| STATE OF DECAY by Terrance Dicks |
| Story 112 Synopsis: K-9 identifies a planet which may help the search for an exit from E-Space. It turns out to be very primitive, with a village, and a tower nearby, where the rulers live. The Doctor and Romana meet some secret villagers who plan revolution. On their return through a wood, they are attacked by bats. They are taken to the Tower, where they meet King Zargo and Queen Camilla. They realise that Zargo, Camilla and their third, Aukon, are the original three crewmembers from a ship, the Hydrax, which was brought into E-Space by the Great One, the last survivor of a race of vampires whom the Time Lords fought into near extinction. The Three Who Rule have kept the villagers in ignorance for centuries. The Tower is the Hydrax, and the Doctor uses a small escape shuttle as a makeshift bolt which kills the Great One, and causes the Three Who Rule to crumble to dust, freeing the Villagers forever. Having recovered Adric, the Doctor insists he will return the boy to the Starliner. |
| Review:- The E-space saga continues with a story that echoes its predecessor, Full Circle, to a strange degree. Not merely in the season-long entropy ideas, but in simple things like a society being held in a timewarp by a ruling party of three people, who live tucked away in their special rooms, whilst the people work the land. The differences are quite startling, and not in a good way. The most notable novelty about this story is its distance. There is a sense that the Tower and the Village really are a long way apart, and that Kalmar's hideaway is also a long way off, too. The relics of science being rediscovered slowly in secret is well handled for a cliche, and the selections for the Tower are made more watchable by Emrys James as Aukon. Indeed, it is good fun that Aukon is the key player of the Three Who Rule. Whereas the obvious view is that Zargo and Camilla are the power leaders, it is the Machiavellian schemer who is really the power behind the throne (and the Great Vampire is the power behind him, of course). When Zargo and Camilla lose control, it is Aukon who keeps his cool. Romana doesn't really get much to do, with Camilla's lust about all. Adric gets off to a cunning start, fitting in with Ivo, but soon off with Aukon, and plotting (supposedly) how to free Romana. K9 comes back from a quiet spell to lead the attack on the Tower. The Doctor rather runs off with the adventure, discovering the secret rooms of the Tower, recalling the Vampire legends, and finding out how Rassilon defeated the mighty Vampires. He gets Kalmar's computer to show an image of the hidden Vampire, and devises the solution, using a shuttle to pierce the Vampire's heart. And organising the attack on the Tower. And freeing Romana and Adric. All this after being bitten by a bat. Strange, that. Romana gets bitten, too. Presumably when the Great Vampire dies, any effect is cancelled. Not that there would be likelihood of a follow-up to it. So, on the whole, it's a well-made little story that holds the attention and makes one think. The story ends abruptly, with the Doctor apparently adamant that Adric can't stay with them... which is a shame, really, given what happens next. |
| Disclaimer: I have a copy of the video. |