Kinda

Peter Davison started his tenure on Doctor Who with two excellent stories, but even they do not prepare us for the outstanding triumph that is Kinda. Like Marco Polo and The Deadly Assassin it is a story that is like no other previously broadcast, yet remains 100% Doctor Who. The script by Christopher Bailey is one of the best the programme has ever had, full of excellent characterisation, memorable dialogue, humour and a great deal of intelligence. The actual plot is simple- The Mara uses Tegan to cross over from 'The Dark Places of the Inside' to the Material Universe. A creature that feeds off fear and hate, it attempts to use the Kinda to attach the dome where an Earth survey team lives. However, Bailey makes this plot the grounding for so much more. Buddhist iconography is dropped in from time to time, but is used to examine how we view time itself. The Wheel of Time signifies doom for the Kinda- is the reason Deva Loka is a paradise it because the Kinda do not have one eye on the future? The attack that the Mara wants the Kinda to make has no chance of success, but the Mara probably knows that- it is the very act of attacking, a plan for the future, that will doom them. The Kinda are very thoughtfully realised- telepathy is portrayed as being a mixture of feelings and words and they are seen as effectively straddling the gap between individual and collective intelligence. Then there is the story of the Earth colonists. Hindle's madness is very convincingly written- he becomes more child-like, with all the negative effects. Not everything is explained, but this actually works in the story's favour- does Hindle control the Kinda hostages, do they control him, or is it more complicated than that? On a deeper level, there are points made about colonialism and culture shock- the Earthlings believe themselves to be the superior culture, yet it is they who suffer the shock. There are also points made about male/female relationships- the box of Jana affects males and females differently. I could go on, but it is really best of you draw your own conclusions.

A great script needs a great cast and seldom has the programme had one this good. Simon Rouse as Hindle is the most convincing portrayal of madness the programme has ever seen and Nerys Hughes makes Todd sympathetic and interesting. Then there's Richard Todd (Richard bloody Todd for Christ's sake!) making Sanders unforgettable, yet not stealing scenes from the other actors (even Matthew Waterhouse- Todd is supremely generous) Mary Morris and Sarah Prince are very effective as Panna and Karuna.

The story is entirely studio-bound and, although Deva Loka is not the best realised world, I am glad there were no film sequences to jar the viewer. Peter Grimwade creates scenes of beauty and scenes of terror- the sequences inside Tegan's mind terrified me as a child- and there is the effective sequence where the Doctor and Todd see the Wheel of Time in motion.

Peter Davison's performance is even better than in his first two stories- only he could make the Doctor boldly admit to being an idiot and get away with it. Janet Fielding continues to impress as Tegan, especially in her scenes of possession. Matthew Waterhouse is actually good in the scenes where he does the conjuring trick and does not offend in others.

I will never again call one Doctor Who story the best story ever. I will only say that I have called this story that in the past and I still agree with the reasons I had for doing so. Yes, the snake is a bit rubbish, but so what? This is utterly unmissable.

NEXT: The Visitation