The Ribos Operation

Here’s a series opener that manages to look cheap and expensive at the same time. It’s a studio-bound story recorded on unforgiving video, and the first glimpse we see of this story’s monster is a couple of floppy rubbery claws. I feel now as I did then, that it’s one of the least child-friendly stories Doctor Who ever presented – very talky, with some extremely OTT performances. And yet, the sets are beautifully dressed and lit and the Cossack-style costumes are lush. I love it, of course.

Once you get used to the fact that this is garnished with generous doses of humour (blimey, even I sound like Iain Cuthbertson's fruity Garron) it's irresistible to get caught up in the story. Garron’s double-act with the appealing Unstoffe is contrasted well with Paul Seed's wonderfully theatrical Graff Vynda-K and his loyal Sholack. Added to this is the newly formed double-act of the uncharacteristically chauvinistic Fourth Doctor and the haughty new Romanavoratrelundar. I’m not sure this gang would quite make up for the lack of action and location filming for the younger viewers, but they’re pretty entertaining. The actors having a ball, and it’s infectious.

I love that, within this flamboyant tapestry, there are other subtler characters. The Seeker is terrifying in her way, and Binro is lovely and injects the tale with a lot of heart.

I watched this on a whim, and ended up revisiting the whole four episodes. I think you have to be in the mood for it, but if you are, it's great fun. I even warmed to the bloody-jawed Shrivenzale!

Nowadays it seems standard for Doctor Who to tackle a series arc but during the classic series it was very uncommon. Sure, there was 1964's The Keys to Marinus but that was more of a single serial arc - it didn't take up the entire season. The only true examples in the Doctor Who's classic series of a season-long arc are The Trial of a Time Lord...and the Key to Time. And so it was the job of The Ribos Operation to introduce what the arc was about.

The idea behind the Key to Time was that in each story the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm) would arrive somewhere where one of the pieces to the Key to Time is detected to be by Romana's locater. The Doctor and Romana are recruited by the White Guardian (Cyril Luckham ) to find all six segments of the Key to Time. With all six segments together, the White Guardian can restore the balance of order and chaos to the universe. They arrive on the planet Ribos, where Garron (Iain Cuthbertson) and Unstoffe (Nigel Plaskitt) are trying to sell Ribos to the ruler of planet Levithia the Graff Vynda-K (Paul Seed) by convincing him it is full of a rare and powerful mineral known as 'Jethrik'. They place a lump of the rare mineral in the glass case housing the planet's crown jewels and show the Graff, who becomes convinced the planet is a rich source for it. When the Graff realises he has been conned, the Doctor and Romana are forced to work with Garron and Unstoffe to claim the Jethrik back.

I'll admit, I was rather disappointed with this story as I expected more from the opener of a quest storyline. It is a fun tale though and typical of writer Robert Holmes' style. It is great fun the way the narrative subverts the heist genre; instead of trying to steal something FROM an unsuspecting owner, it becomes about trying to steal something BACK. This prevents the heist genre from becoming predictable, offering a fresh take that sometimes the genre could need.

The problem is that it doesn't offer any memorable conflict. The Graff is a bit of a generic threat; all he really does is order executions and understandably become extremely angry at being conned. He's certainly no threat compared to Daleks or even the Cavemen from An Unearthly Child, where you feel like the TARDIS crew are in danger. The Ribos guards seem a bit useless too. You've got towonder who hired them considering one of them lets a complete stranger (IE the Doctor) pull their whistle away without any forcible protest. Surely a proper guard would be a bit more forceful: pull the Doctor's hand away and blow the whistle to call for the guards? The Graff's guards aren't much better either but at least they seem a bit more threatening and imposing than the guards on Ribos.

