This one has a much more interesting plot than “Sword of Orion”, but while it keeps you engaged, it is a mess. Duke Orsino married a woman called Estella, but then lost her in a game of cards (huh), she got pissed and “killed” herself, cursing him and Venice to be destroyed in 100 years time. Why 100 years? No clue. Moving on. Now it’s doomsday and we have 1) people just there for the party (who apparently are OK with dying), 2) the Gondoliers, an oppressed amphibian race (who are eagerly awaiting the sinking of the city, because then it’s all theirs), and 3) the Cultists who worship Estella and think she’ll come back to life and lift the curse. Charley gets mixed up with the Gondoliers, the Doctor with the Cultists. Pietro the Gondolier has an incredibly stupid and pointless plan: he makes Charley tell the Duke she’s Estella to distract him from going after the remains of the real Estella, lest he somehow resurrects her and stops Venice from sinking. But the Duke was not even going to do that in the first place, so it all comes to nothing. Then in the end we find, surprising absolutely no-one, that the mysterious old lady the Doctor and Charley met when they first arrived was Estella all along. And she’s an alien. She and the Duke sacrifice themselves to save the city with her magic alien will-amplifying jewels (?). The Cultists are sad, the Doctor has one throwaway line about how he hopes they treat the Gondoliers better now (they absolutely will not), and that’s the end.    

All the side characters were soooooo hammy and overdone. It was exhausting, and I didn't care for them. The Doctor has some great moments, and some things about his character come to the fore. He really is trying to just show Charley a good time, and is guilty that he’s been putting her in so many life threatening situations. He’s so scatterbrained he only noticed she had left to talk to Pietro, like, an hour afterwards. He gets lost in thought, deaf to all around him, constantly. People are shooting at him, he’s planning a trip to Venice. That exchange with the curator that goes “I’m good friends with the Duke” “Are you really” “No”. He’s snarky all the time, but in such a soft tone that people don’t even understand. Stealing the jewels, lying about knowing where the portrait is, keeping the information that the coffin is empty from everyone, talking about Liza Minnelli… Good stuff, good stuff. Charley’s character is beginning to crystallize. Mostly, she wants to have fun and see new things! She wants to meet people, not go see some paintings. She complains about how the TARDIS looks too old and Gothic and has too much wood paneling (SLANDER - maybe that’s part of the reason the TARDIS dislikes her). She’s still impressed by the Doctor and has full faith in him, but she mocks and snarks at him every chance she gets. She’s sympathetic to the struggles of the Gondoliers, but with an air of superiority, I guess I could say. A rich girl who is a nice person and does care, but doesn’t fully grasp the implications and nuances of social/racial struggles. This is not a criticism; it’s great to see, and gives her room to mature. 

The Doctor and Charley’s back and forth is delightful. They both tend to talk fancy, making for some very polite-sounding teasing. They clearly care a lot about each other already and are having a good time. There’s some foreshadowing here about her and the Doctor's relationship, or at least I think there is. “She loved him, of course she stepped into the flame”, “it was all about love in the end”, Charley thinking dying together is the peak of romance, the kind of ominous tone and music when the Doctor says he’s not going to abandon her, his best friend... hmmmmmmmm.