Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
On a bleak space station, 29 Sep 2004
Terminus, was first broadcast in 1983, as part of the 20th anniversary season of Doctor Who. To mark the anniversary, producer John Nathan Turner, had elected to include as a gimmick, an element of the Doctor's past, in every story. In retrospect this was not a good decision, as the over reliance on nostalgia soon became tiresome, and even worse, continuity with what had come before, became a staple for the next few seasons. Fine for some of the die hard fans, but not the casual viewer. Thankfully, Terminus's link to the past, is limited to the sporadic appearances of Valentine Dyall, as the Black Guardian. In this story, written by the celebrated science fiction author Stepehen Gallagher, new companion Turlough, is being manipulated by the Black guardian into killing his sworn enemy the Doctor. Turlough is told to jeopardise the engines of the Tardis, which he does, forcing it to land on a seemingly deserted spaceship. In fact the spaceship is anything but empty, as it is carrying passengers who have an horrific, contagious space disease, similar to leprosy, to a gigantic space station, in which they will supposedly be cured. Upon arrival at the station, the Doctor's and his companions, then have to avoid both contamination, and the hostile intentions, of the people who work there, The station also houses a 'big" secret, which the Doctor must uncover. A problem with having three companions in Doctor Who, was that it was inevitable that some would be sidelined in stories. In Terminus, Mark Strickson's role as Turlough, is significant in the early scenes, and it would appear that he would have a central role throughout the story. However, alongside Janet Fielding as Tegan, he has virtually nothing to do for the reminder of the adventure, even spending 2 episodes, crawling around the airduct of a spaceship. Instead, Nyssa has the main role, which I suppose can be understood, as it is her farewell story. Peter Davision, is as good as ever as the Doctor. An aspect of the story, which I do enjoy, is its bleakness. The use of the impressive sets from the film Alien, lands the story with a dark and unique atmosphere. Such is the nature of the script that it is hard to believe that the same Producer would later make the colourful Happiness Patrol, and Greatest Show In The Galaxy. The guest actors are ok, in particular Peter Benson, best known for his role in ITV's Heartbeat, gives an interesting performance as the unbalanced Bor, a character convinced that his days are numbered, and what lies on the otherside can not be as bad as his exisiting circumstances. Peter Davision, once said that his favourite companion was Nyssa, whom he felt worked best alongside his Doctor. It is shame that she was not kept on, and it was Tegan who was written out. I personally much prefer it when the Doctor, has a good relationship with his companions. This is not the best Davision story, neither is it the worst.
|
|
|
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Peter Davison is the best Doctor Who ever!, 20 May 2004
This dark, brooding SF tale is low key and a little slow and probably not for the impatient, but the story is brilliant and the atmosphere is dark and menacing, especially at the start. Here, the Doctor investigates a compelling mystery. Why is the plague ship Terminus at the very center of the known Universe and what is going on there? As Nyssa falls ill and meets the cynical crew who are enslaved by the "company", the Doctor and a space pirate explore and meet the half deranged and rambling Bor, injured as he tried to prevent a catastrophe. The clues he gives leads them to a ramshackle control center where a giant, long-dead alien pilot sits at the controls of the ancient ship. Here the Doctor forms a chilling theory...imagine this ship in flight...suddenly the pilot realises he has a huge amount of unstable fuel aboard...waht would you do? But...he jettisons it into a void...triggering a chain reaction...how big? The biggest explosion ever know...Event One! The Big Bang! The Doctor has found the birth place of the Universe and unless he can stop the countdown, he may be present for the next explosion, the detonation that could destroy everything...
Some of the sub plots are a little ordinary, but the main thread is well worth following to the end. An underrated gem from a brilliant and mature season of Dr.Who.
|
|
|
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear., 7 Jan 2004
By A Customer
I like to think I am open minded. And I like to give various much-maligned Doctor Who stories the benefit of the doubt. I actually LIKE Arc of Infinity, for example. But what happened here? How on earth did this ever get made? Did anyone, at any point in the production of this story, ever actually think that this was ever going to be anything more than complete and utter rubbish? You know you've lost any pretence at credibility when your supporting cast appear in white spandex superhero outfits with enormous goldfish bowls on their heads. And when you are asking one of your main characters to remove her skirt ("because she had a tummy ache" I think the official line goes) and spend the rest of the story wearing - well a very small petticoat - it is really time to give up and go seek out professional help. Some of the actors do try, to give them their due, but if I was Sarah Sutton and had been shown this as my departing story I probably would have locked myself in the toilet and refused to come out until someone had sacked the script editor. The only part of the entire experience that has any credibility is the scene where Nyssa says goodbye to the Doctor and Tegan, and you cannot help but feel that the emotion is actually genuine. Its emotive powers are all the more impressive considering the hour+ of mind numbing boredom that has come before. This is really only worth it for anal retentive types like me who want to complete a collection. Buy the book. That was good, at least!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
![Doctor Who - Enlightenment [VHS] [1983]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/misc/no-img-lg-uk._SS90_V45480597_.gif)
VHS ~ Peter Davison
![Doctor Who - The Awakening/Frontios [VHS] [1963]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CEBAMEQ6L._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
VHS ~ William Hartnell
![Doctor Who - Snakedance [VHS] [1983]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WG28XN5NL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
VHS ~ Peter Davison
![Doctor Who - Terminus [VHS] [1983]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/misc/no-img-lg-uk._SS50_V45480597_.gif)
![Doctor Who - Beneath the Surface (The Silurians [1970] / The Sea Devils [1972] / Warriors of the Deep [1984]) [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bU0U2-LOL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk 
Amazon Home