I think The Curse of Peladon is a spectacular outing for the Doctor and exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for after the Doctor was no longer stranded on Earth in then contemporary times. It's full of aliens but also continuity - using the Ice Warriors in a then new and creative way to show a great side to the aliens that would persist in the years to come, while also introducing us to important new characters like Alpha Centauri and even the setting of Peladon itself.

I really like the story and it felt very Doctor Who to me. More about politics and diplomacy than adventure or action. It was great, and better yet I never really found myself bored or at a loss for something to enjoy. The Curse of Peladon is full of cool effect and it feels like they were throwing every trick in the filmmaker's tool kit available to them at the time - lots of green screen, miniatures, and prosthetic are used here to remarkable effect. Sure, not all of it looks totally amazing and the music can be a bit generic, but the serial is full of a feeling of effort to it that I very much appreciate overall.

I will say, The Curse of Peladon does lack a lot for Jo's character to do, and it feels like she doesn't get any of the character moments I found other Third Doctor stories would ensure she got in lesser serials. It's a pretty clear weakness to me of an otherwise pretty outstanding piece of Doctor Who fiction. This is definitely one of the more impressive Third Doctor stories I've encountered to date and a clear candidate for a personal favourite of mine, right up there with stuff like The Sea Devils or Kaleidoscope.