The Face of Evil

It’s all change for Doctor Who with Chris Boucher’s debut script for the story. The Doctor must deal with the consequences of a mistake he made early in his regeneration when a computer belonging to a human survey mission he repaired has developed a multiple personality disorder and is regarded as a god by the descendants of the mission- with the Doctor’s very face regarded as the face of the Evil One.

Boucher takes a well-worn sci-fi trope and makes it gripping because of the degree of thought that has gone into the writing. The development of the culture of the Sevateem and Tesh is realistic and the portrayal of Xoanon, the mad computer, is very well portrayed- note that the Sevateem sign to ward off evil has developed from the safety check of a space-suit. The environment that Xoanon has created for its followers follows a certain insane logic. A story of this type requires stereotypical characters, yet Boucher manages to make the characters seem real and the dialogue is rich with symbolism without being obvious- the pastiche of biblical language is pitched just right. Most impressively, the story does not end with all being well- there are still clear cultural barriers between the Tesh and Sevateem and much work still needs to be done (compare with The Savages from Season 3).

The writing helps the guest performances become genuinely interesting. Neeva is the shaman of Xoanon, yet, because the society has been so completely moulded by Xoanon, Neeva has nothing beyond his faith, no privileged position that demands that he maintain this position for his own ends. When Neeva realises the truth about Xoanon, he is only too willing to destroy Xoanon. David Garfield rightly plays Neeva as being just as much a victim as the other Sevateem- he is not a merely futuristic version of Tlotoxl from The Aztecs. Leslie Schofield does great work as ‘the devious Calib’ and it is welcome that he is allowed to survive the events of the story. The portrayal of Xoanon is first rate, with the multiple voices wonderfully portraying the madness, despair and anger of the computer).

The story is sound visually, although the jungle sets could have been better. The ‘holy of holies’ that is Xoanon’s control centre is brilliantly realised and the pallor of the Tesh contrasts well with the tanned Sevateem, as their clinical domain contrasts with the Sevateem’s tribal home. Pennant Roberts does some solid work behind the camera, although it is never spectacular

This is the debut story for Leela and Louise Jameson puts in a phenomenal performance, making her intuitive, intelligent and sympathetic, yet also brutal. It is clear from Tom Baker’s great performance in this story that this Doctor does not react well to being alone and it is clear that a Pygmalion type of relationship is to come.

This is a little gem and a great start for Leela.

NEXT: The Robots of Death