Delta and the Bannermen

This whole serial felt really random, a lot of the decisions characters make felt like they came out of nowhere, and the whole story didn't feel well thought out. And what was the deal with the two American men?

The Bannermen were boring, standard villains.

Another example of some interesting ideas not particularly well realised on screen. Starts off well enough but never really goes anywhere interesting and even by classic Who standards everything feels a bit cheap and tacky, perhaps aptly for a story set in a holiday camp!

Perhaps the first serial I've seen that would have benefited from one more episode rather than one less. I enjoy the first two episodes, but the ending comes so suddenly it's really unsatisfying. More time would have helped to: 1) flesh out the Chimerons' history and just what is up with that green baby; 2) lend more emotional impact to the tourists' and Murray's deaths; 3) develop Delta and Billy's relationship; and 4) give Ray's crush on Billy some more heft.

As it is, the whole thing is bright and invigorating. Some of the best costumes of the entire series, particularly for Mel and Delta. The comedic and musical performances, and the use of period music for the score, are also (pardon the pun) ace. And of course, Ray is a great character with a great actor. While I wouldn't wish her as a replacement for Ace, nor a co-companion (too similar), some missing adventures with the Doctor, Mel, and Ray as a Tardis team would be great...

A deeply silly serial of a deeply silly show

Easily the worst episode of the show if you hate fun

Delta and the Bannermen has such a different and strange tone for the show - light, frivolous and fast - focusing little on details. I initially found it tricky to get into because of the huge cast of characters but once I locked into the relatively simple story I fell in love with the settings, characters and weird change of pace in part one. The Doctor at a Welsh holiday camp filled with shape shifting space visitors in 1959 must be the most Doctor Who-ish concept ever.

Part two and three are much looser limbed and aimless. As with much of this show nowadays a promising premise gets lost in a lot of running around. This is compounded by the sheer number of characters clouding what should be a pretty straightforward story. The two American comic relief characters for example should have been cut - this would have allowed time for the plot to be explained in a less perfunctory way.

The Bannermen never really posed any kind of threat, just chase scenes. I was a fan of the Welsh girl though. Sylvester’s Doctor continues to impress - how he smashes what he’s given is mad. Imagine how good season 22 would have been - better scripts and a much more powerful lead actor. We can dream.