Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, in 98 minute feature length story.
2 thoughts on “Doctor Who: Enlightenment [VHS]”
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Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, in 98 minute feature length story.
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Peter Davison is the best Doctor Who ever! After the complexity and brilliance of Mawdryn Undead and the low key but compellingly imaginative Terminus, the Guardian trilogy comes to a head in this remarkable high-concept SF story. By placing the Doctor in contrast to the otherly and eerie Eternals, who are themselves beneath the enigmatic Gaurdians of good and evil, this pan-dimensional epic from the pen of Barbara Clegg (why wasn’t SHE asked to write more stories, darn it?) somehow revives the sense of mystery and strangeness which Dr.Who was famous for when it fisrt began. The Doctor is a time dweller (shades of Michael Moorcock?) and we get the feeling of how alien the Doctor really is when he confronts the unEarthly Keith Barron. The first episode with it’s disembodied voices, apparitions and crew of sailors who cannot remember their own past is very reminiscent of Sapphire and Steel or The Twilight Zone (as indeed is the whole of Season 20!) and the imagery of historical sailing ships flaoting among the stars is magestic, beautiful and strangely unnerving. This is deep, dark, multi-dimensional stuff that rewards those who think about it’s concepts more closely. The ending reveals that the Doctor has understood the menace of Turlough all along and we see the manipulative and cunning side of the Fifth Doctor as he plays the Black Guardian’s own Pawn against him in the game of cosmic chess (foreshadowing the Seventh Doctor?). This is a masterpiece and ends a brilliant and compelling trilogy. More proof that Peter Davison is the supreme Doctor Who!
an atmospheric end to the guardian trilogy…. the scenes shot in space look very realistic indeed, some of the best space shots in doctor who ever, and thats including the new series. the starscape does look real and not just like a load of cgi. a credit to the designers and photographers.and the ships are very well designed too, for models. they actually dont look like models at all. they are surprisingly realistic. this is a doctor who space op that actually works!and the eternals are disturbing and wierd, and well acted by everyone involved. Lynda Baron is great as Wrack isnt she?! and Valentine Dyall does another great performance as the Black Guardian.a real good character piece and also the costumes are striking, especially Janet Fielding’s. A good plot and good script and great direction combine to make this one of the best Peter Davison stories. Very enjoyable.