Monday, May 01, 2006

Inferno

I haven't ventured on a review before, so let's just call this my impressions of the story.

I've always wanted to see Inferno since I first read about it in the DWM episode guide circa 1982. Alternative universes and people metamorphosing into beastlike forms are high on my interesting SF trope list.

The alternative world was worth the wait. Evil Liz was a delight, as (for different reasons) were Evil Brig and Benton. DW abounds in wicked Marshals and Generals on other planets, but the British squaddie is always portrayed quite cosily, so it was great to see them getting to threaten the Doctor with guns and hit him with rifle butts.

But the Primords sadly didn't live up to the hype, reminding me of nothing so much as the metamorphosed Jim Dale in Carry On Screaming. Sutton set my teeth on edge in both versions, particularly when he's bantering with Petra in the prime universe.

I've been told that the Doctor has more edge in series 7. I wasn't disappointed. Even his costume reflects the difference, making him dapper whereas later he was flamboyant. His frustration at being trapped on Earth is palpable, and his insulting farewell remarks to the Brigadier in ep 7 are shocking when you're used to later Pert.

I particularly enjoyed seeing some of that frustration come out when the Doctor resorts to smashing the control consoles with a hammer in ep 6, and has to be dragged off by UNIT soldiers.

I was impressed that the story courageously consigned everyone in the Evil universe to a fiery death. An eighties Doctor would have needed a 15-minute epilogue in ep 7 to pop back to that reality to save everyone.

Suspension of disbelief rating: MEDIUM (stock footage of lava, 'falling over in earthquake' acting, dreadful picture quality in some exterior shots)

Overall rating: 3 / 5. Looking forward to watching it again to see how my impressions develop.

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