Would of been stronger if it had less episodes. Still, it's another good one for the third Doctor, Jo and the UNIT regulars. The Master is present as he's still stranded on Earth. But it's really the machine that's the villain.

There are some fantastic moments in this serial. The checkers scene where both the Doctor and Jo shush the Master, the moment when the Master panics because he thinks he killed the Doctor for real, Jo getting to be brave and clever in her own right, the overacted fight scenes are fun, and both Benton and Yates are great.

However. The plot has FAR too many aspects so that they all sort of get lost: the dangerous effects of the machine, the hostage situation in the prison, the peace conference being hijacked by a hypnotized Chin Lee (who also doesn't get enough on-screen time post hypnosis), the stolen missile used to threaten a third world war, and Barnham wandering around all innocent because he no longer has his evil impulses. It's just too much, making it almost easy to miss that some of it doesn't make sense: the machine takes out "evil impulses" but then the mind grown from that causes people to see their worst fear and then, somehow, literally die from that fear (not the fear itself but whatever is the cause of the fear, ie actually drowning). At first it seems the evil impulses have just imbued the machine with sentience, but then it turns out that somehow a nearly-impossible-to-kill living creature has grown from them. The Master's entire plan is "start a war that decimates the Earth," which on its own would be amusing and I wouldn't mark down, but with everything together it's one more thing that isn't fleshed out.

The story doesn't even have TIME to get into the problematic and eugenicist issues with choosing to (or even having the ability to) remove evil/criminal impulses from a person, beyond a couple throwaway lines at the beginning.

I’m one of this serial’s biggest defenders.  It’s the last gasp of the Season 7 style of storytelling, is the final contribution for both Don Houghton and Timothy Combe, the latter barred from Doctor Who for going over budget, and actually sees UNIT be an international organization.  Despite being set in the UK, this is one of those classic Who serials that feels incredibly global, the parallel plots of Stangmoor Prison, the peace conference, and transporting the missile really creating that.  It’s also fascinating for how it engages with the international community, care is taken with the script to not paint the Chinese characters as exotic caricatures and keeps the language as close to correct as possible.  Chin Lee as a character is genuinely compelling despite being a victim of the Master.

Roger Delgado as the Master gets to really make this fascinating second impression, while it has similar setup to Terror of the Autons with the character making an alliance, as the serial goes on Delgado relishes the chance to seeing what the Master deeply fears.  The same can be said with Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, his fears reflecting his experiences in Inferno and the evils he has fought and can no longer face due to his exile.  Katy Manning is always a delight with Jo getting to be in the middle of the prison plot while Nicholas Courtney once again excels in the action sequence near the end of the serial.  Dudley Simpson being promoted to essentially the main composer also adds leitmotif.  Truly an underrated gem.

This was a very fun story! But I must say, the Master's plan was very weird. He's stuck on Earth because the Doctor stole his TARDIS's Dematerialisation Circuit last episode. So the Master, instead of immediately making a plan to, you know, steal the thing back, makes a (needlessly, but that's the Master's prerogative) very complex plan to start WW3, so that he can rule the Earth in the aftermath. Was he just resigned to being stuck here forever? He only gets the circuit back at the end because the Doctor suggests an exchange, the circuit for the missile, in their negotiation. A win for the Master, sure, but out of sheer dumb luck being on his side rather than his plan actually working.

Moving on to Jo: I love her already, even though the "companion as a literal assistant to the Doctor" is not my favorite dynamic. She's just so charismatic that it works. And she got to kick some ass this time! I really like how kind she is to everybody, and how she has Benton and Yates eating out of the palm of her hand. Speaking of them, both my boys had their own little arc going on in this story, which was great to see. The Brigadier was a delight as usual. As another reviewer said, they really are becoming a little family.

10/10 for the Doctor's outfit in this one, I must say. Loved how he got to be cheeky for a bit in the beginning (waving at the camera, interrupting that guy's presentation while sitting as flamboyantly as he possibly could on that plastic chair, speaking Hokkien with the Chinese delegation and leaving the poor Brigadier just sitting there). All of his interactions with the Master (no comment, I cannot not like the Master) were great as well. That little part where the Master is worried the Keller machine killed the Doctor, and when they are working together to destroy it were both very good at showing that hey, these two really were close at some point, uh? And that final phone call? Mwah, chef's kiss.

Jo beating the Doctor's ass at checkers while the Master patiently watched was so funny. Specially with the Doctor seeming to be genuinely mad that he lost, complaining that the game is "too simple" for him, and he prefers 3D chess (Star Trek reference!?). Jo/Doctor scenes I thought were great were he telling her random stories about his travels, and that exchange where, during UNIT's takeover of the prison, the Doctor makes a little joke about the hostages being in danger, forgetting that he and Jo *are* hostages; she just looks at him and he goes "...Ah" after a while. On this note, damn, UNIT sure killed a whole lot of people when they took the prison back, eh?

He's got his TARDIS back. He's free to come and go where he pleases, while I'm stuck here on Earth- with you, Brigadier!

I really enjoyed this one. The plot was very well put together. And Master was back to his usual mayhem.

