The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: Arc Of Infinity

 ARC OF INFINITY (Part One) 03/01/2023 

So here we are! Season 20; two decades of Doctor Who (well, in November, anyway). The wait for this season seemed to take ages, and judging by the amount of dust I had to brush off my journal, it has been!

They seem to have pushed the boat out for this one - location filming in Amsterdam, Time Lords, an Anti-Matter being intent on taking over the Doctor's body. That last one wasn't lost on me. Given it's exactly ten years ago (Shit - is it really that long???) since the Third Doctor encountered Time Lord legend Omega in a world of Anti-Matter for the 10th Anniversary, I suspect this adversary (filmed in negative, which I quite liked when it was revealed he was Anti-Matter) who is colluding with a so-far-anonymous traitor on the High Council of Time Lords is one and the same, despite having been destroyed in The Three Doctors.

Obviously, since we have Time Lords we have Gallifrey, and it seems a rather beige place, very similar to the somewhat underwhelming rooms and corridors of the last visit rather than the darkened Gothic grandeur of The Deadly Assassin. It feels like a rather sterile but modern hotel with random couches and too much plastic. In contrast, the location footage in Amsterdam is nice although, unlike the last time the show went abroad, I can't say I recognise much. But then Paris is a much more photogenic and touristy place and known for its architecture rather than its drug culture and prostitutes.

So far, we've followed cute Australian Colin Fraser (identifiable for his accent, the Aussie flag on his rucksack, and the fact he doesn't think much of the Neighbours) and his mate/wannabe boyfriend Robin (Colin seems wonderfully oblivious that Robin fancies him, and I'd be hard pushed to say for sure whether it's intentional, but it's plastered across the screen in the scripting and dialogue). Robin has taken Colin to a crypt behind some old mansion for the night and seems rather miffed that the Aussie wouldn't undress before getting into his sleeping bag. In the night, however, Colin was woken by lights in the crypt (they're sleeping in an adjoining Pump Room (oo-er, fnar fnar) and was seemingly vaporised by a weird, bony creature that came out of a doorway which hadn't been there earlier. Robin later encountered it but escaped and, on returning for his things the next morning, found out that Colin isn't dead but seems to have been turned into a zombie worker or something. Heading to his hostel via the disinterested Police, he found out from the receptionist that Colin's cousin will be arriving at the local airport the next morning. Far be it for me to speculate, but I'm wondering if we've already met Australian Mr. Fraser's cousin?

Anyhow, on Gallifrey, the High Council debated the situation after a couple of Gallifreyan technicians intercepted the Doctor's bio-data imprint being transmitted to (Omega), for which the senior of the two was shot by an 'impulse laser' - those were his rather naff last words. To be honest, I was a little worried when I saw this story was penned by Johnny Byrne, but so far it's been better than The Keeper Of Traken. 

An attempted take-over of the Doctor's body failed, but the High Council recalled the TARDIS to Gallifrey and the Doctor and Nyssa escaped security with the help of surviving Tech Damon, but nonetheless got tracked down by the Chancellery Guard who shot the Doctor. Thinking about it, despite some nice scenes together, the Doctor and Nyssa didn't actually get much to do this episode, but there's a nice familiarity there and they work incredibly well together.

So, an interesting and fairly promising start to both this serial and the new season. I'm rather looking forward to the next few months!

 ARC OF INFINITY (Part Two) 05/01/2023 

I'm not entirely convinced showing the episodes in the current format is as effective as having it twice weekly on consecutive days, but then it could, of course, be that this episode was quite slow. We got to see a little more of Gallifrey, including what appeared to be a Time Lord bar full of relaxing Time Lords. Aside from a lot of chat about how the High Council has no choice but to immediately terminate the Doctor rather than investigate what's going on and attempt to stop/destroy the Anti-matter creature before it destroys billions (in some undisclosed way I assume only Time Lords can fathom), very little happened for the most part. The Doctor was kept incarcerated, both he and Nyssa met his 'old friend' Damon who smuggled the Doctor proof his bio-data extract was sent from Gallifrey to Omega (I'm increasingly sure it's him, although surely the Time Lords should twig as well?), and helped Nyssa by giving her a gun (Impulse Laser?). It ended with Nyssa holding the High Council at gunpoint moments before the Doctor's execution, but the Doctor talked her down and accepted his fate. This story is fairly good for Nyssa, even if she didn't just go ahead and stun the guards and High Council as soon as she entered the execution chamber!

