutates, and the Doctor is able to convince Dr Williams to shut down the reactor and stop the drill. |
| Review:- This is phenomenal. All I seem to have heard is that this story is great. Surely someone has a bad word to say about it..? Until then, may I add my views, which on the whole are very positive. This is a quite astonishing story, which concludes Season 7 with the ultimate extension of the UNIT set-up, and a genuine threat to the whole of Earth. It is strange how often crises in production lead to spectacular results. The Mind Robber, The Invasion Of Time... would this story have been as good as a 4-parter without the alternate Earth bits? Surely not! By doubling many of the main cast, and good use of a wonderful location, the adventure builds and builds for 7 weeks, with a good dose of that rare specimen, unpredictability. Almost all the main cast give real depth to their characters, with Greg Sutton in particular coming across so strongly that I would consider him the finest 1-off character I've ever seen. In fact, it's a surprise to see the real thing in pt 7, as his alternate self seems a real star. At least he gets the girl (twice!). Caroline John and Nicholas Courtney marvel in their twin roles, and it's almost a shame to realise that the alternate selves are rather more interesting, although this is still probably Liz's best showing. The eyepatch becomes notable because no-one mentions it (cf. The Android Invasion). John Levene is less successful, as his meaner self is the man he perhaps should actually be. I would like to single out 2 others, who perhaps get overlooked. Olaf Pooley does surprisingly well in both worlds, and given that Stahlman is a clear idiot, his icy calm in the face of the Doctor's fury is quite well done. His subtle hints at his fight to retain himself are okay too (until the last episode, where his transformation goes OTT). Also, Ian Fairbairn as Bromley deserves mention, as he gets topped twice, and lurches about menacingly, which given that he is a secondary character not named in the story, is a good trick. As the Doctor, Jon Pertwee holds his own, dashing about and taking a moral stand against a potent threat. I may be shaky with heights, but I would have liked a go at climbing those towers. :) I'm a little frosty at his twigging the alternate bit so fast in pt 3, but it does give him the glorious ruminations on free will in pt 7. The pace works the most. The penetration of the Earth's crust at the end of pt 4 is really ingenious, and the ends of pts 1, 3 and 5 are good because they are abrupt and unexpected. In fact, the end of pt 5 is notable becasue pt 6 seems like a lot of padding. But the heat visions of the dying Earth are quite fantastic. It's a shame that the Doctor clearly will get back, and that he will prevent the penetration on our world, but there's still time for a little drama. If you get the chance to see it... see it. You surely won't regret it. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |