This episode is a lot, yet also very little. It’s a difficult one to pin down.

We land on the Planet Vortis, which looks completely desolate. But there is more going on than meets the eye. Without the party noticing, there is a battle of survival between 2 species: The Zarbi and the Menoptra. Let's talk about them first.

This is an aspect of the story that immediately hinders it a bit. We have two kinds of creatures, which are unique and interesting at a glance, but their abilities and underlying motivations are not presented as well as they could be.

Part of it might be the costume design. This is an episode that is notorious for its clash between ambition and budget. I have to say, it is mostly harmless. I don't think this story looks particularly bad. It's just that it has way more to tell with the same amount of resources. The only real problem that it leads to, is on the Zarbi end. Their designs are fine and definitely look the part, but they have no expressiveness. They don't talk much either, so it is very hard for them to 'earn their place' so to speak. They have no real way of showing us what makes them special. Other characters often have to tell us their deal, which can be distracting and come across as exposition.

The Menoptra fare a little better on that front. Their design is relatively strong. The black and white of the screen gives them a very distinct look. Especially in their faces. They also have the benefit of being humanoid and able to speak, which makes them easier to understand.

After their introduction, the story tries to build up a lot of different aspects and ideas onto the foundation of these two species: There's the Carnisome, the Operta, the Animus, the larvae gun and more. Problem is, the foundation of this story wasn't all that strong and needed a lot of explaining on the Zarbi side. All these elements add another aspect that needs to be explained. This can turn into a bit of an infodump at times. Like building a house on sand, it starts to slip.

It turns into a lot of unnecessary "Tell, don't show" moment. Those can be linked to budget, but I don't think that's necessarily the case. It's more a matter of dividing time. The story is 2 hours long, and can feel quite padded. What if those padded parts we're more explicit showcases of the elements we have in the story? Show us how the Zarbi are controlled, and how they act without control. Reinforce the prior relationship between the two species by giving them a conversation. These events would establish this planet a little more. The extra aspects can be added after that. Instead we have some neat things like the larvae guns, which are fun I suppose, but does not add much to the story. It takes up time that could be used better.

Characterwise the story has a minor snippets. The Doctor running around the planet in the first episode is a treat. It shows some newfound joy and establishes the planet, which is a treat to the eyes anyway. The banter with Ian is fun too. Barbara and Vicki connect a bit and talk about their different origins. Good stuff, but nothing really new or interesting.

A small highlight for me was the cliffhanger with the doctor at the end of episode 1. We've seen him worried about the loss of his tardis in the audio's a few times, but it doesn't happen on screen that often. It's just a snippet, but it adds layers.

Other than that, there's not much more to say about this episode. It's a very divisive one, and I can see why. I do think the production issues are overstated. It looks fine. Great at times even. It's just a story that comes with a million ideas, that should've been a bit more picky about which ones to show and which ones to talk about.

Maybe it'll come across more clearly in the novel, which I just got a few days ago, but that's a story for another time. For now, we have a flawed but ambitious story. And while I can look down on flaws, I can't ever shun ambition. There are true, unfiltered ideas here. That doesn't necessarily make the story good, but at the very least, it makes it interesting. And that's worth something.