Speaking of companions, I was right about Colin's cousin. Tegan is back, and with a cool, short new haircut! Robin met her at Schipol Airport and took her to a café to tell her all about her cousin. Apparently, she's lost her job (probably mouthed off at a stroppy airline passenger) so decided to visit her 'favourite cousin' on his backpacking holiday. She chose to investigate his disappearance herself, but so far we've only seen her get as far with the Police as Robin did and arrive at the house with the crypt. It's great to see her back, although it would have been nice to have had at least one story with Nyssa as the sole companion. Also, mention was made of Romana and Leela, the Doctor asking about the latter when Damon managed to visit him imprisoned in the disabled TARDIS. 

Now I've written about it, it does feel that much of this episode was spent treading water. It was very talky. The Castellan (as previously) and Commander Maxil (who spends his time carrying around his big-feathered helmet which does seem to negate any preparedness for action) are being set up as the Bad Guys, whilst Damon and Chancellor Hedin (played by the Celestial Toymaker aka Michael Gogh aka the one-time Mr Anneke Wills aka Polly) are both the Doctor's 'old friends' despite neither having been mentioned before; in fact, the only character to return is Borusa, now Lord President and played by Leonard Sachs. I wouldn't be remotely surprised if the whole High Council were in league with Omega, but I suspect it will only be one of them, and certainly not the Castellan.

Meanwhile, we finally got to see Omega in his lair toward the end, telling Colin to flick some switches whilst the Doctor was being executed. Given that Omega's form was seen imposed over the Doctor just before he was 'dispersed', I imagine he's been transmatted away somewhere. We also got a clearer look at the weird bone creature that zapped Colin and tried to zap Robin. "Oh dear..." is what came out of my mouth. I can see what they're attempting to do, but they really should have kept the thing back-lit.

ARC OF INFINITY (Part Three) 11/01/2023

I don't know if it's because I'm very tired, or because I'm in a bad mood because work is a bit shit at the moment, but tonight's episode was rather dry and boring. It was clear from the off that the Castellan and Maxil have nothing to do with Omega (and it is Omega, that was confirmed this evening), and it was all a bit obvious who it actually was behind all the goings-on on Gallifrey: the Doctor's old friend Chancellor Hedin. This revelation was dragged out like a bad Agatha Christie until the final scene with plenty of daft wrong assumptions on the Castellan's part.

Meanwhile, we learnt that the Doctor hadn't been terminated but was hidden behind an energy barrier in the termination room with his consciousness, for some inexplicable reason, in the Matrix with Omega. What they're doing there and how they got there is a mystery, as is the significance of this 'Arc of Infinity' other than it being very powerful and could be controlled (somehow) by someone inside the Matrix. So guess what happened at the end of the episode.

On Earth, Robin and Tegan made their way to the crypt via the Pump Room (rather than the easy way through the garden) and got zapped by the Ergon (Omega's bony henchman) after finding zombified Colin, and kept in Omega's TARDIS (where he got that is anyone's guess!). Here, the Ergon 'scanned' Tegan and found out she knows the Doctor, and Omega used her to persuade the Doctor to do as he says. However, the Doctor now knows Omega is on Earth somewhere.

At the end, Hedin held Borusa at gunpoint to try and get control of the Matrix, but was shot by the Chancellery Guard who were trying to shoot the Doctor as a traitor (before Borusa corrected them). Then Omega gained control of the Matrix (cue end credits).

Just a couple of things: the design for the Ergon really is awful. It looks like a gormless chicken skeleton from a '30s cartoon. It really is the worst thing I've seen on the show in years, outdoing even the Plasmatons who may have been giant bogeys but were at least given next to no screen time, unlike the Ergon who's had close-ups in full light and everything! Also, this is playing out very much like Johnny Byrne's last script. Like ...Traken we have a group of alien Councillors leading their society of which one is a traitor helping a renegade Time Lord who wants to gain control of a Very Powerful Thing, which he does at the cliffhanger closing Part Three. Meanwhile, we have Nyssa and some effete young man who's friends with the Doctor going round trying to help him whilst he's incarcerated, and plenty of scenes of Nyssa shooting guards with a stun gun. Oh, and the traitor dies moments before Part Three's end credits roll. And they all wear big dresses.

