Mel's exit bothers me immensely and I think that she really should have been kept on for another season (I highly disagree with Bonnie Langford on the thought that there was nothing left to do with Mel; there was so much more that could have been done with her). I underestimated just how fun she and Ace are together and I am now in agony over what will never be on TV. At least there's the extended universe.

There is some wacky stupid bullshit in this serial but that's just par for the course for Classic Who and I find it delightful. Seven is a bit like a cartoon character at times and it makes his very serious moments hit so much harder.

• I never knew what to think about this story beforehand, but having finally watched it, what a blast I had
• 7, Mel, Ace, and Glitz would have made an iconic quartet, what I could do for a season of them 4
• Kane is almost a great villain, I think there needed to be more of a psychically to his character
• I love the production design of this story, so pretty
• As much as you instantly love Ace, I wasn't ready to let go of Mel. Mel and Ace bounce off each other so well

Pretty entertaining episode. I thought the villain was interesting, sets were decent, good pacing. The cliffhanger on part one was just as glorious as I heard it was, nothing says campy classic who more than that lol. Also like the ending and campanion handoff. Mel's decision seemed rather abrupt though, would have been better with more build up.

A decent ending to a mediocre season 24

A fairly middling episode; some interesting aspects, but ultimately let down by poor design choices and a meandering script (e.g., Belazs and Kracauer are killed off only to be replaced with a different pair of soldiers, and that little girl is just wandering around for no meaningful reason). Still, we at least got Ace out of the bargain, complete with her can of deodorant that registers on the Richter scale!

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

Previous Story: The Ribos Inheritance

This is probably the weakest story of Season 24 for me. Not that there isn't a lot to love, which really tells you how good I found this season. Ace is absolutely, well... ace! She immediately brings a whole new energy to the show and I can tell her pairing with McCoy's Doctor is gonna be fantastic.

The plot is decent but it feels the most like what's come before. It's a relic of an era of Classic that really should be dying out by now. Ridiculous aliens, odd sets, over-the-top performances. That's not to say I don't think there's anything good about it, I really liked the whole idea of Iceworld for example and Kane was a great villain (even if his death was underwhelming. Cool looking, but underwhelming)

As an exit for Mel, it's bizarre. The show hasn't really given us much about her as a person. Even the audios have struggled to fill in these blanks. Even then, I find her jetting off into the universe with Sabalom Glitz really out of character. Speaking of Glitz, as fun as he is, he was a really odd choice for the story. I can't say I mind his return and it works in the story's favour but just when I thought we were getting a proper fresh start in Classic we have another returning character from pretty mediocre stories (not The Ultimate Foe, though. I love The Ultimate Foe)

Overall, there's a lot of things going against this story but the fact that it manages to be miles more entertaining than basically all of Season 22 and a good chunk of the 70s I can't say it's doing too badly.

Next Story: Remembrance of the Daleks