Review of Ghost Light (#153)
DVD Release Date: 07 Jun 05
Original Air Date: 04 – 18 Oct 1989
Doctors/Companions: Seven, Dorothy “Ace” McShane
Stars: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred
Preceding Story: Battlefield (Seven, Ace, the Brigadier)
Succeeding Story: The Curse of Fenric (Seven, Ace)

Today begins (with a slight delay, since the regular fourth Wednesday slot was co-opted by a review of the latest new episode) this year’s series of regular reviews, focusing on “Hidden Gems” within the televised canon of Classic Doctor Who stories. Because the Seventh Doctor was next up for keeping the proportion of reviewed stories approximately even, we start with a story from the final regular season of the show’s original run, Ghost Light.

This is one of the stories whose ranking I’m fudging. Coming in at #53 of 254 on io9’s Best-to-Worst list—the highest ranking of those I’ll be reviewing this year—Ghost Light is actually still within the first quartile, rather than the second. However, it’s close enough for my purposes, and with a little handwavium, allows me to fit two of the remaining four unreviewed McCoy stories into this year’s theme where I need them.

Many fans speak highly of this episode, so I’m sure there are plenty of folks out there who would agree it’s a “gem,” but why is it not ranked higher, allowing me to claim it as “hidden”? I believe the answer lies simply in the fact that the plot is so complex, even the Doctor can’t follow it. (I mean that quite literally. At one point he declares, “Things are getting out of control. Even I can’t play this many games at once!”) It’s seriously mind-boggling. Admittedly, it had been some time since I’d last seen it, but despite knowing basically what was coming, I’ve never been quite able to keep all the threads of plot straight in my mind.

One thing I can definitely say for Ghost Light, though, is that it has creepy atmosphere in spades. Even before we learn something of the hidden reasons for the Doctor bringing Ace to Victorian manor Gabriel Chase (aside from her supposed “initiative test”), we can feel something is off. There is so much just plain weird going on that one hardly knows where to focus one’s attention. Perhaps that’s part of the charm. It’s certainly in keeping with the air of the mysterious that Andrew Cartmel had intentionally brought to the Seventh Doctor.

Things really get weird at the transition between the second and third parts, when we learn more about what’s at the root of the uneasy feeling suffusing Gabriel Chase. I’ll try not to give too much away for readers who might not have seen this adventure yet, but I will say that I am always put in mind of the old joke about the person who meets the local librarian bustling by on the street.

“How are you?” they ask the librarian.

“Great!” the librarian responds. “All the books in the library are checked in except one, and I’m on my way to get that now!”

On some level I can totally relate to that apocryphal librarian, and therefore to the characters and situation within the story. But I’m always more likely to identify with Ace (or just enjoy her on screen—wowza, is the Ace-in-a-tux look ever great!), and so I always come out of this one feeling a little upset at the Doctor for his manipulative tactics, relieved that things have turned out for the best in the end, and more than a little creeped out by the whole experience.

Prepare to have your mind twisted about a bit, and settle in for a truly spooky ride. Ghost Light is a heck of a good time.