If anything makes this a Doctor Who story you have to see, it's the comical relationship between Unstoffe and Garron. Unstoffe and Garron make a brilliant double act and one that no doubt reminds some Whovians of Jago & Litefoot. They are hugely entertaining and definitely the best part of this rather average serial. Ian Cuthbertson and Nigel Plaskitt play to Robert Holmes' writing well and it's a crime that they never got the chance to record Big Finish audios. Ian Cuthbertson sadly passed away in 2009 and Nigel Plaskitt is still alive but Undtoffe without Garron like all great double acts really wouldn't work.

Also: James Purdie's lighting for this serial is very impressive, especially for the White Guardian scene. The scene with the White Guardian looks suitably dream-like and a nice almost Hawaiin-like quality that plays nicely with the ethereal quality of his being. I'd say it's definitely the best classic series serial for lighting - it prevents the show from feeling cheap even though it was made on a shoestring budget, meaning it can compete better with the blockbuster films of the time.

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Overall, The Ribos Operation is a disappointingly average opener for a season-long story arc. There's nothing too special to be found here, however it can be applauded for its inventiveness with the lighting and subversion of the heist genre. The double act between the characters of Unstoffe and Garron is brilliant too, it's just a pity that the story offers little in the way of conflict for the Doctor, Romana, Unstoffe and Garron. The Gaff is certainly not going to be considered one of Doctor Who's greatest villains anytime soon.

I found this episode dull and over-long. The new K9 didn't have much to do, and Romana was something's of a non-entity as well. Maybe I'm just still annoyed about Leela's poor send-off and had my hopes set too high for Romana, but this isn't a great start.

On the subject of characters, Garron was fine as a magnificent scoundrel, but to me he felt like a cheap imitation of Harry Mudd from Star Trek, an all-around more fun and compelling character. Unstoffe was okay, and being the only nice character he served as a good contrast to everyone else. Binro absolutely stole the show and was probably my favourite part of this episode.

I enjoyed the little reveal of the Doctor's scarf under the guard's cape and Romana shutting K9 up with her dress, but these little moments weren't enough to salvage this episode.

This is a fun introduction to the Black and White Guardian storyline with a really memorable set-up at the start I think really worked to gear viewers to know what to expect out of the season. It's done really well and left me excited, especially with this also being Romana's introduction, too.

So it starts out very energetic and full of excitement, but I do feel as though that once we get into the thrust of this story on Ribos, that goodwill fades pretty quickly. The story is pretty boring and I checked out of it quite quickly. It is far from unacceptable, but easy to forget a lot of the plot line and I didn't really care much for the characters outside of the Doctor and Romana. The latter of the two being a Time Lady feels pretty good, I like the idea of her possessing a lot of intelligence but lacking the Doctor's experience. I feel they get a good handle on her character here but it does improve over time. I do like the look of the setting though and the ending had a nice feeling to it in the snow, still leaving me with that same feeling of excitement for the possibilities of what was to come out of the series going forward.

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

Previous Story: The Perfect Prisoners - Part 2

Well I thoroughly enjoyed that,

This story serves as the introduction to Romana, who I think is brilliantly played by Mary Tamm, she immediately steals the show by being able to match Tom Baker's bold personality and her character in general is a nice contrast from Leela. The introduction for the White Guardian is well done and sets up what is Doctor Who's first real series arc. Tom Baker feels especially vibrant in this story and you can tell he's strongly settled in the role.

I really like the planet of Ribos, in these short 4 parts, it's fully fleshed out as a planet and a culture. I've been noticing that a lot of the locations in recent seasons feel like genuine places. Especially in this episode, the costumes and the sets are wonderfully designed and the culture feels well thought out. And Binro, so much to say about Binro. The conversation between him and Unstoffe was genuinely heartwarming and his death is the first time I've genuinely been sad at the death of a side character so far.

The whole concept of the story is fascinating aswell with a conman trying to sell off a planet to an exiled king. All the twists and turns make for a story that never loses your attention.

