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Doctor Who Serial 116 – Castrovalva

I guess we’re really done with Tom Baker, and it’s time for Peter Davison.

Part One

Some military police arrive and stop our heroes from rescuing the Doctor. Tegan and Nyssa steal an ambulance, drive it 3 metres to the TARDIS and leave Adric behind. Then the Master shows up, laughs, disappears, Adric is behind the Master’s TARDIS, comes into the TARDIS, they leave, the Master’s TARDIS shows up, the Master laughs, the Master’s TARDIS disappears.

That was… something.

Davison has a terrible haircut, but I enjoy him tearing apart his scarf.

“I wonder boy, what would you do if you were me,” he asks with his hands in his suspenders like William Hartnell used grip his vest’s lapels. So far I’m enjoying some Davison.

And now he’s doing a mediocre Patrick Troughton.

The Master’s moustache twirling villainry is tiring. And why does the Doctor have a Cricket locker room in the TARDIS? That’s a stupid question, the Doctor has everything. Oh, Adric is captured by the Master.

I think you mean universe when you said galaxy, Nyssa. But hey, Big Bang, sounds good. Just make sure you don’t end up on the Big Bang Theory.

Part Two

Disembodied Master head!

I love that the Doctor doesn’t have a fancy futuristic wheelchair, nope he has one from the ’80s.

Well, there’s some Pertwee nod, “reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.”

Why are Adric and the Master on the set for the music video for “The Rest Of My Life?”

Also, the Master is holding an original series tricorder.

After watching so many regeneration stories, I’m really happy that they restarted the show in 2005 without a regeneration. As much as I love Paul McGann, I didn’t need to see him to know that Eccelston was the new Doctor.

This is the problem with classic Doctor Who, so much wasted time as characters wander around.

Part Three

Very kind of the Doctor to leave a trail of blood for Tegan and Nyssa to follow.

Those Castravulvaians look like the eggmen, goo goo g’joob.

Oh! Celery! But he ate it, didn’t decorate with it.

Part Four

I enjoy the M.C. Escher building.

I feel like this story does not have much story for it. It could have easily been half the length. Maybe a quarter. It’s just a regeneration story, but usually there’s some plot outside of the Doctor’s regeneration.

The 1980s video effects are so bad.

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