Feel like s**t just want good doctor who back

Just finished this wonderful serial; another classic 3/Delgado format with "Master forms an alliance with an alien who turns on him and then he needs the Doctor's help to defeat the alien and then the Master escapes at the last possible second". And, if you're wondering why I used the slash between "3" and "Delgado", I think the Guide's screenshot says it all (:

The pacing felt appropriate, the plot was intriguing, and the character development throughout the serial was wonderful (thinking especially of how the Brigadier began smiling a lot in the last couple episodes, admitting to himself that he's happy to be keeping the Doctor around, and allowing himself to feel relief and joy that his men are alive). 3 and the Brig were acting like such an old married couple in those last few minutes! Love to see it!

I thought the Master killing Barnham felt sudden and cruel. I didn't expect Barnham to survive this, but this felt out of nowhere, and totally out of line with the Master's usual behaviour. I was also quite unhappy with the lack of willingness to engage with the ethics of the Keller machine as it was (removing the autonomy of prisoners, and any chance at an actual, honest rehabilitation), not just as it could be used. I also felt that the writers didn't even try to adhere to science in any way whatsoever - it was funny at first, with the idea that the nerve gas missile could be safely disposed of by tossing it in the ocean, but it really started to get on my nerves with the Keller machine "removing evil impulses". It would have been so, so easy to just say that it "identified areas of the brain associated with violent thoughts/actions and damaged them using electricity, but really it was the alien feeding on brain waves that damaged the brain", something like that.

That said, the Brig being able to show more emotion than just annoyance made me enjoy this immensely, so overall, giving this one a 4.5/5.

The first half of The Mind of Evil is fantastic, the second half is mostly good. There are three plots which are woven together: the prison and the machine; the missile and the master; then the peace conference. These are very well woven together. The initial theme of mind control as a replacement for capital punishment is an original one. This and the prison setting is surprisingly dark, but perhaps I should stop being surprised at the show's now generally dark tone, its not a children's show any more.

The Master in disguise, then bugging phones and looking suave is fantastic. He so easily could be played in a boorish, pantomime way, but isn't. The performance is masterful. Its a shame that I knew that The Master was in this one before he appeared, it would have been a lovely surprise. On a side note, I love that The Master fixes his TARDIS after only one story, our poor Doctor has been stuck for over a year!

The Master is revealed as being frightened of The Doctor's ridicule. That is a surprisingly profound revelation in only the character's second story, are we meant to draw anything from that? Are his feelings towards The Doctor a contributing factor to his madness?

The Doctor is hilarious in the scene making smart remarks in front of the pompous official. I also loved watching Pertwee wave at the security camera. The casting and acting in the serial is flawless all round. A man who can believably be a thug is then brainwashed and left with the mind of a child, but he manages both roles very well. Captain Chin Lee is a another clear star of this show. The 'Chinese' aspect is slightly overplayed, but as far as 1970s television goes we have seen much worse. Thank God they chose a genuinely Chinese actor to play her, this contributes towards the international feel of this story. Perhaps the most surprising element of Chin Lee's role is that the plot relies on there only being one Chinese girl in the South of England.

The interplay between the different UNIT soldiers is wonderful, it has become a real family. Along with the rest of the family, Jo Grant is excellent, a quintessential Doctor Who companion.

The direction is terrific, the shots of when Chin Lee is about to kill the American ambassador are especially great. The large scale fight scenes in the castle-like prison are fantastic - they look great.

Once the Master loses control of the Keller Machine, I began to disengage with this element of the story to a large extent. The largest fault with this story is that the big baddie for the last few episodes is a prop, not a human or a monster. If this single element was improved, it would be in contention for the best Pertwee story so far. However, the sedate and dull nature of fighting against a prop genuinely damages the story as a whole.

The Doctor saving the world is fairly commonplace in Doctor Who now, they do not shy away from a global story (even if we never see Geneva).

I was really impressed by The Mind of Evil. It has a few moments of silliness with Jon Pertwee freaking out about mind rays or doing some of the more physical stuff, but otherwise this is a very strong and delightful story.

The Doctor has a great relationship with the Brigadier, the Master, and Jo in these episodes, each with really memorable moments that highlight the individual dynamics between each of them. The Brigadier and the Doctor have some fun banter but he also is at home here with all the political intrigue. The Master was a little disappointing to see turn up yet again so quickly after his introduction, reflecting just how heavy a presence he is in these UNIT days, but damn if he doesn't have a hell of a memorable scene with the Master when the two confront each other. It should be tense, but you get the sense they want to be buddies just as much as enemies and it is a very intriguing moment. And I really like the part where the Doctor and Jo are imprisoned and he just starts telling her stories. Really good stuff that showcases the real friendship between these two characters they do a good job showcasing across Jo Grant's appearances in this era.

It's interesting that fans have come around to this more following it being colourized, apparently. I saw the colour version but certainly don't hate the idea of the black and white version, and could see it working a little better at making these episodes look even stronger around their effects and stuff. Given that both versions are available, I think it is cool people can make that choice for themselves, though.

I also think this episode does a good job at casting actors appropriate to the Chinese consulate and they are generally written in a respectful way. At least it is something I had in mind knowing future content around The Talons of Weng-Chiang. I'll definitely be keeping this in mind when I get around to that review.

Man I was so interested in the international conference here, and it just kinda goes away after the first couple episodes. And the "show people their greatest fear and then they actually die from it" thing had so much potential, and we do get a bit out of that with the references to Inferno, but beyond that it all just becomes weirdly bland. And almost every scene after the first couple episodes is either set in the world's most sad-and-boring-looking prison, or is a military action scene, which doesn't do much to get on my good side.