The Seeds of Doom

It is interesting to look at this story after the previous one. The Brain of Morbius is about a mad scientist who wants to give the brain of a megalomaniac a new body, but it has very limited ambitions beyond this, both thematically and dramatically. The Seeds of Doom, on the other hand works on more levels than being simply the story about an alien plant that threatens all life on earth. It has long been a story I enjoy (and incidentally, the first episode was broadcast the day I was born!)

One of the most common criticisms of 6-parters is that they are frequently padded 4-parters (or even less). As commented by others, this story avoids this criticism by basically being a 2-parter followed by a 4-parter, and there is very little padding. As in the outstanding Pyramids of Mars, the story progresses believably without containing any plot points that are blatantly put in by the writer to move the plot along. The characterisation is superb. Scorby has far more depth than Doctor Who henchmen usually have and we have the brilliant character of Amelia Ducat, who seems like a Robert Holmesian incidental character, but actually fulfils important functions. Even the characters at the Antarctic base, although based on the usual stock base types in Doctor Who, are given enough characterful dialogue to make them transcend this. All of these characters are superbly played- John Challis is so good as Scorby that we very quickly forget Boycie. Best of all is Tony Beckley as Harrison Chase. He is portrayed as an environmentalist gone bad, bringing the portrayal of environmentalists to the precise opposite of what the likes of Professor Jones in The Green Death were, via the well intentioned, but misguided Sir Charles Grover of Invasion of the Dinosaurs. Beckley was a very underrated actor who, despite looking like the type of character actor who is limited in range, made all his portrayals different. There is not a hint of Camp Freddie in his brilliant performance.

Visually, the story is aided by the always outstanding Douglas Camfield. Camfield’s choice of shots is always inspired- mention must be made of the moment after Chase has been possessed by the Krynoid, which Camfield has the nerve to shoot in a way that makes it seem almost post-coital. The production values are excellent on the whole. The story is shot entirely on video, bar a few effects shots, and this gives the production a very unified style, with studio scenes meshing very well with location. The Krynoid creatures fail to convince in some shots, but this is a minority of shots. This is also one of the few stories from this period that does not have Dudley Simpson as a composer. Although Simpson did do some excellent work, Geoffrey Burgon is a much more gifted composer and his more subtle score here is a joy to listen to.

The Doctor is more violent and action-orientated than usual, but Baker’s great performance here makes this interpretation of the character similar to that on Pyramids of Mars. Both regulars are on great form in this story, one which is never less than entertaining and a must-see for all Doctor Who fans.

NEXT: The Masque of Mandragora

Terror of the Zygons

Tom Baker's second season begins with his first alien threat against contemporary Earth. The basic storyline is nothing we haven't seen before- the Zygons want to conquer the Earth and use their cyborg monster, the Skarasen, to help them accomplish this. There are some plot problems, as we shall see later. However, if there is one story that is genuinely a 'triumph of style over substance' it is this one.

The Zygons themselves are one of the best realised alien races the programme has ever had. A fantastically designed costume is seamlessly blended with make-up onto the faces of the actors. Even today, a Hollywood budget would only slightly improve on the look. As in The Claws of Axos, there is an organic spacecraft, but one which is far easier on the eyes and far more subtle and interesting. All this is helped by Douglas Camfield's great skill in selecting the shots and supervising editing- the first full reveal of a Zygon is brilliantly done. Camfield manages to make the programme more 'edgy'- there is a real sense of danger in scenes such as the Zygon Harry's escape. Much has been made of the believability of the Skarasen. The creature is realised through a mixture of puppetry and a few shots with stop-motion animation. Although the creature is not particularly convincing, it is mobile and quite well designed. The end, where it rises out of the Thames fails mostly because it combines film and video elements- there have been far worse special effects on the programme.

The script is quite good, if somewhat half-baked. Despite the fact that the very first line by a Scottish character is aboot haggis, characterisation is good, with some nice moments. There is some clunky info-dumping- Broton explains things to Harry for no good reason, and some rather unbelievable plot points- the removal of the bug from the inn only alerts UNIT to where the bug came from and Sarah stumbles into the tunnel to the spaceship after being left alone by the Zygons, who have fetched a step-ladder for her to reach it. Any thought that they did that deliberately is scotched when they angrily discover the tunnel open.

The performances throughout are first rate, from Lillias Walker's spooky performance as Sister Lamont to John Woodnutt's excellent Broton/ Duke of Forgill. Tom Baker's detached, yet playful performance further distances the Fourth Doctor's personality from his predecessor. It's sad to see Harry go as a regular- Ian Marter made him entertaining and convincing throughout. This is also the last we'll see of the Brig for a good long while and Nicholas Courtney works his usual magic.

Terror of the Zygons has its problems, but it is thoroughly entertaining throughout and highly recommended.

Next: Planet of Evil