Written by Eric Saward
Directed by Peter Moffatt

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series that has been around on and off 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 episode, he is portrayed by Peter Davison. The Doctor is traveling with Tegan, Adric, and Nyssa (portrayed by Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse, and Sarah Sutton).

Intending to drop Tegan off at Heathrow Airport in the 20th Century, the Doctor miscalculates a bit, and they end up in London during the time of The Plague in the 17th Century. It’s not long before they are surrounded by locals. They manage to ward them off and head for where they believe the TARDIS is, but soon find themselves lost. A man in a tree comes to their defense and then tells of how the countryside was affected by the plague after a comet appeared in the sky. He introduces himself as highwayman Richard Mace (portrayed by Michael Robbins). In actuality, he is an out-of-work actor in this time period.

With Mace’s help, the group soon learn that there is another danger lurking about besides the plague. Three stranded aliens, known as Terileptils, are planning how to wipe out humanity and secure the planet for themselves. They have a robot which the locals have mistaken for the Grim Reaper. It strikes fear in them whenever it appears.

The opening seems to be setting the viewer up for something, but because there is no immediate presence of the Doctor, it’s a bit hard to grasp who’s who and what’s going on. The historical setting is good, but unlike most of the shows that open with the Doctor in the TARDIS with whoever is accompanying him at the time, this starts with where they will end up accidentally. This sort of sets that second scene up, where I knew they weren’t going to end up in Heathrow circa 1984.

The story is great. It really draws in the time period, involving itself in various historical events such as the Great Plague. Richard Mace is out of work due to the Puritan influence on society, which closed down theaters, and there is also a reference to the Great Fire of London. Rather than just having the time period as the backdrop for the story, the writer has thoroughly incorporated it into the story. The dialogue between the characters is witty and worth paying attention to.

Peter Davison has fast become my second favorite of the traditional Doctors. This performance was early in his run, and he seems to be trying to capture much of the personality of his predecessor. If watching it in sequence, it works due to the fact that it serves as a bridge. Watching it out of order, he’s a little too glib and charming, although I did find that to be some of the endearing qualities to his performance as the Doctor. He just wasn’t as bombastic as Tom Baker became near the end of his turn as the Doctor.

The companions are all too erratic here. Tegan comes off as tired of the whole mess. That could easily be due to the fact that she’s eager to return home and somehow been drawn into yet another adventure. She comes off more petulant and grumpy than anything else. Matthew Waterhouse is not a particularly convincing actor. The scene where he trips and falls is so terrible and unconvincing. Too often, he seems to be the Doctor’s lap-dog. The one who could have been the strongest here, Sarah Sutton’s Nyssa, is written out for long periods of time, not seen while she is building a weapon.

Michael Robbins is terrific to watch as the highwayman Richard Mace. According to the actors in the commentary, he hated this role, and it’s a shame because his somewhat overacting portrayal was just totally suitable to the time period. He pretty much steals the show from the recurring characters, which is why I believe the three companions ended up relegated to the background. With so many characters and just so much time, the Director made good use of the strength in this guest star, and it added quite a bit to the story-arc.

The three fish-faced aliens and their accompanying robot are cheesy, but that’s just what fans have come to expect from Doctor Who. The creatures are very obviously actors in rubber suits, and it really doesn’t attempt to be convincing on the alien front. Those looking for high-end effects and convincing aliens are better off passing this series by. The new series might be fine in their eyes, but the charm of the older one will be missed by them.

Director Peter Moffat and Peter Davison had worked together previously on All Creatures Great and Small. It made the commentary fun to listen to as they, at times, digressed for a few moments into reminiscing about that series. The commentary is very enjoyable with all four of the recurring characters participating, and they seem to have really enjoyed themselves both then and now. The extras on all of the Doctor Who DVDs have really been done well.

There may be a few issues with The Visitation, such as weak writing for the Doctor’s companions, as well as a familiar plot of aliens on Earth masquerading to take over or wipe out humanity. However, the story is done quite well here, and the performance of guest star Michael Robbins more than makes up for the issues with the companions. It’s definitely worth checking out for a good example of why Peter Davison was a wonderful choice to follow Tom Baker.




SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Directing Who – Peter Moffat
• Scoring The Visitation
• Film Trims
• Commentary with Peter Davison, Peter Moffat, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse, and Sarah Sutton
• Information Text
• Writing a Final Visitation
• Photo Gallery
• Who’s Who