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TARDIS Guide

Overview

First aired

Saturday, October 29, 1977

Production Code

4X

Written by

Chris Boucher

Directed by

George Spenton-Foster

Runtime

100 minutes

Time Travel

Present

Tropes (Potential Spoilers!)

Breaking the Fourth Wall, First TARDIS trip

Inventory (Potential Spoilers!)

Sonic Screwdriver

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

Earth, England, Fetch Priory, Fetchborough

Synopsis

The present day: just as the Fourth Doctor and Leela arrive in Fetchborough, England, Professor Fendelman prepares to experiment on a fossilized skull which science says should not exist. The skull is actually an artefact of the Fendahl, a god-like being who feeds on the life force of others. It has begun to awaken and kill. Worse yet, others seek to exploit the Fendahl's dreadful power.

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4 Episodes

Part One

First aired

Saturday, October 29, 1977

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Chris Boucher

Directed by

George Spenton-Foster

UK Viewers

6.7 million

Synopsis

England, the late 1970s. At Fetch Priory, Dr Fendelman's experiments with the new Time Scanner are disrupted by the mysterious death of a hiker, nearby. Then there's the mysterious skull, also being used as part of his work. A skull that seems to predate the evolution of mankind. What is the true role of the Fendahl in humanity's evolution?


Part Two

First aired

Saturday, November 5, 1977

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Chris Boucher

Directed by

George Spenton-Foster

UK Viewers

7.5 million

Appreciation Index

75

Synopsis

The mystery surrounding the strange skull deepens. Thea is slowly succumbing to its influence while the Doctor prepares to battle a creature from mythology.


Part Three

First aired

Saturday, November 12, 1977

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Chris Boucher

Directed by

George Spenton-Foster

UK Viewers

7.9 million

Synopsis

While Max prepares to tap supernatural forces beyond imagining, the Doctor and Leela investigate the legend of the Fendahl.


Part Four

First aired

Saturday, November 19, 1977

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Chris Boucher

Directed by

George Spenton-Foster

UK Viewers

9.1 million

Appreciation Index

61

Synopsis

The Fendahl is returning to life, ready to consume everything in its path. Can the Doctor find a way to kill death itself?



Characters

How to watch Image of the Fendahl:

Reviews

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9 reviews

This review contains spoilers!

Very much like a hammer horror movie, which i rather enjoy. One part you might think wow the Doctor did that: he passes a gun to a man who wants to shoot himself.


Scottybguud

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This review contains spoilers!

Whilst I was pleasantly surprised by the Invisible Enemy, I was ultimately let down by Image of the Fendahl.

I think Tom Baker was definitely not used properly in this story - Dull, boring and serious. He got a few silly moments, such as offering the jelly baby to the Fendahl Skull, but apart from that, there wasn't much to go off. However, when it needs to be serious, his tone matches it so well - the way he respects Stael's wishes and lets him kill himself so he doesn't become a Fendahl is something truly dark and I did not expect that at all! You can tell the rift between the Doctor and Leela still healing from the Fourth Doctor Adventures, with the Doctor still scolding her every now and then. Despite this, Leela still gets to be the action hero and is immensely entertaining throughout. Poor K-9 gets sidelined already - I was hoping for more from his second story.

So the Fendahl were the main reason I was excited for this story - They obviously warranted a return in Big Finish's eyes against both the Eighth Doctor and Torchwood! But they don't actually show up properly until the final part - something I've noticed in Williams' stories so far. I guess he's trying to focus the monsters on their stories rather than their designs - but in this case, I think the design is better than the monster (The slug thing, not the gold lady) because I just didn't get what they wanted - they were killing some people for... some reason, and then wanted to turn other people into slug monsters... somehow... I don't know if there was something I missed, I just was letdown.

Back to Earth - *again*! This cosy little village with the church reminded me of Foe From The Future, and I wonder if the series had originally planned to film there in the first place. Because a lot of it was on location, the camera quality was a bit poorer, something which can't really be helped because it's 1977 but you get my point. I do think that the Priory itself was also dull and bland, because there was nothing that made it stand out.

Were there any proper special effects in this story? I don't think so, aside from the transformation which was just a fade. Whilst I think this is because Williams is trying to make it story-based instead of visuals-based, it means that there's nothing that makes it distinguishable from other stories.

You can tell that I'm not a fan of this story. This does make me think that this is probably the worst season of Tom's run due to its forgettable and subpar stories (Apart from Fang Rock and Invisible Enemy), but I'll continue on and I'll hopefully be proven wrong.


Ryebean

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A good bit of classic occult/folk horror Who, with a bit of an eldritch flair. Nothing especially groundbreaking here in terms of plotting or villainy, and the plot drops off sharply for a bit while the Doctor and Leela go try to investigate the creature's planet of origin in the TARDIS, but it had some great design work, some fun side characters, a nicely unsettling atmosphere, and some good Doctor-companion relationship. I enjoyed it immensely.


6-and-7

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This is a stronger story then a lot of people give credit for I love it not as much this watch round but it was still fun


Rock_Angel

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  • Stylistically I like this story
  • The Fendalh I think is a fascinating foe, I would have loved to have learned more about them, the design is interesting
  • Leela is awesome in this story
  • Side cast does a great job too, keeping up the drama and being useful
  • I just love the atmosphere of this story, this is how envision a classic doctor who perfectly

KieranCooper

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Statistics

AVG. Rating427 members
3.36 / 5

Member Statistics

Watched

809

Favourited

48

Reviewed

9

Saved

4

Skipped

3

Quotes

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DOCTOR: We Time Lords are a very meticulous people. You have to be when you live as long as we do.

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Transcript Needs checking

Part One

[Laboratory]

(Earth, now. We are in a geology lab, with maps on the wall, row of test tubes, rock samples, filing cabinets and sets of drawers. An old skull, without its mandible, sits on a stand.)

COLBY: Oh, don't just sit there, Eustace, say something.
THEA: Why don't you just publish and get it over with.

(Everyone say Hi! to Wanda Ventham.)


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