stop talking to me directly mr doctor who I don't like it. take your bug eyes and apply them strictly to your side of the fourth wall thank you very much

The master could do with some moisturiser or something he's looking a little crispy to me

I've never seen a bigger glow-down than Eldrad going from pretty rock lady to angry rock man. Sarah Jane's departure is easily one of the best companion departures and her dungarees are adorable. Goodbye Sarah Jane you will be missed.

I cannot get over the many ways the writers got court politics completely wrong in this serial. Whilst I understand the scheming power hungry uncle and the noble hearted-but-naive heir is a common trope, largely from hamlet, what this serial (and many other adaptations) gets wrong is the way that these people would have been required to interact with the larger scale of court politics. For example we are supposed to believe that both Frederico and Giuliano gave the doge of Venice (aka the most important guy in Venice at the time) the cold shoulder, and multiple members of the nobility were killed in a party held in their castle, and these actions would hold zero political repercussions. However the story itself is engaging and the visual effects are effective.

My favourite scene in this serial has to be where Chase is going to kill the Doctor and Sarah Jane, but first for some inexplicable reason takes them to his 'green cathedral' and plays the worst synth music I've ever heard in my life. It's so bizarre and is honestly 85% of the reason that Chase works as a villain for me. Most of the special effects are pretty impressive for 1976. Whilst the wandering Krynoid in its early stages is very clearly just some guy in a silly suit, the initial pod special effects look brilliant, as do the initial stages of transformation. I especially like the fact that even Keeler’s bald spot goes green.

This serial is basically Frankenstein, but if the monster was a maniacal dictator and there were telepathic fire witches. so overall a pretty cool serial.

The doctor jumping out of a window to avoid talking to the mustachioed not-brigadier will never not be peak comedy. This story is overall quite interesting with a simple concept but the unravelling of the mystery was a little obvious.

my favourite part of this serial has to be when the mummies crush a guy with the power of two pairs of enormous knockers. absolute peak camp. However the writers and costumers were not really on the same page. Whilst Sarah Jane's dress is a 1910s day dress, she lacks the 1910s undergarments like a corset or even petticoats giving her the wrong silhouette for the time period. Generally her dress is appropriate for 1911 as she doesn't need to be super fashionable but she would blend in better if she put her hair up. Ultimately though her blending in is irrelevant as pretty much anyone she meets in this serial dies. it very much gives the vibes of someone dressing up in period clothes for fun.

I adore the set design for this serial. the sinister design makes the planet feel like it's a character in itself. there's so little distinction between day and night that a sense of unease is almost constant while the characters are on the planet. I love the concept of the substance in this serial with it corrupting people into beings that devour everything and the planet having a portal to another world that just oozes the stuff. 4 not wearing his scarf feels wrong.

I adore how terrible the Zygons are at impersonation. None of them come across as human they're stilted and unsettling, it really adds to the horror factor of the serial. Props to harry for leaving the moment he is physically able to, proving himself to be the smartest companion of the doctor. Minus a star for the bagpipes, there's nothing wrong with their inclusion in the story I just really hate bagpipes