Review of the Fourth Doctor’s era, Part 2
| 1978 – 1981 | ||
| The Ribos Operation The Pirate Planet The Stones of Blood The Androids of Tara The Power of Kroll The Armageddon Factor |
Destiny of the Daleks City of Death The Creature from the Pit Nightmare of Eden The Horns of Nimon Shada* |
The Leisure Hive Meglos Full Circle State of Decay Warriors’ Gate The Keeper of Traken Logopolis |
| *Due to a labor strike, filming for this story was never completed. | ||
During his later years, Four seemed to mellow a bit. There were no longer the angry outbursts that could occasionally surprise us with their vehemence; instead, he was jocular even to the point of flippancy. The silliness seemed especially rampant in his adventures with Romana II, perhaps because she seemed especially inclined to dish it back to him deadpan (after she gets past the residual helplessness that plagued her earlier Regeneration). As such, the second part of his run feels more light-hearted, up to the last season.
Much is unchanged; after all, it’s the same incarnation, just new Companions and adventures. He continues to pooh-pooh their input, especially K9’s (“Oh, shut up, K9!”) and still gets to be A Little Bit Fabulous, engaging in the occasional swashbuckling and often doing his damnedest to be the Cleverest One in the Room. There are a few bits of continuing character development (or, should I say, Regeneration development) just in the way he interacts with others. For instance, he taunts his enemies (particularly the Daleks, whom he gives grief about not being able to climb), tries frequently to go on holiday (without much luck), and gets a bit snippy about his age. He seems to revel in quoting (or misquoting) Earth literature and other memes, directing a local to “take me to your leader” at least once.
Perhaps more tellingly, though, he loses control of his own fate more often than not. To begin, he’s saddled with Romana (I) by the White Guardian and given a task he cannot refuse. Later, they accidentally end up in E-Space (as opposed to our own, normal universe, N-Space) and he has a difficult time making it back home. Finally, in the ultimate Spoiler (much like Ten), he learns his own death and regeneration is imminent. Not the most controlled period of his life.
You may recall from my review of his first four series that Four had more Companions than anyone except One. Here are those who joined him during his last three series in order, with the stories in which they first and last appeared and how they left the Doctor:
- K9 (Mark II)
The Ribos Operation to Warriors’ Gate
Stayed behind with Romana II - Romanadvoratrelundar, or “Romana I”
The Ribos Operation to The Armageddon Factor
Regenerated - Romana II
Destiny of the Daleks to Warriors’ Gate
Stayed behind in E-Space - Adric
Full Circle into Five’s era - Nyssa of Traken
The Keeper of Traken into Five’s era - Tegan Jovanka
Logopolis into Five’s era
As he rather bitterly comments near the end of his regeneration, “I’ve never chosen my own company.” Of all Four’s Companions, Harry is the only one he ever actually invited to join him (with the possible exception of K9 Mark II). For someone who didn’t really want any of them there in the first place, he does get rather attached to the members of his retinue.
The stories in Seasons 16-18 run the usual gamut from brilliant fun to painful-to-watch, and add their own stamp to the overall mythos of Who. For starters, Season 16 (The Key to Time) was first ever series-long story arc, something we tend to take for granted in the post-Hiatus era. The TARDIS, which actually looks rather shabby, executes quite a few short hops with relative accuracy – something that elsewhere has been stated to be extremely difficult (notably during Three’s tenure). It’s also during this time (in The Keeper of Traken) that we get a second mention that Time Lords only get 12 regenerations (the first having come in The Deadly Assassin).
A further wrench (or spanner, if you’re British) is thrown into the works of “canonical regeneration” (if there is such a thing) by Romana’s regeneration, in which she tries on various bodies until settling on one she likes (apparently it’s only the gents who have to endure pot luck…). As our first regularly scheduled female of the race, Romana’s presence also brings up the perennial fan question of how one refers to such an individual. On screen, she always calls herself “a Time Lord”; it’s actually Adric who first muddies the waters by calling her “Time Lady.” Either seems acceptable to me, but I think I’ll side with Romana herself and stick with Time Lord for everyone.
Notably, it was during this time that John Nathan-Turner – one of the most influential producers in the show’s history – signed on to Who. We can tell immediately, as Season 18 opens with new credits, a new arrangement of the theme music, and a new costume for the Doctor. JN-T would spearhead the operation, including casting the next three Doctors, through the end of its original run in 1989. With Four’s long regime ending and JN-T’s even longer one beginning, a new age was ushered in.
Summary
The latter part of Four’s era sees the show begin to age a bit. It’s become such an icon of British culture by this point, it needs to work to keep itself both fresh and true to what the fans have come to expect. Much like Four’s earlier years, it’s a mature show that’s well established and starting to look for ways to keep itself from getting bored. The production change-up eventually leads to a bit of a “midlife crisis” reaction: a facelift. Enter Five.