Next Story: The Pirate Planet

We’ve never had a season long arc in Doctor Who before now, a concept well ahead of its time in 1978. It gives a new lease of life to the show after a meagre season 15 and gives me the impression that season 16 will be far superior. Although Robert Holmes is always likely to perk up a a production.

Romana is a nice switch up from Leela. Hyper intelligent, one of The Doctor’s race, posh. Her intro screams “male gaze” though as the camera pans up showing the length of her legs in the cut of her glamorous dress. It has the desired effect but feels a bit seedy and makes an effort to overshadow a lovely, understated performance. She reminds me of Caroline John's Liz Shaw. Someone who is not going to get the dues of a Leela or a Sarah-Jane but shines in each and every one of their scenes.

Binro the Heretic is one of Robert Holmes’ best characters. I am especially fond of the the “Binro was right” scene which I remember well after not seeing the story for the best part of 10 years. It is amazing how well his character comes across given how few scenes he appears in and how inessential to the plot he is.

The story feels like a historical adventure despite its alien setting which is to its credit. Much in the mould of the Peladon adventures it makes a more convincing setting of the alien world whilst still allowing for menacing green creatures to be part of the narrative without them being disguised from the local.

I liked the con men double act at the heart of this story too - the dastardly one and kind-hearted one balance each other out well.

Here's to season 16 (hopefully) being a continuing success. And to a much improved, much quieter K-9 mk 2!

🙏🏼59% = Okay! = Mildly recommended

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! This time: the quest for the Key to Time begins with a new companion and a planet of snow and cold winds.

Robert Holmes uses the opening episode effectively to set up the Key to Time arc of this season and introduces us to new characters: K9 Mark II (improved but barely used), the freshly graduated Time Lady Romana I, and the White Guardian. What distinguishes Season 16 is its basic quest nature, in which the Doctor hunts down the six segments of the Key to Time in order to help save the universe, with each story in the season focusing on finding one of the segments.

Part 1 has a bit of a stupid cliffhanger, where the Doctor throws himself under the shutting door to get stuck, just like Romana (the Shrivenzale reveal is pretty good, though). The other cliffhangers are simply boring.

The script doesn't do a whole lot in terms of developing tension or dramatic beats after the setup. The story moves between the same people and locations while stalling time until the Doctor can get hold of the Key segment.

You can clearly see from Tom Baker’s performance that he is becoming very protective of the show and the role in how he initially reacts to and interacts with his newest companion/assistant, Romana. Mary Tamm isn't the most iconic incarnation of the character, but I like how she is the first companion since Susan to be of the Doctor's race, and she is very witty and intelligent in her own right, to the point where the Doctor is easily annoyed by her. She is definitely a stark contrast to the fearless warrior that is Leela.

The guest cast has always felt a little strange to me. Iain Cuthbertson and Paul Seed's exaggerated performances, intended to reference real-life bureaucrats, leaders, con men, and businesspeople, annoy me greatly. While there's plenty of dramatic fuel in Garron and the Graff arguing with each other, their political and economic debates are not very interesting.

Robert Keegan as the scarred warrior bodyguard Sholakh is a cool supporting character, but underused. Anne Tirard returns from The Romans and gives one of the worst Doctor Who performances in the classic series as the Seer.

If there is one guest character I sympathise with, it’s Timothy Bateson as Binro the Heretic—such an underappreciated character and an allegory for those early scientists who dared to preach against the established word of the church. Even though they only tangentially relate to the rest of the plot, his scenes with Unstoffe are heartfelt and likely the best parts of the story.

Ribos as a planet seems potentially interesting, but the story mostly reuses the same three or four sets, meaning that it never comes alive very well and feels a bit limited. The costume design on the Ribosians is really nice.

This story never picks up speed or tightens the atmosphere, and it mostly saunters its way across the finish line as the Doctor snatches the Key segment and leaves. It teases the Shrivenzale throughout the story but barely uses it (it looks like Rancour from Star Wars to me!).