Full Circle

Full Circle marks the beginning of the Doctor's adventures in E-Space. This is the first time a script has been written by a Doctor Who fan and, happily, Andrew Smith does not wade in with continuity-obsessed wish fulfilment, instead contributing an intelligent, well written science-fiction story. The script is typical of Christopher Bidmead's more scientifically literate outlook on the programme, and the story deals with questions of evolution and development and stagnation of societies. We are shown a group of humanoids living on a crashed Starliner who are seeking to leave the planet Alzarius for what they believe to be their planet of origin, Terradon. However, Alzarius goes through a cycle called Mistfall, when the air becomes suffused with gases from the Alzarian marshes, from which emerge the Marshmen, an amphibious race of humanoid reptilians- and the Doctor and Romana find that the inhabitants of the starliner are more closely linked to Alzarius than they thought.The script is full of good dialogue and the plot is developed well over the four episodes (if a little slow paced at times). The Marshmen are not depicted as monsters- indeed there are no real villains in the story- but as an intelligent, if very different life form.

The characterisation is not bad, but there are no real stand-outs. There are, however, some very effective performances from James Bree, Alan Rowe and the wonderful George Baker. However, this story is also famous for introducing a regular character who has not had the best press. Matthew Waterhouse's performance can best be described as watchable, but amateur. His line delivery is acceptable, but he seems unsure of what to do when he is not speaking. To be fair, the other outlers are not much good either- although Richard Willis has a good screen presence as Varsh and Bernard Padden is fascinatingly lugubrious.

Where this story triumphs is in its visuals. Alzarius is realised by beautifully shot locations and atmospheric set designs and Peter Grimwade uses long takes with interesting camerawork in the studio. It's not visually dynamic, but certainly shows a deep understanding of the material. The scenes with the spiders are genuinely shocking and Grimwade's treatment of the Marshmen is inspired. Of special note is the tragic figure of the Marshchild, which is shown as a terrified innocent ripped out of its home to die in a strange place.

Tom Baker puts in one of his best performances in this story- keeping his sense of humour but livid at the callous treatment of the Marshchild. Lalla Ward supports ably, although her scene of possession (the first time a companion had been possessed in years) could have been better played.

Full Circle is, incidentally, the first Doctor Who story I watched in full at the time of transmission, with the spiders bursting out of the fruit being my first 'behind the sofa' moment (although my family's sofa was against the wall, meaning I had to face my fears). Twenty-eight years on, I still found it a highly enjoyable story, well worth a watch.

NEXT: State of Decay