| TERROR OF THE VERVOIDS by Pip & Jane Baker |
| Story 145 Synopsis: The Doctor presents his defence: a passenger ship travelling from Earth to Mogar, near the end of the 30th century. He and his companion, Mel, are mere travellers. But murders start to happen, and evidence points to strange large plant pods. When they produce humanoid plantforms, the trouble escalates. A Mogarian is killed, but it turns out to be a double agent. The Doctor is asked for his help - something the Doctor in the courtroom pounces on. But the rest of the tale is shown. The crisis escalates out of control. The plant creatures, Vervoids, kill several of the passengers. The ship is hijacked, and nearly driven into a black hole. The Doctor stops it. The brains behind the plants is unmasked, but the Vervoids have now gone wild. To kill them all, the Doctor is forced to explode vionesium, forcing the plants through the end of their life-cycle. That done, the ship is free from danger. But in the courtroom, the Valeyard pounces on the Doctor's actions. By killing all the Vervoids, the Doctor has committed genocide. |
| Review:- The ordeal continues, with the Doctor forced to accept Peri's death, and continue with his defence - a space opera of horticultural horror. The Bakers' script came through as a product of increasing off-screen desperation, so in the circumstances, it's better than it probably should be. But... The murder mystery element sustains interest, although having a race of murdering walking plants is probably a bit of a twist too far. Beyond that, there is espionage intrigue, and it seems almost everyone has a grudge or a motive. This leads to diversions like the apparent death of the Doctor, and the Black Hole of Tartarus. Possibly the pudding is over-egged, and a more straightforward narrative would engage the viewer more. A plot where anyone could be guilty is lessened when the eventual culprit is so outlandish as to be unguessable. Still, the Vervoids are fairly well designed, certainly creepy in execution, and provide an interesting look at Genetic Modification, years before it became a hot topic. Possibly the only other topic of interest here is the debut of Mel. More noted for being played by someone famous not considered a proper actress, Mel struggles to seem a proper character, although no blame should go to Bonnie Langford, who does the best she can with what she's given. Sadly, with so much off-screen chaos, something has to give on-screen. The fitness fad is ludicrously overdone, to the point almost of an OCD. The Doctor takes command eventually, and his personality upgrade for this season blooms here with a fresh companion to work off. His choice of this story as his defence makes sense, mostly, as he seems more on top of his game here than perhaps he has at any stage for ages. Sadly, most of the rest of the story is less good. The Mogarians seem mildly interesting, but look like people in rubbersuits with metal grilles & goggles instead of masks. Honor Blackman is far from the only cast member who seems to have forgotten anything they ever learned about acting. The sets are nice, but the trial sections are boring, and the final twist seems less a bold shock ending, than a desperate try-anything ploy. On the whole, this was a fitful attempt to portray a defence of the Doctor. It's perhaps little wonder that he ends the story in a far worse situation than when he started it. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |