The Invasion of Time

The Invasion of Time is a sequel to the wonderful Deadly Assassin- indeed, parts of the story will not make sense unless the viewer has seen the 1976 story. It is, therefore, wonderful that the script aspires to the same degree of sophistication as its predecessor. The Deadly Assassin showed the Time Lords at the nadir of their civilisation, but this story suggests that Gallifrey is in the process of undergoing something of a renaissance. The Time Lords are more aware of their past and the older Time Lords have a dignity that they lacked earlier. However, it is clear that since the Doctor’s defeat of the Master, Gallifrey is in something of a constitutional crisis, with the president-elect (the Doctor himself) being absent and Cardinal Borusa having risen to the rank of Chancellor and being the de-facto president. Into this situation, the Doctor returns to claim the Presidency, but this is a very different Doctor than what we are used to. The story opens with the Doctor making a pact with some unseen aliens and deliberately keeping Leela in the dark. Upon his arrival on Gallifrey, he seems arrogant and power-mad and further surprises us by banishing Leela from the Capitol. However, we soon discover that the Doctor is actually trying to entrap the alien Vardans- but, of course, there is one thing he overlooked.

The script by David Agnew (actually Graham Williams and Anthony Read) is very politically astute. This incarnation of Borusa is recognisable as the character in The Deadly Assassin, but the academic has become a creature of politics. He is brilliantly portrayed just as much as a high-ranking civil servant as a politician, which leads to a fascinating dynamic between him and the Doctor. The story depicts the invasion actually succeeding, with portrayals of concomitant effects such as insurgency (Leela and the outcasts organising a rebellion) and collaboration (Castellan Kellner). The characterisation is well suited to this and the cast is superb. John Arnatt is fantastic as Borusa, injecting a note of ‘sinister Sir Humphrey’ into the mix. Milton Johns gives a very skilful performance as Kellner- it would have been easy to make him simply an obsequious toady. This is also one of Tom Baker’s best performances - his portrayal of the seemingly power-mad Doctor is genuinely disquieting. This depiction of the Doctor brings up something very important about the way we view the character- the audience implicitly trusts the Doctor, as does Leela in the story and it is this which fascinates us, rather than repels us in the story when it seems that our favourite Time Lord has turned traitor.

Visually, the story is well made, with some very good model shots. Director Gerald Blake is not the most exciting director, but he does, on occasion, know how to use shots well and how to marshal actors. Of special note is the Doctor’s induction as President, wonderfully shot and edited, with Dudley Simpson showing that he can still write an evocative score when he tries. However, the lighting is again there for no other reason to make objects visible. It is unfortunate that this story follows from The Deadly Assassin, directed as it was by David Maloney, one of the best directors the programme ever had, which amplifies the lack of decent ‘cinematography’ in this story.

There are some significant flaws in the story, however. The reveal of the Sontarans as the real villains is a real shock moment in the story and is fantastically done. Unfortunately, it also results in the last two episodes being mainly a runaround in the TARDIS, followed by the Doctor shooting at them to make them disappear- a severe disappointment after the sophistication of the first four episodes. Derek Deadman puts in a good performance as lead Sontaran Stor- despite what has been written by others, Deadman’s accent is not distracting, just not the Received Pronunciation we are used to. It certainly isn’t Cockney, more a relaxed Estuary English. However, the make-up for the Sontarans is disappointing, nothing like as effective as the versions in The Time Warrior or The Sontaran Experiment. The Vardans look like Bacofoil Christmas decorations before they materialise and they are flatly performed, the only really disappointing performances in the story. Then there is Leela’s departure. Louise Jameson is a very gifted actress and she never failed to put in an arresting performance. Her opting to stay behind on Gallifrey with Andred is unconvincing- if there would have been anyone for her to randomly fall in love with, it would surely have been Nesbin, who she spent more time with and had more in common with (if this story had been made today, however, she’d probably have paired off with Rodan!).

Overall, however, this story has a great deal to commend it, despite its shortcomings.

NEXT: The Ribos Operation