Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a brilliant story, and long overdue for release., 17 Mar 2000
By A Customer
The authors and director take full advantage of Tom Baker's vast personality and capacity for inventiveness, setting him against a background of political intrigue and bizarrely imaginative ideas. Tom gives one of his finest performances, veering wildly from dark and calculating to fiercely temperamental, sinister and childlike.This is an absolute must-see, if only for the cliffhangers to episodes 1 and 4, and Tom's huge and powerful presence. Highly recommended.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed but fun, 18 Feb 2008
As a Doctor Who fan I am duty-bound to see the good in every story from the classic series; I can even see the ridiculous Myrka in a (vaguely) positive light and trust me, it's not an easy thing to do! For me, part of being a fan is finding something of worth in even the weakest stories; true, this isn't what I envisaged as a callow 13 year-old in 1985 reading Terrance Dicks' Target novelisation of The Invasion of Time; but 1970's Doctor Who was made on a shoestring for the most part, and the overwhelmingly ambitious creatures and worlds created within it were never going to be anywhere near as impressive when televised. Having said that; this is still an intriguing story, if one that has rather too much overt humour; resulting in The Sontarans (in particular Derek Deadman's clumsy portrayal of their leader `Stor') losing credibility.
This was also the point on the series where Tom Baker's ego began to undermine the very series that made him a household name, and the six- part serial (one of the last to be this long) does stretch the script somewhat too thinly. Having said that, with The Doctor at the heart of what seems to be betrayal and duplicity, plus a chase around the TARDIS interior, and not one but two invading alien races; this story certainly has plenty going on; it's just that most of the action occurs towards the end, leaving it rather slow to get going.
Although I love the new series, I often hanker after the slower pace and more thought-provoking episodes of yesteryear, and The Invasion of Time, probably best known for being the serial that features The Timelords' home planet, Gallifrey, for the first time on television; as well as being the one where companion Leela and the first K9 leave The Timelord and stay on Gallifrey, is just such a story. Despite there being no indication of any romance in the script Leela inexplicably stays behind to marry the guard captain Andred, but this contrivance notwithstanding; The Invasion of Time is a solid and enjoyable, if slow-burning, adventure, from a more innocent era.
This story is now also available on DVD in two formats: On its own and as part of the `Bred for War' Sontaran box set; both available from Amazon.
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5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Oh dear..., 4 Nov 2004
I love Dr Who - it is one of my all-time favorite shows, but for want of a better word, this story is complete pants.
In fact I wish it had never been made...Many people probably disagree, but I always think it was a mistake to actually SHOW the Timelords and their home planet - surely they should have remained an enigma, like, er, Mrs Columbo!
And, considering how 'eccentric' the Doctor is (& here is tiresomely more than ever), why are the rest of his peers (excluding the Master) so terribly one-dimensional and dull??! This story to me represents the very nadir of Dr Who.
Beset with production problems, including a strike at the studios, the filming was completed for the most part in a disused Victorian public swimming pool building, which, in a distastrous plot twist, ends up doubling for the vast and multi-storeyed interior of the Tardis! Also, the wonderful Sontarans, who made such a memorbale debut in The Time Warrior, are now overused & simply laughable in ill-fitting costumes and have long lost any sense of menace. Sorry to say, but a story to definitley avoid...
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