Review of Frontios (#133)

DVD Release Date: 14 Jun 11
Original Air Date: 26 Jan – 03 Feb 1984
Doctor/Companion:   Five, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough
Stars:  Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson
Preceding Story:  The Awakening (Five, Tegan, Turlough)
Succeeding Story:  Resurrection of the Daleks (Five, Tegan, Turlough)

Coming, as I always do, from the perspective of the post-Hiatus series, I often find elements I’ve seen in those more recent episodes when I watch ones from earlier eras. Such is the case with Frontios. I was so strongly reminded of The Hungry Earth I kept having to remind myself that that story was some 26 years away. (Coincidentally, two stories before Frontios, the Silurians made their last appearance before cropping up again in Hungry Earth.) On the surface, there’s very little connection between the two, but the common element of danger from below – that “the earth was hungry” (in so many words, even) – kept cropping up.

It’s also not the only story to involve the “last” colony of humanity trying to survive (see, for example, The Ark or Utopia for two examples from opposite ends of the new/old spectrum). Here they are, having been at war for decades (The Armageddon Factor), the TARDIS is apparently destroyed (Journey’s End), and the Doctor is mistaken as the culprit responsible for all their woes (take your pick). To top it all off, despite knowing better (The Waters of Mars), the Doctor knowingly and willingly breaks the Time Lord policy of non-interference, and entreats the people of Frontios not to tell the Time Lords (as it’s gotten him in hot water before; The War Games).

What is less common is the change-up midway through as to the knowledge of whence the threat really comes. We begin the story believing one thing, and find later it’s another causing the colonists’ problems. Unfortunately, the dramatic impact of that plot twist was ruined for me by both the “coming soon” preview of Frontios from last month’s DVD releases and the copy on the back of the case, which give it away. I’ll say no more here for fear of doing the same for someone else.

Despite all these points (whether they count as shortcomings is left to you to decide), the overall plot is quite enjoyable. I can see how the team would have been disappointed with the execution of certain elements, like the appearance of the alien-of-the-week, which did more to elicit pity for the actors entombed in all that rubber than to instill fear. That just makes it seem more… well, more classically Who, I guess – big rubber monsters with lower-than-we’d-like production values and a rollicking good story. I especially love a denouement that involves some comeuppance (greed will be your downfall), and – once our heroes are on their way – a teaser into the next story. It’s all a sort of nugget of Who-y goodness.

DVD Extras (highlights)

Driven to Distraction

This edition’s “making of” included interviews with Frontios‘ script editor (Eric Saward) and its writer (Christopher Bidmead), who happened to be the previous script editor himself. The two worked well together, despite some rather major production challenges (including how the Tractators came out shy of expectations). It was interesting to hear about some of Bidmead’s inspirations (from his backyard to Quatermass and the Pit) as well as the actors’ impressions of working on this story. Another fine entry in the making-of documentary series, this one’s nothing out of the ordinary, but definitely worth the time.

Deleted and Extended Scenes

Watching these, I got the distinct feeling that they were searching hard for extras for this disk. In the first couple, I didn’t even notice anything different (I’m sure I would have, if I’d done an actual side-by-side comparison). Most of these scenes just add “color” and don’t drive the story at all. As with most deleted scenes, I find these a testament to the editing work rather than valuable additions to the story.

The story itself is quite good, and holds up pretty well. Unfortunately, the production values don’t do it justice, nor are the DVD extras anything to write home about. Despite those shortcomings, I still find it one of Five’s better serials.