20x1. Arc of Infinity
Writer: Johnny Byrne
Director: Ron Jones
Script Editor: Eric Saward
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Synopsis: The insane Time Lord Omega plots his return to
Gallifrey, setting up a power center underneath Amsterdam and using
stolen bio-data on the Doctor to engineer the creation of a
matter-based body that could exist in our universe. The Time Lords
attempt to execute the Doctor to prevent Omega's return, but Omega and
his co-conspirator, the High Councillor Hedin, interfere, while Omega
holds Tegan - who came to Amsterdam to meet her cousin - as a hostage
to manipulate the Doctor.
Review: I'm starting to think that "less is more" might be a
wise rule regarding visits to Gallifrey. While the Time Lords
featured in two classic serials, "The War Games" and "The Deadly
Assassin," the former left their appearance until the very end and the
latter was set up partly to illustrate that, despite the Time Lords'
power, Gallifrey could be just as corrupt and regressive as many of the
other declining, aristocratic regimes seen on other alien worlds. But
in "The Three Doctors," "The Invasion of Time," and now "Arc of
Infinity," the creative team have sometimes seemed to struggle with the
sheer scope of any narrative involving such a powerful civilization.
For
starters, there's simply too much contrived plotting here. The reason
for Omega using Amsterdam as a sort of headquarters is strained at best
(it has something to do with the city's below-sea-level location and
some quirk of the Arc of Infinity, itself a purely fictitious concept),
and Tegan apparently stumbles into the midst of this purely by
coincidence. The science fiction elements underpinning the
conspiracy on Gallifrey are only marginally better developed. There's
some pseudoscience invoked to explain how Omega is attempting to form a
"bond" to the Doctor, why the Time Lords think killing the Doctor might
be the only way to stop it, and how Omega and Hedin interrupt the
execution while making it appear as if the Doctor has died. But it
doesn't amount to much more than a fancy way to say "because the script
said so."
Meanwhile, a character is murdered at the very beginning without anyone
acknowledging it until the third episode, when a line of dialogue
implies that everyone knows that he's dead. But didn't anyone even
notice him missing before that, and shouldn't that have prompted an
investigation of its own by the time the Doctor's TARDIS is recalled to
Gallifrey?
What
makes this especially disappointing is that there actually could have
been an interesting story here about conflict within Gallifrey's
political establishment. Some amount of contrived plotting is perhaps
inevitable in a story dealing with hyperintelligent aliens and a being
trying to cross over from an "antimatter universe," and I'd be happy to
just accept the premise for what it is if the characters' reactions,
and the decisions they face, were interesting and understandable. But
Borusa, Thalia, and the Castellan rarely strike a pose other than cold,
bureaucratic aloofness, and the Council is surprisingly slow to accept
that there is a traitor within their ranks - surely they should be
aware of their vulnerability after the events of the last two Gallifrey
serials.
Meanwhile, Hedin and Damon are introduced as friends of the Doctor
even though we've never seen either of them before, while the Doctor's
actual allies from past Gallifrey serials are absent. Even if none of
the previous actors and actresses were available, why couldn't the
producers just do what they did with Borusa in this serial and use
regeneration as the pretext for recasting a second Time Lord character
as well, such as Spandrell or Engin from "The Deadly Assassin"? Or why
not at least show a stronger sense of regret or guilt from Borusa
himself, who must feel something for his former pupil even if he thinks
he can't let it influence him as President? Instead we're left trying
to feel invested in the decisions and motivations of characters whom we
mostly haven't seen before and who don't show much personality.
I
don't want to sound too negative about this serial, because the script
does seem to engage with these issues at some level. While the fine
points could have been better, the general sense of Gallifrey as a
society not to be envied for its power is still present. Clearly all is
not well when the Time Lords' power can be manipulated from within to
the point of threatening such a catastrophe that their leaders feel
justified in executing an innocent man as a method of preventing it.
Commander Maxil (played, interestingly enough, by Colin Baker) is the
sort of hard-nosed authoritarian who flourishes in this sort of
environment; as the Doctor points out, he may just be following orders,
but he seems to find a bit of relish in them. The tragic aspect of
Omega's character also comes across more effectively here than it did
in "The Three Doctors." Hedin's motivation for his betrayal - that
Omega deserves to return to Gallifrey - nicely avoids simplistic
villainy (though it would have been good to learn more about how he
came into contact with Omega and decided on this course of action).
Omega was originally
trapped in the antimatter universe by accident and, as far as we can
tell, had done nothing reckless or unethical leading up to this. It's
clear that the Doctor would have preferred to try to
help Omega - just as he also would have preferred in "The Three
Doctors" - if Omega weren't so dangerously egocentric and unhinged.
A show like Doctor Who
has a fine line to walk. Since the concepts in play often have little
basis in realistic science and the main character is far more
experienced and intelligent than anyone in the audience, we need to
know what's at stake for the characters - both literally and
psychologically - even when we (and the writers) don't entirely understand what they're
talking about. In other words, contrivances can be excused as long as
the story isn't primarily *about* the contrivances (or else you end up
with another "Time-Flight"). "Arc of Infinity" gets part of the way
there, but ultimately the guest cast isn't strong enough to carry it
through its more strained moments.
Other Notes:
- The
absence of past Gallifrey characters is especially noticeable given
that Leela is mentioned at one point. Again, I don't know whether
any consideration was given to having Louise Jamieson and/or Chris
Tranchell (who played Andred in "Invasion of Time") make a guest
apperance, but it reinforces the sense that the writers are inventing
new personal history for the Doctor rather than building on what we
already know.
- I'm just as confused about why Tegan was left
behind at the end of "Time-Flight" as I was at, well, the end of
"Time-Flight." The Doctor and Nyssa aren't talking about going back for
her when we catch up with them, but then she rejoins the crew after
announcing that she's lost her flight attendant job. So her only
options are working as a flight attendant or going on an extended and
frequently dangerous trip through space and time?
Rating: **1/2 (out of four)
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