Nowadays it seems standard for Doctor Who to tackle a series arc but during the classic series it was very uncommon. Sure, there was 1964's The Keys to Marinus but that was more of a single serial arc - it didn't take up the entire season. The only true examples in the Doctor Who's classic series of a season-long arc are The Trial of a Time Lord...and the Key to Time. And so it was the job of The Ribos Operation to introduce what the arc was about.

The idea behind the Key to Time was that in each story the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm) would arrive somewhere where one of the pieces to the Key to Time is detected to be by Romana's locater. The Doctor and Romana are recruited by the White Guardian (Cyril Luckham ) to find all six segments of the Key to Time. With all six segments together, the White Guardian can restore the balance of order and chaos to the universe. They arrive on the planet Ribos, where Garron (Iain Cuthbertson) and Unstoffe (Nigel Plaskitt) are trying to sell Ribos to the ruler of planet Levithia the Graff Vynda-K (Paul Seed) by convincing him it is full of a rare and powerful mineral known as 'Jethrik'. They place a lump of the rare mineral in the glass case housing the planet's crown jewels and show the Graff, who becomes convinced the planet is a rich source for it. When the Graff realises he has been conned, the Doctor and Romana are forced to work with Garron and Unstoffe to claim the Jethrik back.

I'll admit, I was rather disappointed with this story as I expected more from the opener of a quest storyline. It is a fun tale though and typical of writer Robert Holmes' style. It is great fun the way the narrative subverts the heist genre; instead of trying to steal something FROM an unsuspecting owner, it becomes about trying to steal something BACK. This prevents the heist genre from becoming predictable, offering a fresh take that sometimes the genre could need.

The problem is that it doesn't offer any memorable conflict. The Graff is a bit of a generic threat; all he really does is order executions and understandably become extremely angry at being conned. He's certainly no threat compared to Daleks or even the Cavemen from An Unearthly Child, where you feel like the TARDIS crew are in danger. The Ribos guards seem a bit useless too. You've got towonder who hired them considering one of them lets a complete stranger (IE the Doctor) pull their whistle away without any forcible protest. Surely a proper guard would be a bit more forceful: pull the Doctor's hand away and blow the whistle to call for the guards? The Graff's guards aren't much better either but at least they seem a bit more threatening and imposing than the guards on Ribos.

If anything makes this a Doctor Who story you have to see, it's the comical relationship between Unstoffe and Garron. Unstoffe and Garron make a brilliant double act and one that no doubt reminds some Whovians of Jago & Litefoot. They are hugely entertaining and definitely the best part of this rather average serial. Ian Cuthbertson and Nigel Plaskitt play to Robert Holmes' writing well and it's a crime that they never got the chance to record Big Finish audios. Ian Cuthbertson sadly passed away in 2009 and Nigel Plaskitt is still alive but Undtoffe without Garron like all great double acts really wouldn't work.

Also: James Purdie's lighting for this serial is very impressive, especially for the White Guardian scene. The scene with the White Guardian looks suitably dream-like and a nice almost Hawaiin-like quality that plays nicely with the ethereal quality of his being. I'd say it's definitely the best classic series serial for lighting - it prevents the show from feeling cheap even though it was made on a shoestring budget, meaning it can compete better with the blockbuster films of the time.

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Overall, The Ribos Operation is a disappointingly average opener for a season-long story arc. There's nothing too special to be found here, however it can be applauded for its inventiveness with the lighting and subversion of the heist genre. The double act between the characters of Unstoffe and Garron is brilliant too, it's just a pity that the story offers little in the way of conflict for the Doctor, Romana, Unstoffe and Garron. The Gaff is certainly not going to be considered one of Doctor Who's greatest villains anytime soon.