Doctor Who - The Invisible Enemy [VHS] [1977]

Enough of that, what about the rest of the story? It starts off with the crew of a space shuttle who become mysteriously “infected” when a strange cloud envelops and attacks their craft. On arriving at their destination, the planet of Titan, they kill all but one member of the Titan base. Meanwhile, the TARDIS encounters the same outer space cloud and the Dr becomes infected too, although his companion Leela seems to be immune. The TARDIS materialises on the Titan base and Leela tries to get help for the Dr, but it seems that the alien virus, the “Nucleus” that infected him, has already chosen the Dr as its “host” body and it must be protected at all costs...

The story has plenty of action and gets more involved when it moves to the “bi-al foundation”, an intergalactic hospital situated on an asteroid, in episode two where we meet Professor Marius, the inventor of K9 and surgeon who attempts to rid the Dr of the virus.

Although some of the special and visual effects in this story seem pretty dated by today’s standards there are some good moments like the shots of shuttlecraft when it lands on the Titan base. There’s some less effective bits though, for instance when K9 is about to shoot down a section of a wall and you can see the cracks already there! The Nucleus monster, who we get to see properly from the end of episode three, is absolutely hilarious and resembles nothing less than a giant shrimp, or something ruder. When we see it growing in the chamber at the end of the third episode, waving its pincers/claws about, it looks like it’s disco dancing! Equally silly is the appearance of the characters who have been taken over by the virus – after being infected they sprout what can only be described as Dennis Healey style bushy eyebrows and their faces look like they’re coated with icing sugar! Not very scary! A more successful visual aspect are the sets that represent the interior of the Dr’s mind, where clones of the Dr and Leela are sent to track down the Nucleus host. It’s an interesting concept, although not entirely original, as the idea was originally used in the movie “Fantastic Voyage”.

As for the acting and characterisation in this story, it ranges from average to good. Tom Baker, whilst in my opinion one of the best Drs, seems to be coasting at times and going through the motions (this was the start of the period when Graham Williams produced the programme, who unfortunately had a rather laissez faire approach to the show). However he still has some strong moments, often in his humorous exchanges with Leela - e.g. when he accuses her of copying him like a parrot in episode one – and also in the scenes where he questions the Nucleus’ right to conquer the cosmos. Louise Jameson as Leela, although occasionally annoying in the way she’s portrayed as a silly savage, is still a gutsy companion and she’s great when she’s fighting with K9 against the “evil”, infected characters. The moment when she calls K9 a “tin thing” is funny as is the scene when she asks K9 to explain the cloning technique “simply” (she doesn’t understand him first time round). Frederick Jaegar’s Professor Marius character is half serious/half-humorous and quite endearing, although his cod-Germanic accent is a bit corny at times! Michael Sheard is also good as Lowe, one of the members of Titan base who becomes contaminated later on and is quite menacing as a villain (anyone remember him as Mr Bronson in Grange Hill?!!)

Overall if you’re looking for some entertainment, you can do infinitely worse than “The Invisible Enemy” – I enjoyed it and I think you will probably too, especially if you like some good old 1970s sci-fi. There’s just the right amount of “Who” elements here for all concerned – “make contact” with a copy as soon as you can!

The reason 'The Invisible Enemy' is still entertaining is the combination of witty dialogue and eye-catching design. Tom Baker frequently proves to be the saving grace of Fourth Doctor stories, and here is no exception. Both the Doctor and Leela are served well by a script which is clever, slightly ironic, and full of good dialogue ("You megalomaniacs are all the same"), and save for a few dud lines (usually where the script is desperately trying to cover some distance in a short space of time with exposition from either Leela of the Swarm) Bob Baker and Dave Martin turned out a solid (if not classic) story.

However what stands out in 'The Invisible Enemy' is the time that appears to have gone into giving the story a distinctive look and atmosphere. A high-angle shot of the three infected astronauts in their space-suits, for example, succeeds in stretching the capabilities of a shot-on-video studio-based TV story into the realms of the filmic. 'The Invisible Enemy' isn't cinematic by any stretch of the imagination, but there are certain shots early on that leave a big impression. The cliff-hanger to episode one, the special effects shots at the very beginning of the story, and the model-shots of the eggs before they hatch, are all particularly effective. And other, smaller details shouldn't be ignored: the decals used in the moon base ('Oxygen' and 'Level 4X', etc.) have a pleasing future-retro feel, and Professor Marius' spectacles are wonderful.

There is a lot to like in 'The Invisible Enemy', and even though certain elements would make even the most hardy of viewers wince (the inside of the Doctor's brain, and the virus in it, for example, are far too tacky) overall it is a successful and enjoyable Doctor Who adventure.