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

Kinda

Premise: On the planet Deva Loka a seemingly primitive tribe - the Kinda - hides a dark secret: they are all that stands between this world and the next, and the Mara that lives there...

Notes: Sarah Sutton only appeared very briefly as Nyssa in this story because it was originally developed for only two companions so instead of re-writing the script to include an extra companion it was deciding to instead that she would faint at the end of the last story and be in an educed sleep for most of this story. This story has many strong Buddhist themes running throughout with the monster of the piece, the Mara, being named after the Buddhist word for temptation.

Verdict: A strong story which mixes sci-fi and surrealism to great effect. While it's arguably too intelligent for its own good, the end result is ultimately enjoyable and as for the snake, there have been far worse monsters in the series 9/10