📝5/10

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"Delta and the Bannermen: A 50s Fling with Flawed Execution"

Delta and the Bannermen brings a quirky mix of nostalgia, alien threats, and strange plot points to the table. At its best, it’s charmingly creative and lighthearted; at its worst, it’s sluggish, bizarre, and tonally uneven.

The story opens with a unique and fairly enjoyable first episode. The idea of a space thug team (the Bannermen) chasing a fugitive to 1950s Earth is a simple but serviceable premise. The setting—Wales in the late 1950s—oozes warmth and authenticity, with its rock ‘n’ roll vibes and mid-century charm. The music pushes hard to recreate the period, and while it’s an admirable effort, it sometimes overdoes the “50s rock” motif to a distracting degree.

Unfortunately, the plot slows considerably after the introduction of the key players. The middle episode drags, lacking momentum despite the promise of an intergalactic chase. The Bannermen themselves don’t really hit their stride as villains until the latter half, and by then, much of the tension has fizzled. When they do finally start rampaging in earnest, they come across as creepily over-the-top but also disappointingly underdeveloped. Their leader, Gavrok, is a prime example—he’s forgettable, lacking any unique or memorable qualities to make him stand out.

The subplot involving the Chimeron Queen, her green baby, and the baby’s strange musical powers is perhaps the story’s weirdest angle. While imaginative, it feels too bizarre and underexplained to resonate, and the resolution—simple and, frankly, stupid—fails to satisfy.

The acting is hit-and-miss. Sylvester McCoy finally feels like he’s settling into the Doctor. Here, he ditches much of the clumsy clown persona from earlier stories and strikes a more heroic balance: quick-thinking, selfless, and ready to risk it all for others. McCoy shines, proving he’s capable of leading the series in this new era. Bonnie Langford does well with what she’s given, but Mel is again sidelined, separated from the Doctor for much of the story. She feels underutilized, which continues to be a recurring problem.

Guest performances are serviceable but unremarkable. Don Henderson and Belinda Mayne are fine, though their characters feel somewhat stripped-down and uninspired. The American tourist characters provide comic relief but feel completely unnecessary and shoehorned into the narrative, as if to pad out the runtime.

The pacing is uneven. The story slows to a crawl in Part Two before picking up speed for a final episode that, while faster and more exciting, never quite reaches the level of tension or payoff it promises. The build-up to the climax lacks punch, and the resolution feels anticlimactic.

The production design works well enough for the setting, though it’s nothing groundbreaking. The 50s period detail is genuinely lovely and helps ground the story in its nostalgic atmosphere. It’s clear that effort was put into capturing the era, even if the sci-fi elements clash awkwardly at times.

Overall, Delta and the Bannermen is a story of missed opportunities. It boasts some creativity, an evocative period setting, and a Doctor who’s beginning to hit his stride. However, its sluggish pacing, underdeveloped villains, and bizarre narrative choices prevent it from being anything more than middle-of-the-road. It’s a harmless, forgettable adventure that doesn’t demand a rewatch.

This serial somehow simultaneously had far too much and far too little going on. As many others have said, it likely would have benefited greatly from having just one more episode, or, if they really couldn't afford that, getting rid of the pair of Americans to make more time for the characters to actually matter to the story.

The pacing is very odd, especially in the first part. I kept finding myself confused and wanting scenes that feel as though they've been cut out last minute. More time on the Chimeron planet, more time to see Delta and Billy fall in love, more time to grieve Murray and the other people on the bus. Perhaps a script editor going to town with a red pen could have saved this episode.

That's not to say I hated the whole thing; the atmosphere is fun, but after the camp dream that is Paradise Towers this simply doesn't hold up. I also appreciate that they allowed the locals to speak Welsh.

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.