Frontios

Frontios sees the very welcome return of Christopher H. Bidmead to the Doctor Who fold. While Frontios lacks the resonance of Castrovalva and Logopolis, the story is structured in a more linear way, making it more accessible to the casual viewer. This is not to say that Bidmead has been dumbing down- he takes a simple premise like colonists threatened by aliens and builds a well thought-out world out of it with striking imagery, such as Frontios 'burying its own dead', the Tractators' mastery of gravity and, most notably, the destruction of the TARDIS- which is tied in very well with the story. There is also some wonderful dialogue and characterisation. Bidmead might have intended to bring a greater level of real science to the programme, but he understood what the building blocks of good writing were and could write some very funny lines, when required. Even the character names have a Dickensian creativity- Captain Revere, Plantagenet, Brazen, Range- that add to the richness of the story and I'm sure the erudite Bidmead had Wittgenstein at the back of his mind when he named the monsters Tractators. The whole tale is given a sense of unease by the revelation that they have travelled beyond the scope of Time Lord knowledge- 'Whereof one cannot speak, one must remain silent'.

The look of the story is stunning, with fantastic sets and spectacular, if not exactly photo-realistic matte paintings. The lighting is subdued and based on reds and greens, which aids the atmosphere of the story considerably. Ron Jones's direction is masterful, creating memorable shots and scenes- most notably the climax. The TARDIS, the only regular set in the programme is shown intermeshed with Frontios- a startling enough sight, which Jones works wonders with. Jones is probably the most infuriatingly inconsistent director ever to work on the programme- he can do excellent work in this and yet send one to sleep with Arc of Infinity. If there is a flaw to the story, it is in the realisation of the Tractators, but they are by no means awful.

Bidmead's memorable characters are brought to life by a superb cast, who are very effectively marshalled by Jones. Peter Gilmore makes Brazen totally believable and a very young Jeff Rawle gives Plantagenet a real sense of humanity. The regulars are given some very strong material. Turlough's race memories are excellently conveyed by Mark Strickson, who manages to show very raw emotions without being overwrought. Tegan has a lot more to do than usual, and Janet Fielding attacks the role with relish. However, it is Davison who continues to astonish, improving on his already stellar best in the role.

Frontios is not that well remembered, so if you have never seen it before, you are in for a very pleasant surprise.

NEXT: Resurrection of the Daleks