Written by Terence Dudley and Sydney Newman
Directed by Ron Jones

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as “The Doctor” and is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means he travels through time to various places. One of his favorite places to visit is Earth. Typically, he has a companion traveling with him, usually female, sometimes male, sometimes one of each. He travels in a time machine known as a “Tardis” which is disguised as a British Police booth.

A Time Lord can regenerate if fatally wounded, which has accounted for all the different actors who have played The Doctor throughout the years.  In this story-arc, the Doctor is portrayed by Peter Davison. Traveling with him are Nyssa, Tegan and Adric (portrayed by Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, and Matthew Waterhouse).

The four land in the TARDIS on Earth in the 1920s and are mistaken for a group expected at a cricket match.  Nyssa is mistaken for one of the player’s fiancées.  Even his parents agree the resemblance is uncanny and swear she must be from the same lineage, which of course she isn’t.

But there is an evil presence afoot, and those hosting a costume party know more about it than they are letting on.  Under the guise of the same costume the Doctor intends to wear, a murder is committed.  Of course, the Doctor is falsely accused of the murder.  From then on, it’s an Agatha Christie style whodunit.

Black Orchid is a murder mystery without aliens or the special effects that go along with them.  There are a few instances of special-effects make-up and some excellent costuming, but for the most part this two-part story-arc was a disappointment to Doctor Who fans.  Like me, most of them spent the majority of the time waiting for the alien angle that never was to be.

There are good moments to be found.  For the first time, it seems like there is a camaraderie among the occupants of the TARDIS rather than have them always sniping at each other.  Sarah Sutton gets some real good moments to show why she was added to the cast, and I felt like she was the one person they should have kept with the Doctor instead of crowding it with a dynamic that never quite worked to me.

The DVD is excellent with a plethora of bonus features including commentary from the four main characters.  Janet Fielding especially seems to relish disparaging this story, and I think even coming from them it’s unfairly maligned.  It’s character driven and has some good attention to detail.  Sure, the aliens are missing, and it never quite captured the darker edge some of the tales with Tom Baker were famous for, but it’s not as bad as most people make it out to be.

Black Orchid is not the place to start someone watching Doctor Who, and it’s not necessary to watch in any way as a bridge between the episodes The Visitation and Earthshock, although the camaraderie shown among the three here might heighten the impact of the events coming in Earthshock.  Still, I felt is has been unfairly maligned during the years simply for not being a conventional Doctor Who story.  Fans of the series who might have avoided it might want to give it a look.


SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse, and Sarah Sutton
• Isolated Audio Track
• Information Text
• Now and Then: The Locations of Black Orchid
• Deleted Scenes
• Film Restoration
• Blue Peter
• Stripped for Action: The Fifth Doctor – about the Doctor Who comic strip
• Points of View
• Radio Times Listing
• Photo Gallery