24x4. Dragonfire
Writer: Ian Briggs
Director: Chris Clough
Script Editor: Andrew Cartmel
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Synopsis: The
Doctor and Mel visit Iceworld, a seemingly benign trading colony on the
planet Svartos where the sinister Kane maintains control, and become
involved with the efforts of former adversary Sabalom Glitz
and Ace, a teenager from 20th-century Earth, to locate a
mysterious dragon in the ice caves and its legendary treasure.
Review: Like "Paradise Towers" and "Delta and the Bannermen," "Dragonfire"
is another example of reasonably good execution of an underdeveloped
premise. Iceworld is a nicely designed and memorable location, Kane is
an intimidating villain if not exactly a very complex one, and the
script boasts two strong characters in Sabalom Glitz, who functions as
a not-entirely-trustworthy ally of convenience for the Doctor here, and
Ace, who exudes a certain vulnerability under her brash exterior. And
as Doctor Who "monsters" go,
the dragon stands out for being non-hostile, and its somewhat hokey
appearance actually makes sense when we learn that it's a robot. What
doesn't hold up as well is the reason for all this to be happening in
the first place. Namely, Kane's own people exiled him to Svartos three
thousand years ago, with the dragon sent there to act as his jailor.
But as others have pointed out, are we supposed to believe that Kane
waited three thousand years before deciding on this escape plan, and
why would his own people leave him with any means of escape at all? The
ending is also rather weak: upon learning that his home planet was
destroyed long ago and that he'll never have his revenge, Kane commits
suicide, and Mel decides to stay behind to keep an eye on Glitz, who
plans to take charge of Iceworld. But Glitz shows little indication of
having mended his ways - he's sold his crew to Kane when they first
encounter him and intends to steal his ship back rather than pay off
his debt to Kane - and I can't see what makes Mel think she'd be able
to influence him, or why the Doctor would deem this a good idea. I
realize that Bonnie Langford was intent on leaving the series, but why
not simply have the Doctor return her to Earth?
Rating: **1/2 (out of four)
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