Castrovalva

I'm going through the Davison era again with a friend now so what better time than to get reviews for all these stories up on this website. I absolutley adore this story, probably more than I should. Nonetheless I do think it holds up very well as both a cool story on it's own and an introduction for this new era. It was an interesting choice having the Doctor out of action for a lot of this story but I do think it works in showing what this incarnation is all about, especially in S19. The starting point of his character is someone who lacks the presence of what you'd expect from the Doctor; someone who is often overpowered and is very reliant on others. All in all this story does a great job of setting up what his character will be like for the rest of the season. Davison wonderfully portrays all the youthful energy, gentle demeanour and dry wit that will define this character.

I think this is a fantastically creative story as well. It's a lot crazier than a typical regeneration story and I love it for that. Things just seem a little off in Castrovalva and the way the discrepancies are slowly built up is great and I love the sequences of the characters running around getting stuck in loops and trying to make sense and explain what is going on. Ainley is great in this story as always and as far as the companions go, Adric may get shafted a little bit but overall Castrovavla does a much better job of balancing the three companions then other stories in S19. I just love this story so much because it feels very cosy; it's got that light and jovial feel that a lot of early fifth doctor stories have before it all starts to go wrong. The fifth doctor's first Tardis team is unbelievably cracked and I'm really happy to be revisiting this era and reexperiencing the wonder of Five failing to be a surrogate parent to his three gay children. 9/10 / 4½ stars.

This is such a fun introduction to the Fifth Doctor. We get some great nods to previous Doctors with this Doctor suffering very badly from post-regeneration trauma (most notably the Second Doctor's 'When I say run, run' and the way the First Doctor would clutch his lapels and say 'Hmm...').

The space-time trap of Castrovalva that the Master and Adric create where whatever direction in the castle you go you end up back at the same square is very clever too, and quite a unique concept. It feels different to other Doctor Who stories past and present. There's a lot of time spent in the TARDIS before we even reach Castrovalva though, and it does feel like they could have either tightened that up a bit, or shown us more of the rooms inside the TARDIS.

The Zero Room is very cool, and it's a shame we have never seen it since, but the TARDIS is limitless and they could really have gone to ball with spending more time inside of it. How about a TARDIS zoo, for instance? Or a museum of all the items the Doctor has acquired on his travels?

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Logopolis

And the Fifth Doctor is here! This story doesn't start off as well as I'd hoped. Post-regeneration stories are very hit-or-miss and I don't think this one quite sticks the landing. Peter Davison does an okay job, especially considering his immediate predecessor is Tom Baker who is a tough act to follow for even the best of actors. Unfortunately, this is one of those regeneration stories where we need to see as much of the Doctor as possible and we don't quite get that.

I'm sure given the time Peter Davison will grow into one of my favourite Doctors but this introduction is definitely not a favourite. Tegan and Nyssa carrying the Doctor to Castrovalva gets boring fast. Luckily, this is all mainly contained to the first two episodes, after that things start to pick up.  There's a distinct lack of Adric in this story, even if he is crucial to the plot which is something I've heard will be unfortunately common with the companions in the season to come.

Once the story turns into a more traditional adventure, it definitely gets better. Specifically, Castrovalva being created through Block Transfer Computation by the Master is a great twist and aside from some gripes with the introduction of the Fifth Doctor this was a very fun story and I'm very excited to see where this all goes.

Next Story: Psychodrome

The whole begining sequence that follows directly on from logopolis is really fun, and I think you get a good feel of each character. especially tegan, i love how she just drove off in the van! i love adrics silly little monologue about being from the stars. i like that all three characters' backstories are remaining relevant, like adric's maths skills and leaving e-space, nyssa's scientific competency (tbh i dont think she had much in keeper of traken but its a good trait to give her and expand upon) and tegan being very pushy, more physical i guess? more brawny? and just having a strong forceful personality. yeah they're all really fun together. and a lot of this episode is tegan and nyssa centric, with adric mainly being damseled! a nice change. the doctor remembering adric without needing reminding is a good relationship moment for the two of them. people say that this tardis team is like 5 and his children but i dont like that and i did not really get those vibes from this. i like them more as equals, friends, yknow? and they're all adults, adric and tegan for sure do not need a father, i think maybe nyssa does though. again on being equals - they dismiss tegan piloting the tardis in that adric gave her the instructions to do so - but she must have still had a hand in it, otherwise the tardis would not have landed like that. and how is following adric's instructions different to following instructions that were programmed into the tardis? so i think it counts. strange that classic is so much more willing for the companions to be allowed to pilot the tardis than nuwho. the 4th part is very exciting!! the zero room is so funny. they're so much more willing to explore the tardis from full circle onwards, which continues into the majority of 5's era i believe. i wish that was more of a thing in nuwho - i would kill to see companion or doctor rooms! or idk maybe like an area of the console room decorated to a companion, some trinkets. and then it would be sad in  later seasons after they leave..
the evidence of fans taking over the show is evident in this episode - with the referencing to old companions.

What a marvellous team Nyssa, Tegan, Adric and the Fifth Doctor make - suddenly these companions make total sense with this softer, younger Doctor. The show needs to reset every so often, it’s part of its strength, it is exciting to be entering a new era.

Davison’s initial turn as The Doctor is excellent - he has emotion and range, especially impressive when mimicking the first and second Doctors, an excellent piece of fan service from Bidmead. Surely the most explicit nods to the past since The Three Doctors. His take on Troughton is particularly strong.

I’m surprised, once again, that Adric gets such a hard time from fans. Honestly, I think Matthew Waterhouse is a more natural and confident actor than our other companions. Ainley’s Master continues to receive mixed opinions from me. I'm not sure about how he pitches his performance, but I think I’ll get used to it. It might help to have a bit of a break from his character. The Master’s disguise in Castrovalva genuinely fooled me - so that’s a definite plus.

The story is quite pedestrian but it gives a great platform for Davison to stretch his muscles. I like how the locals to Castrovalva are revealed to be an intellectual book reading race after a rather uncertain introduction, only to then be revealed as an entirely false projection by The Master. Very cool. The M.C. Escher-esque reveal of Castrovalva being altered to fold in on itself is also brilliant.