Description :
The Sixth Doctor and Peri use the last of the TARDIS's remaining energy to arrive on Varos, a
former prison colony, in search of Zyton-7. Zyton-7 is vital for the working of the TARDIS.
However, they soon find themselves up to their necks in trouble when they rescue a young rebel,
Jondar, from his execution. They need to get out of the Punisment Dome and prevent the evil Sil
from keeping Zyton-7 prices low and the planet in poverty.
Information :
Running time: 2 episodes, totalling approx. 89 minutes.
Rating: Parental Guidance
Writer: Philip Martin
Director: Ron Jones
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
The Doctor: Colin Baker
Peri: Nicola Bryant
Sil: Nabil Shaban
Governor: Martin Jarvis
Chief Officer: Forbes Collins
Jondar: Jason Connery
Areta: Geraldine Alexander
Review :
When this was first broadcast it created a lot of controversey over the levels of violence. It's
obvious why. There are at least three occasions whe the Doctor's actions directly result in the
death of injury of someone. The first time was when the Doctor turned the weapon that was to
kill Jondar around. This was unnescessary, and a guard was killed when they walked into it's
path. When the Doctor was about to be put into an acid bath, he startled the guards, causing
one to fall in, and then was pushing around the guard to get away before he also fell in. The
Doctor was not fully responsible, admittedly, but he then goes and makes a joke about it. Worse
still is when he kills some of the baddies with poison vines. He came up with the idea and told
Jondar when to let go of the string holding the vines back. Whatever happened to the Doctor
never willingly killing anyone?
The story generally has a bit of a nasty feel, although we do have a happy ending. Sil is a
very good villain. His look and laugh are suitably disguisting. The part where Peri and Areta
are being transformed into creatures of their subconcious or something like that is fairly well
done, but it doesn't give me the creeps as much as some "being turned into something else" ideas
on Doctor Who.
The story is fairly enjoyable, if a little nasty and violent. The Sixth Doctor is not at his
best here, with some of his actions right out of character. We also see one of the few instances
of the Doctor firing a gun, but fear not, this is only to destroy the equipment changing Peri
into a bird.
Rating :
Three Stars (Out of Five)
Notes :
At the beginning of the video there is a brief sequence where all the seven Doctor's faces
in order and the 30th anniversary logo, such as that on the cover, are shown.
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