| KINDA by Christopher Bailey |
| Story 118 Synopsis: Nyssa is unwell, so when the TARDIS lands on Deva Loka, she stays on board. The Doctor, Adric and Tegan set off to explore, but Tegan is soon dozing off, and becoming possessed by the Mara. Arriving at a Dome, the Doctor and Adric are well received by Sanders and Todd, but less so by Hindle. Conveniently, Sanders pushes off to look for other members of their expedition who have vanished. The locals (Deva Lokals? Please yourself) are not really unfriendly, but are too culturally different to the Dome types. Hindle takes over the Dome, is a bit nasty, then Sanders returns, with a Kinda gift. The Jhana Box. It doesn't help Hindle, who, going mad, starts to builds toy towns. Adric escapes, and stirs up the natives. Tegan passes the Mara to a Kinda called Aris. Anyway, the Doctor cottons on that the Kinda are being threatened by the expedition crew. Plus, the Mara will squash both sides, and emerge into the Universe, etc. By devising a circle of mirrors, and trapping Aris in it, the Mara is unleashed, and destroyed by its own reflection. Hindle realises his problems, is forgiven by Sanders, and the expedition leave Deva Loka, and determine not to come back. Back at the TARDIS, Nyssa is feeling better. |
| Review:- So, having despatched one threat to Earth, the Doctor tackles a threat from Earth. Kinda is a moving little story, with many good acting performances, and a few wonky bits. There are different levels of storytelling, allusions to different religions, as well as some excellent characterisation, ideas, and the end of pt 3 continues the recent run of mind-blowing weirdness. This manages to be a small masterpiece, allowing Simon Rouse, in particular, a real moment of acting glory, as the unhinged Hindle. However, for almost everybody, except Adrian Mills who went on to be on That's Life, the most memorable & controversial element of this story is the representation of the Mara snake. The majority view is that it looks awful, lets the story down, wouldn't scare a baby, blah blah blah. Now, of course, knowing me, you'd expect me to disagree. And so I shall. Now, I have seen this on video, and can honestly say that the snake is still a powerful presence, and a genuine threat until it dies. I really can't see what the problem is. It doesn't look real! It's pink! Well, so what? It's an alien. Aliens can be pink. It's also man-built, what do you expect? A real giant snake? It's not as if it's a Punch&Judy-esque effort. It looks about 10 feet tall at the end. Perhaps if it had tried swallowing one of the Kinda, you'd be more impressed, mm? No, given that I knew what would happen, I allowed myself to watch it, get caught up in it, worried, then relieved. P.S. I know it's irrelevant, but as I was typing the synopsis, I first wrote Regan instead of Tegan. Presumably, the star of the Sweeney. Given that Elvis and Mr T have been subjected to reinterpretations of Doctor Who over the years, is it too much to cheer you up by imagining (just for a laugh, you understand) that Regan stumbled into the TARDIS on Barnet by-pass? The whole history could be different. Just think... |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |