So the Doctor(Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm) have found two of the segments of the Key to Time. Now onto the third segment: the segment found in The Stones of Blood. The Stones of Blood is the one hundredth Doctor Who story but unlike 2009's Planet of the Dead it is never acknowledged in the story. It is weird to think there had been one hundred Doctor Who stories by this point and it is a credit to the classic series that they hadn't run out of ideas by this point.

Sadly, for the one hundredth story The Stones of Blood isn't one of the better serials. It is very imaginative but does at the same time it feels a little run of the mill. The serial sees the Doctor and Romana arrive on Earth during the then-present day, near a group of standing stones called The Nine Travellers. They find old archaeologist Professor Amelia Rumford (Beatrix Lehmann) and her partner Vivien Fay (Susan Engel) who are studying the stones and find dried blood on the ground. The stones are revealed as being a species from the planet Ogros called Ogri; they need blood in order to survive. Meanwhile, the Doctor is put on trial by the Megara - justice machines searching for a wanted criminal known as the Cessair of Diplos - for breaking the seals on locked doors aboard a prison vessel in hyperspace. The Doctor and Romana must stop the Ogros from absorbing blood from innocent people and help the Megara bring the Cessair of Diplos to justice.

The idea of vampire stones is a nicely eccentric one and a concept that wouldn't work on any other show but the serial doesn't explore the eccentricity behind the idea enough. I can't help but think Douglas Adams would have been a better fit for this serial; the Ogri would no doubt have been better executed and the Megara could have been a neat if madcap satire for strict law systems. These ideas whilst very inventive ones by writer David Fisher don't feel as though they are given justice by him and could have been better handled in a more capable writer's hands.

I couldn't really care for 'Vivien Fay' (or her true identity) either. She's a bit bland and her real identity seems to be a revelation that comes out of nowhere. When it's revealed who the Cessair of Diplos is, I'm not really given enough reason to believe she is accountable for the murder crimes she has been accused of. She's certainly not one of the show's best-written characters and neither is Professor Amelia Rumford, who whilst the characterisation isn't bad doesn't really stand out. David Fisher seems to be a writer who is better at big conceptsand ideas than he is at characterisation and narrative. He would have probably made a better storyliner for a soap than a writer for a sci-fi drama.

This is the serial where Mary Tamm's Romana shines though. I feel like she comes into her own as the first Romana in this story and feels like a much more engaging companion to the Doctor. In the previous stories she feels a bit too stiff but here it's like Mary Tamm's worked out the right balance between Romana's authoritative way of speaking and showing a bit of her personality underneath. Whilst The Pirate Planet showcased Tom Baker at his best, this is a good showcase for Mary Tamm.

K9 also gets more to do in this serial than in the previous two; he feels like more a part of the TARDIS crew than he did in The Ribos Operation for example and he does generally seem to move the narrative forward, especially when he helps the Doctor fight the Ogri or stays behind whilst the Doctor and repairs the projector that allows the Doctor and Romana to visit hyperspace with Amelia. I wish K9 would return in the new series as I think he would be a perfect match for Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor (NB: He nearly returned in Last Christmas).

Whilst The Stones of Blood may not be the best Doctor Who story, it has been of some inspiration to future Doctor Who stories. The idea of standing stones hiding a secret (such as how they are the Ogros in this serial) has been used in The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang with Stonehenge's Underhenge. And then there's the idea of a justice system hunting an alien criminal that has been used in 2007's Smith And Jones and 2010's The Eleventh Hour. It has clearly been an inspiration for some new series writers and that's something that should quite rightly be applauded.

Overall, The Stones of Blood is not the greatest Doctor Who serial and certainly not one worthy of being the one hundredth story. It suffers from bad characterisation with its supporting characters and feels a bit run of the mill. The Stones of Blood does contain some nice ideas however - such as the vampire-like 'stones' and the Megara - that have been influential in the stories of the new series. It's also a good showcase for Mary Tamm's incarnation of Romana, whilst K9 feels more like a part of the TARDIS crew than he did in the earlier Key to Time stories.

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

Previous Story: The Pirate Planet

I'm really enjoying Season 16 so far, the stories have all been good so far and it's just a TARDIS team I vibe with a lot. Then of course there's the lovely bit of dopamine every time they acquire a new piece of the Key to Time. It's just a very cosy format with some solid stories so far.

In terms of the actual story, it's like gothic concentrate, it's got the right level of spookiness and mystery while still being a fun time. I think the Fourth Doctor pairs really well with old ladies, both the professor in this story and Margaret Hopwood from Series 12 of the 4DAs.

I found the courtroom plot was quite funny and reminded me of the scene from The Star Beast (though for most people it would be the other way around).

Next Story: Ferril's Folly

The non-corporeal justice machines in parts 3 and 4 of The Stones of Blood keep the Douglas Adams feel going into this story. I’d love to know the extent of Adams’ input as script editor. Their inclusion goes some way to tying up a disparate and muddled storyline. The setting of the spacecraft and the contemporary stone circle all works rather well - but the plot falls to pieces.

The other issue is that the older woman central to this story was miscast. For a character given such confident, knowledgeable lines she’s fluffs her delivery more than William Hartnell. When she’s not tripping over her words or adding unnatural pauses she’s desperate to get her lines out or just waiting for the other actors to finish.

I’m still enjoying this series though. Despite its flaws, this was another entertaining addition to the ongoing arc.

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

"THE STONES OF BLOOD: GOTHIC HORROR MEETS SPACE COURTROOM FARCE"

After the middling start to The Key to Time arc, The Stones of Blood takes a step back into the eerie, folklore-inspired horror of early Tom Baker stories. With its druidic rituals, cults, and mysterious godlike beings, this adventure has all the ingredients for a classic Doctor Who gothic thriller. However, these promising elements are only briefly explored before being discarded in favour of a bizarre and tonally inconsistent finale.

The first two episodes embrace the kind of rural horror Doctor Who has done so well in the past, using English landscapes, ancient stone circles, and eerie nighttime sequences to build an unsettling mood. Yet, the tension takes too long to build, and by the time the horror elements truly take hold, the serial shifts gears into something much stranger.

ROMANA TAKES A BACK SEAT WHILE K9 SHINES

Tom Baker and Mary Tamm continue to develop their enjoyable dynamic, though Romana is disappointingly reduced to a more traditional companion role here. Unlike her strong debut in The Ribos Operation, Romana spends much of this story needing to be rescued, while Professor Rumford takes over as the Doctor’s main intellectual equal. K9, however, gets plenty of great moments, including some fun banter (such as Romana’s accidental request for him to erase his tennis databanks).

MEMORABLE SUPPORTING CAST… MOSTLY

Professor Rumford is a standout character, brought to life by Beatrix Lehmann’s wonderfully eccentric performance. She’s a likeable and intelligent presence, though her occasional over-enthusiasm can become a little grating. In contrast, the cult members played by Elaine Ives-Cameron and Nicholas McArdle are utterly forgettable, delivering some of the most wooden performances in Doctor Who history. Fortunately, they disappear early on, leaving more room for Susan Engel’s Vivien Fay. While her character is far from the most dynamic villain, Engel’s performance grows stronger as the story progresses, and she fully embraces the role’s theatricality in the later episodes.

OGRI: STUPIDLY BRILLIANT OR JUST STUPID?

The Ogri—giant, glowing, blood-drinking stone pillars—are a ridiculous concept that somehow manages to work. Despite their limited mobility, they are surprisingly effective as a threat, and their attack on the two campers in Part 3 is one of the creepiest moments in the serial. Unfortunately, this tension is completely undone when the story introduces the Megara—sentient flashing lights that act as intergalactic judges. They are as ridiculous as they sound and drag down the final episode with an extended trial sequence that feels like it belongs in an entirely different (and far worse) story.

DIRECTION AND VISUALS: A MIXED BAG

Director Darroll Blake makes his Doctor Who debut here, and while he makes excellent use of the atmospheric location footage, the production isn’t without its flaws. Several scenes suffer from actors speaking over one another, and some of the action sequences feel oddly disjointed. The prison ship set in Part 3 is a nice touch, resembling the rebel blockade runner from Star Wars: A New Hope, but it’s not enough to elevate the messy pacing of the latter half.

On the plus side, the incidental music is a highlight. Its unpredictable shifts from light and playful to dark and ominous give the story an unusual and layered soundscape that helps compensate for the uneven tone.

A PROMISING START THAT FALLS APART

The first two episodes are slow but manage to build an ominous atmosphere, with Part 3 delivering the best blend of gothic horror and sci-fi mystery. However, Part 4 completely derails the momentum with an overlong and tedious trial sequence that feels more like a comedic sketch than the conclusion to a gripping thriller. What should have been a classic horror-infused adventure ends on a frustratingly lighthearted and sluggish note.

📝VERDICT: 6/10

The Stones of Blood starts strong, with moody locations, folklore-inspired horror, and a sense of creeping dread that recalls the best of the Hinchcliffe era. However, it quickly loses its way, with Romana sidelined, an increasingly absurd plot, and a painfully dull final episode that completely undercuts the promising setup. It’s an adventure of two halves—one dark and atmospheric, the other bizarre and frustrating. An interesting experiment in tone, but an ultimately unbalanced and unsatisfying story.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

• Tom Baker wearing that stupid wig in Part 4 makes me think of David Tennant doing the same in The Star Beast.
• The role of Vivien Fey was originally offered to former Bond girl Honour Blackman (I'd have liked to see that!).