Terror of the Vervoids

The awkward dynamic the show has had for me during Colin Baker’s time in the TARDIS is that even when I’m enjoying the story, when The Doctor appears on screen I instantly start having slightly less of a good time. The saving grace was always Peri, who is wonderful. Now she has been dispensed with. Without introduction we have Mel, played by Bonnie Langford, appear and she is equally as bad as Baker. The two of them are given unbearable dialogue to work with.

The story reminds me of Robots of Death and has a fair few points of interest, mostly derived from murder mystery tropes that we all enjoy. They don’t quite nail the aesthetic of “murder on a spaceship” as much as the aforementioned story. It does make me think
maybe it would be better suited to a historical setting. This charming feature is lost as the story moves towards its climax and introduces the Vervoids, once the murder mystery focus is swaped for a killer monsters on a spaceship focus the whole story falls flat. Not helped by the almost explicit looking design of the Vervoids!

There is something quite Bidmead-y about Pip & Jane Baker’s writing, though maybe less adult. You feel as if they are more interested in teaching the kids something than actually entertaining. They also have a tendency to introduce and resolve points of dramatic tension within moments of each other - rendering them without drama. Their other issue is over explaining plot points in needlessly complex dialogue rather than letting them be revealed on stage.

The initially entertaining courtroom framing device is wearing pretty thin too. The stop/ start nature has gone on too long at this point, taking a dramatic tension out of the show.

You can’t compare this production to the show’s heights in the 1970s - or even Davison’s outstanding final story! I am ready for this era to end.