The Seeds of Doom

It is interesting to look at this story after the previous one. The Brain of Morbius is about a mad scientist who wants to give the brain of a megalomaniac a new body, but it has very limited ambitions beyond this, both thematically and dramatically. The Seeds of Doom, on the other hand works on more levels than being simply the story about an alien plant that threatens all life on earth. It has long been a story I enjoy (and incidentally, the first episode was broadcast the day I was born!)

One of the most common criticisms of 6-parters is that they are frequently padded 4-parters (or even less). As commented by others, this story avoids this criticism by basically being a 2-parter followed by a 4-parter, and there is very little padding. As in the outstanding Pyramids of Mars, the story progresses believably without containing any plot points that are blatantly put in by the writer to move the plot along. The characterisation is superb. Scorby has far more depth than Doctor Who henchmen usually have and we have the brilliant character of Amelia Ducat, who seems like a Robert Holmesian incidental character, but actually fulfils important functions. Even the characters at the Antarctic base, although based on the usual stock base types in Doctor Who, are given enough characterful dialogue to make them transcend this. All of these characters are superbly played- John Challis is so good as Scorby that we very quickly forget Boycie. Best of all is Tony Beckley as Harrison Chase. He is portrayed as an environmentalist gone bad, bringing the portrayal of environmentalists to the precise opposite of what the likes of Professor Jones in The Green Death were, via the well intentioned, but misguided Sir Charles Grover of Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Beckley was a very underrated actor who, despite looking like the type of character actor who is limited in range, made all his portrayals different. There is not a hint of Camp Freddie in his brilliant performance.

Visually, the story is aided by the always outstanding Douglas Camfield. Camfield’s choice of shots is always inspired- mention must be made of the moment after Chase has been possessed by the Krynoid, which Camfield has the nerve to shoot in a way that makes it seem almost post-coital. The production values are excellent on the whole. The story is shot entirely on video, bar a few effects shots, and this gives the production a very unified style, with studio scenes meshing very well with location. The Krynoid creatures fail to convince in some shots, but this is a minority of shots. This is also one of the few stories from this period that does not have Dudley Simpson as a composer. Although Simpson did do some excellent work, Geoffrey Burgon is a much more gifted composer and his more subtle score here is a joy to listen to.

The Doctor is more violent and action-orientated than usual, but Baker’s great performance here makes this interpretation of the character similar to that on Pyramids of Mars. Both regulars are on great form in this story, one which is never less than entertaining and a must-see for all Doctor Who fans.

NEXT: The Masque of Mandragora