Castrovalva

Christopher H. Bidmead kicks off the Fifth Doctor Era with another very oddly structured story. Again, we have to wait until the second episode for the appearance of the titular location and before that, the plot takes some rather bizarre turns. The Master's plan to send the TARDIS back in time to Event One is foiled, but it turns out that the real trap was Castrovalva all along. However, to complain about these for too long would stop one from appreciating the many strengths of this fine story. Bidmead again bases his story on a striking idea- that the Doctor would end up in a place that behaved like the impossible architectural optical illusions of the prints of M.C. Escher- but weaves it into a beautifully told story with compelling characters and wonderful dialogue. The scenes before Castrovalva contain great sequences such as Nyssa and Tegan talking about recursion, the TARDIS getting hotter as it heads towards Event One and, of course, the scenes with the Doctor. These scenes may be technically superfluous to the story, but Bidmead doesn't do padding- he just goes off on tangents sometimes and they are almost invariably worth watching, irrespective of their plot relevance. Castrovalva itself is wonderfully realised. Bidmead obviously realised that its impossible vistas would not be convincingly realised with special effects, so he creates believable characters such as Mergrave and Ruther, who are made to understand what is wrong with their world and of Shardovan, whose enquiring mind came to that conclusion long ago. Wonderfully, the realisation that Castrovalva and its people are creations of the Master makes the Castrovalvans wish to assert their right to live- as Shardovan states 'You made us, man of evil, but we are free'.

The realisation of the story is very well done, from the atmospheric location work to the beautiful Escher inspired sets for Castrovalva. Fiona Cumming shoots with great feeling- the recursion of Castrovalva is implied with some good editing and there is the fantastic scene where the Master is trapped in Castrovalva that implies great brutality without showing any violence. The lighting is excellent throughout, from the soothing tones brought out in the Zero Room to the organic-looking night-time shots. The performances are excellent throughout, with Michael Sheard and Derek Waring being especially memorable as Mergrave and Shardovan. Anthony Ainley is a bit more OTT as the Master, but he also gives a thoroughly convincing performance as the Portreeve- if you didn't know, it would be easy to believe that it was a different actor.

However, there is, of course, one performance that totally outshines the others- Peter Davison as the Doctor. This story had a new Doctor in it for the first time in seven years. Speaking for myself, I had totally accepted the new Doctor by the end. Davison is stunning throughout. When the Doctor is reverting to his past personas, Davison's impersonations are spot on, especially that great Hartnell look he gives. However, Davison has no problem in imposing his own stamp on the character, from the very first time he frowns and has to explain a joke he has just made.

Castrovalva is gorgeous television and a great start for Peter Davison.

NEXT: Four to Doomsday