Doctor Who: Inferno (3rd Doctor, Season 7, 1970)

[bimo]

Cavendish and I are watching a lot of retro TV at the moment, most recently some of the Classic DW box sets we treated ourselves to for Christmas.

Yesterday we finished "Inferno", which took me by surprise with its outstanding dark B horror movie qualities and memorable guest characters. No wonder the adventure's script writer Don Houghton later wrote several feature films for Hammer Films.

As a 3rd Doctor adventure, "Inferno" starts out pretty regular with Three, still earthbound and working with UNIT, acting as scientific advisor to an ambitious drilling project (German-last-name-bearing mad scientist included) aiming at piercing the Earth's crust to harness energy. Hubris, mutations, death and chaos occur, and finally a TARDIS malfunction which lands Three in a dystopian, fascist parallel universe.

And that parallel universe is easily one of the bleakest things I've ever seen on DW, new series included. Mostly because of how the script tilts and twists the previously established characterizations, with the changes ranging from subtle but consequential (for example the just slightly altered chemistry between Dr. Petra Williams and Greg Sutton) to the really big ones (Liz and the Brigadier, logical and chilling)

Definitely worth seeing.

Oh, and I love Liz Shaw as a companion. Smart, sensible, no nonsense. In her depiction as a female scientist clearly ahead of her time. Too bad this adventure already marks Caroline John's departure from the show.

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

I particularly enjoyed what the adventure did with characters such as Sir Keith, Petra and Greg, who seemed unusually well-rounded for me in both universes, hesitating at first, but then switching into full (almost) companion mode.

Yes, they're favourites of mine, too!

Btw, I remembered when I made that post about Inferno, I also made a little bonus post of Inferno fanwork recs. Idk if you are after fic etc, but it's here anyway!

Oh, and word on the Silurians, after "Spearhead from Space" the first episodes seemed a bit slow.

Ha, yes. It's such a great serial, too in so many ways, but there are definite limits to how much time I want to spend watching rubber-suited Silurians wander across the moors to the sound of Dudley Simpson's kazoo. XD

[bimo]

Idk if you are after fic etc, but it's here anyway!

Aw, I love fic and have been reading (and occasionally writing) ever since the mid 1990s! Lots of thanks for those recs. I'll make sure to check them out! :)

there are definite limits to how much time I want to spend watching rubber-suited Silurians wander across the moors to the sound of Dudley Simpson's kazoo.

*snorts* That's definitely one way of putting it. :)