Unlike The Three Doctors, this isn't the fun runaround I was hoping would start the Anniversary season. I don't know what the next episode will be like, but I hope it's better than this one was! The first truly disappointing episode (and probably story) of the Peter Davison era!

ARC OF INFINITY (Part Four) 12/01/2023

So, it would seem there was a gap of a day between episodes last week because of the Junior Kick Start finals on the 4th. From now on, we're back to episodes on consecutive days which is much better. Speaking of which, I'm afraid tonight's episode wasn't.

I'm not sure if it was the script or the Direction but it all felt a bit flat. Omega took control of the Matrix, although how since he was sat in his TARDIS in Amsterdam is a mystery, as is why. He then began to use the power of the Arc of Infinity to convert himself from Anti-Matter so he could live in this universe. This, of course, leads to the question of his TARDIS. Where did he get it? He didn't have on in The Three Doctors and you'd've thought he would have made one by then if he could. So did Hedin provide it? And if so, how? And is it Anti-Matter? If not, why doesn't it react to Omega and the Ergon? And have Tegan, Colin and Robin been converted to Anti-Matter? None of this makes sense!

The Doctor entered the Matrix using the Coronet of Rassilon to find out where Omega was from Tegan. She basically told him under threat of death, but Omega didn't bother killing her. The Time Lords caused a distraction while the Doctor and Nyssa went to Amsterdam in the TARDIS and tracked the crypt down with the help to the JHC and Tegan mentioning the access behind the fountain despite having entered via access tunnels to the Pump Room. The transfer made Omega's mask (I assume it was a mask, although it looked a little like a frog's face) all gooey and collapse, Nyssa destroyed the Ergon, and the Doctor blew up the power converter thing cutting off Omega's transfer to normal matter before it had had time to stabilise. Then there was a big explosion, Omega took off his mask so Peter Davison could have a doppelganger moment lip-synching to Ian Collier's dialogue, then Omega legged it, killed a gardener and stole his overalls. Cue big, long, extended chase through the streets of Amsterdam.

I'm sure it's a very nice city, but this didn't have the same epic feel as City Of Death, largely because it seemed to all be backstreets and canals, although there was one very short scene with Omega passing a church. Then Omega started growing green scabs on his hands and face until he didn't look like Peter Davison but more like Ian Collier in a Peter Davison wig that had been in the wash with some red socks. The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan cornered him on a lock and shot him with the Ergon's gun (which Nyssa had used on the Ergon) and he faded away. Then we cut to Tegan on the phone finding out her cousin was in hospital and would be out in a few days, and telling the Doctor she'd been sacked so he was stuck with her. I'm not exactly sure why. It was a bit presumptuous of her. But the expression on Peter Davsion's face at this news almost made up for how weak this story has been!

Colin and Robin were also in this episode but did fuck all.

It's nice to have Tegan back, but I wish it had been later in the series and in a way that didn't feel so very contrived. Much of the plot either didn't make sense or relied far too heavily on coincidence. Also, having Omega return was great for the long term fans, but pretty meaningless for anyone who started watching less than ten years ago. Which also makes the fact of dragging out the revelation of who Omega was until the end of Part Three rather silly, especially when it should have been bleeding obvious to both the Doctor and the High Council who an Anti-Matter entity with connections to Gallifrey actually was! And they didn't even address how Omega had survived after The Three Doctors, or how he escaped his Anti-Matter Universe. And why he was so easily defeated...!

It's a shame. I can see what they were trying to do, but it just wasn't good enough. Perhaps if they'd commissioned a better writer than Johnny Byrne it might have been more cohesive or made at least a little sense. Instead, we got a rerun of his dreary Traken story with a load of technobabble and poorly shot locations. Not the best start to the Anniversary season, and Davison's first truly poor story. Still, the only way is up. I hope!