Snakedance

Premise: Tegan has programmed the TARDIS to go to the Federated world of Manussa, but is unaware of this. The Mara, still hiding within her subconscious, wants to be reborn...

Notes: The success of this sequel to Kinda lead script editor Eric Saward to commission a third script from Christopher Bailey which would again feature the Mara. However, production problems lead to it being abandoned. In post production, part four overrun very badly and so had to be completely restructured. This meant a scene which left an open door for the Mara's return ended up being excluded from the broadcast episode. Elisabeth Sladen's husband, Brian Miller, appeared in this story as Dugdale.

Verdict: While not as good as its predecessor, this story again features some intelligent writing and great acting all around. Martin Clunes excels and the snake while still slightly less than impressive, has seen a vast improvement since its last appearance 8/10

Castrovalva

Premise: The newly regenerated Doctor falls into the Master's trap while trying to avoid destruction within Event One. To escape, the TARDIS heads to the world of Castrovalava.

Notes: After the script originally intended to begin the Fifth Doctor's era, Project Zeta Sigma, proved unworkable and was dropped, outgoing script editor Christopher H Bidmead was commissioned to write a new story. For inspiration, Bidmead looked at paintings by MC Escher, most notably 'Castrovalva' and 'Up and Down'. Due to the previous seasons poor ratings, transmission for this season moved to a bi-weekly slot as opposed to the traditional once-weekly Saturday transmission. While there were some criticisms of the new time, the ratings did significantly increase. In a rather poorly researched article, The Daily Express accidentally called the story 'It's Castrovlava'.

Verdict: While not as visually stunning as the script may have intended, the story runs along at a great pace with Peter Davison giving an excellent performance. However, the resolution is quite poor and the plot itself doesn't have the best of foundations 8/10